IATA meeting: Qatar Airways is getting ready to place mega-deal with Airbus, Boeing for wide-body aircraft

Dubai: Qatar Airways is in talks with Boeing and Airbus about a potential wide-body order, the airline’s recently appointed CEO Badr Al Meer said on Monday.

Al Meer said the ‘order is in the three-digit range’ without confirming the exact number of aircraft that may be ordered. On Sunday, Bloomberg reported that the airline wants to purchase roughly 200 Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X wide-body jets.

Al Meer said the numbers were mostly accurate, but the reported order size of 200 jets was off by approximately 30 per cent. A decision could be made as soon as the Farnborough Air Show in Britain late next month.

Discussing the airline's expansion plans, Al Meer said Qatar Airways is poised to announce a promising deal with an airline in Southern Africa within the next two to three months. The airline is actively engaging with Australia to expand its network of destinations in the country.

“We are looking forward to expanding and growing more in the Australian market,” he said, adding that the airline keeps all communications ‘continuing’ with the Australian government.

Major airlines are racing to procure new fuel-efficient wide-body jets to keep operating costs down and cater to booming international travel demand.