News
Qatar Airways absolves Airbus from A320neo delays, threatens to cancel Pratt &Whitney order
February 26th 2016
“Let me be very clear: it is not the fault of Airbus. Airbus has delivered all their parts, and as you know, no airplane can fly without an engine. Read More » And they have huge issues with the engine,” said Qatar Airways CEO, Akbar Al Baker, adding the carrier might cancel its Pratt & Whitney (P&W) PW1100G order to power its 50-on-order A320neos.
The airline boss added he would seek compensation over the problems of the first delivery last December, which he said had a “large financial impact” on the carrier as it faced a capacity crunch.
"We have met with Mr Al Baker previously and explained that we have fixes for the issues he identified," a Pratt & Whitney spokesman said last week. "They are being installed in engines being built today and they will be in place prior to him receiving his engines."
On Oneworld, Al Baker last week told the Straits Times “We have issues with them. As far as I am concerned, for the time being, our partners are not reacting against us the way they were initially reacting. As long as this continues, we are fine.” Should its intra-alliance relationships deteriorate, Al Baker said Qatar Airways “has made several acquisitions, we will create our own alliance”.
On its pending 49% investment in Meridiana, Qatar Airways is waiting for the Olbia-based carrier’s unions to agree to 900 job cuts – nearly half its workforce – before proceeding with the deal.
Emirates Airline this week upgraded its daily Washington service to the A380, citing “impressive demand”. Rival United Airlines terminated its Dulles-Dubai service in January.
In Amman, flag carrier Royal Jordanian (RJ) on Monday announced the addition of a thrice-weekly Guangzhou service, via Bangkok, using a mix of A330/B787 aircraft, from March 21. Last week, it said it had secured $275 million in five-year loan facilities to consolidate and refinance existing debt and support growth and fleet modernization plans, which will see the airline add additional B787s to its fleet.
