DUBAI, 10 December 2003 — Airbus signed yesterday an aircraft order with Qatar Airways worth up to $3 billion, both sides announced at a press conference here.
“Qatar Airways has signed a firm contract with Airbus for two A380s with options for two more as well as two ultra-range A340-600s with options for a further eight,” said Noel Forgeard, president and chief executive of Airbus.
“This is in the frame of the MOUs (memoradums of understanding) that were signed in Paris (in June). We are extremely happy to firm up the orders here,” he told reporters at the Dubai Air Show.
Forgeard would not disclose the precise value of the deal but said it was worth about $3 billion, valued at catalog prices. “This is another landmark in Airbus’ success in the region where Airbus has held a 60-percent market share over the past 20 years,” the chief of the European aviation giant said.
“We have signed a firm order today, but this is all part of the $5.1-billion frame agreement that was signed in Paris,” added Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baker. He said his airline will exercise the options to the orders.
Qatar Airways operates an all-Airbus fleet of 27 aircraft, but plans to increase it to 52 in the next five years. “We would not have gone into options if we were not sure that we would have the requirement for this,” said Baker.
Baker refused to say what made Qatar Airways choose Airbus over Boeing, which he said had also made an offer. “We cannot disclose details of the deals,” he said, adding that his company was bound by confidentiality agreements.
Deliveries of the 325-seater A340-600s will begin in June 2006, and those of the 460-seater A380s in early 2009, according to Airbus. Two of the A340-600s will be powered by four Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engines.
Qatar has yet to choose the engines that would power the A380 jumbo jets.
The US engine alliance of GE Aircraft and Pratt and Whitney, which clinched a $3 billion order with Emirates Airlines Monday to supply 199 engines for 45 Emirates A380s, told AFP that it is pushing hard to win a contract with Qatar Airways to supply it with up to 20 engines valued at $240 million.
For its part Boeing said the fact that it had lost the Qatar contract will not dent its position in the Middle East where it has “60 to 65 percent of all the installed aircraft base.” “We have a solid strategy going forward for the Middle East and beyond,” Mark Baughman of Boeing’s international sales communications told AFP. “We are operating a profitable business,” he added.
Baker announced Sunday plans to tender $2.5 billion worth of construction work for Doha’s new international airport, which he said would become a major regional hub to rival Dubai.
Forgeard said Dubai and Doha were the fastest growing aviation markets in the Gulf region. Airbus has already signed up orders with Emirates for 45 A380s, eight A340-300s, eight A340-500s and 20 A340-600s with a total value of more than $18 billion.
The Qatar Airways orders bring to 123 the number of firm orders that Airbus has clinched for the long-haul A380s which it says has made “aviation history”. Forgeard told AFP on Monday that six orders for the 380s will be firmed with Malaysian Airlines before the end of 2003.
