Qatar Airways urges Boeing and Airbus to address delays

Qatar Airways/X

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.

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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.

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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.