Qatar Airlines is demanding more than $600 million in damages from Airbus.
(Photo: dpa)
Washington Qatar Airways is in a clinch with Airbus – now the Arab airline is placing orders on a large scale with US rival Boeing. The companies signed a deal on Monday to purchase up to 102 machines.
According to Boeing, the package includes 50 cargo versions of the new 777X wide-body aircraft and two machines from the current model series. In addition, the airline has concluded preliminary purchase agreements with the US group for 25 medium-haul 737 Max jets and options for a further 25.
According to list prices, the deal could reach a volume of 34 billion US dollars (30.3 billion euros). However, heavy discounts are common for orders of this magnitude. Also, only 34 of the 777X Freighters are firm purchase agreements.
Point of contention: surface defects on the A350 passenger jet
For the crisis-ridden Boeing group, however, the order premiere of the eagerly awaited plane is a milestone. Business is also recovering for the 737 Max, which was grounded for 20 months after two devastating crashes. Boeing’s shares temporarily rose by almost five percent on Monday.
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Qatar Airways had recently made headlines mainly due to a conflict with Boeing’s archrival in Europe, Airbus. It is about defects on the surface of the passenger jet A350. The airline filed a paintwork complaint with a London court in December, prompting Airbus to cancel an order for its currently hard-to-find new A321neo jet from the key customer. Last summer, Qatar Airways boss Akbar Al Baker said it was still possible to order cargo planes from Airbus, but the relationship now seems poisoned.
The major order with Boeing was solemnly announced on Monday during a visit by Qatar’s head of state, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to the White House in Washington. US President Joe Biden did not come to the signing ceremony, but Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo praised the flourishing business relations between the countries in a press release and spoke of a “deal of historic importance”. It is the largest purchase intent statement in terms of financial volume that Boeing has ever received from a freighter customer.
The cargo version of the Boeing 777X had been expected in the industry for some time. The 777X is the modernized and less fuel-hungry new edition of the Boeing 777, which has brought the US group large market shares both as a passenger jet and as a freighter. With the 777X, however, Boeing had problems with development and certification. With the passenger version, the group had to postpone delivery of the first copy to the end of 2023, which is around three years behind the original plan.
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