Qatar Airways chief Akbar Al Baker tells Bloomberg News http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=az27mm2xDS_0&refer=asia his airline is close to deciding on 20 777s or A340s.
Key Quote: “The airline will either buy Boeing’s 777 models or a mixture of Airbus A330-300s and A340s, said Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, at an interview in Hong Kong yesterday. The order could be worth at least $3.4 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations based on list prices of the aircraft.”
Using a Herald calculator, and factoring for discounts, I’d say the deal would be worth between $2.9 billion and $3 billion.
The Qataris originally announced an intention to buy 777s, and were expected to formally place the order late this month. But speculation has been that the airline would back away from the 777s, and this morning, the Wall Street Journal reported that indeed it’s quite possible that the airline will do that.
http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=3c3e3630-0abe-421a-01c1-b62d1fc8538e&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf
Key Quote, from an Associated Press story: “The Wall Street Journal reports Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baker gave no explanation for the change in plan. But he reportedly said his company is actively considering the twin-aisle A340 as a possible alternative.”
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