Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Qatar Airways urges Boeing and Airbus to address delays

By Pramod Kumar
Qatar Airways said it was not able to meet high post-Covid demand due to shortage of new aircraft Qatar Airways/X
Qatar Airways said it was not able to meet high post-Covid demand due to shortage of new aircraft

The head of state-run Qatar Airways has urged Airbus and Boeing to address supply chain issues to prevent airlines from “bleeding”.

“I know they are under so much pressure when it comes to the supply chain market,” Reuters reported, quoting Badr Mohammed Al Meer speech at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha.

Airbus and Boeing need to put more pressure on those suppliers to make sure that airlines stop the bleeding, he said.

Person, Electronics, Mobile Phone

Newsletter
Get the Best of AGBI delivered straight to your inbox every week

The airline is working with the European and US plane manufacturers to find solutions to ensure timely delivery, the report said.

Al Meer admitted that Qatar Airways was not able to meet high post-Covid demand due to shortage of new aircraft.

In February 2023, Qatar Airways and Airbus reached an amicable and mutually agreeable settlement over the A350 surface degradation dispute, which led to the grounding of the A350 aircraft.

Airbus reinstated orders for 73 aircraft from Qatar Airways in March 2023 after revoking them during the dispute.

Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum called on Boeing’s new management to address technical issues with the 777X widebody aircraft as a matter of urgency, admitting that he was “not happy” with the US planemaker.

“People ask me, are you happy? I’m not happy,” Sheikh Ahmed said when asked about the ongoing delays at the Arabian Travel Market show in Dubai this month.

According to aviation consultancy OAG, the Middle East’s aviation sector is growing at twice the global rate and is expected to offer 257 million passenger seats this year.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia are the region’s biggest markets, accounting for 61 percent of total airline capacity, while Qatar is the fastest grower.  

Since 2000 Qatar’s aviation sector has expanded by 12.5 percent annually. It has grown from just over 3 million seats to more than 32 million seats expected this year.

In its latest financial results Qatar Airways reported a net profit of over $1 billion for the first half of 2023-24, up 114 percent. Revenue rose 7 percent to $11 billion.

The airline has around 150 aircraft on order to fulfil the increasing demand for passenger and freighter traffic.

Latest articles

Sainsbury's has the second-largest share of the UK grocery market, at 15 percent, behind Tesco at 28 percent

Qatar to reduce stake in UK supermarket Sainsbury’s

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is selling part of its 15 percent stake in the British supermarket Sainsbury’s as the fund pushes ahead with expansion in the United States and Asia, particularly China and India. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the biggest shareholder in Sainsbury’s, is selling £306 million ($399 million) worth of shares in the retailer, […]

Shoppers in Kuwait's Avenues Mall – the IMF says the country needs to encourage private sector employment

Kuwait needs to push reforms for economic growth, says IMF

Kuwait must accelerate the introduction of fiscal and structural reforms that are needed to increase private sector-led growth and diversify its economy away from hydrocarbons, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday. Kuwait’s economy will contract by 3.2 percent this year because of an Opec+ oil production cut, but will grow by 2.8 percent in 2025 […]

Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates, (UAE) speaks during the Skybridge Capital SALT New York 2021 conference in New York City, U.S., September 15, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s minister of state for foreign trade, said 'Malaysia offers substantial opportunity for our exporters, industrialists and business leaders' UAE Malaysia Cepa

UAE and Malaysia sign Cepa to increase bilateral trade

The UAE and Malaysia have signed a free trade deal, bringing the number of deals the Gulf state has agreed with foreign governments to 12. The comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) will seek to eliminate or reduce tariffs, lower trade barriers, increase private sector collaboration and create new investment opportunities, the two countries said in a […]

Modern buildings in the city center of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Riyadh leads Saudi Arabia’s hot property market

Strong population and employment growth in Riyadh is driving a surge in real estate transactions as new properties cannot come on the market fast enough. A dramatic rise in the number of deals in the 12 months to the end of June was also visible in Jeddah and Dammam, according to a report this week […]