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787 DREAMLINER GROUNDING

Qatar Airways in talks with Airbus for 15 A330s

Dubai, May 6, 2013

Qatar Airways is in talks with Airbus to buy between 10 and 15 of the European planemaker's A330 passenger jets following the grounding of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, the airline's chief executive told Reuters on Monday.

Airline industry regulators grounded Boeing's 787 in January due to battery faults.
 
Qatar Airways returned the aircraft to service last week but the problems have caused delivery schedule delays that prompted Qatar Airways to consider buying more A330s, chief executive Akbar Al Baker said in an interview.
 
"We are talking to Airbus about A330s to fill in the gap that the Dreamliner delays have caused Qatar Airways... Anywhere between 10 and 15 (aircraft)," Baker said. "It's a new order."
 
Qatar is among airlines expecting to receive compensation for delays to the delivery schedule for the 787 caused by a series of production snags, and for the grounding in January of Dreamliners already delivered due to battery faults.
 
Baker said at a press conference in Dubai on Monday that the airline had to forego $200 million in revenue up until April 2013 because of the grounding. It expects to have all five of its Dreamliners which were delivered before the grounding back in service with modified batteries before the end of May.
 
"We have already spoken to them. We are done," he said on the topic of compensation, declining to provide further details.
 
Airbus is benefiting from a revival in sales of the A330 since the 787 encountered production delays even though Boeing plans to bring out a new 320-seat stretched 787 that it believes will eclipse the A330's appeal.
 
"The 787 should be an A330 killer but it is late and the penalty payments (from Boeing to airlines) are coming straight to Airbus in the form of new A330 sales," said an aerospace analyst at the Teal Group consultancy in a recent interview.
 
Boeing is looking for a prominent customer like Qatar to launch the stretched Dreamliner, code-named 787-10X, which it believes will appeal to airlines that do not need the range of other new jets but want the lower fuel costs of the 787's lightweight design.
 
Analysts say Airbus has breathed new life into the A330 by playing up its availability and reliability, while discounting the price to ensure total ownership costs come in below the 787.
 
Qatar's decision to look at more A330s does not mean it will ignore the 787-10X, a design concept which Baker has praised for promising low seat-mile costs, but highlights the tough battle being fought between old and new technology at the smaller end of the widebody jet market.-Reuters
 



Tags: airbus | Qatar Airways | A330 | Dreamliner |

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