It's a sensational headline I know, but the juxtaposition of two news stories published within minutes of each other caught my attention. CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar al-Baker said that all is well with Boeing and his company's 787 order, while telling Bloomberg that in regards to an order for CSeries: Discussions hinge on "a few figures" and Qatar Air won't buy the plane unless its conditions are met, Chief Executive Officer Akbar al-Baker said today in an interview.Al-Baker's very public negotiations on aircraft orders have worked before, and it sounds like the potential for the order has come out of the freezer to thaw.
Airbus SAS could effectively kill off the CSeries by offering a version of its own shorthaul family of aircraft with the same geared-fan technology, he said. Qatar Airways already operates a fleet of Airbus A320 narrowbodies.
on October 12, 2009 5:03 PM | Reply
Does this indicate that some arrangement or settlement was made to compensate for the delay?
on October 12, 2009 8:27 PM | Reply
Given that he must have a lot of data on the C series, his comment on a GTF A320 and its potential impact on the Bombardier plane is very interesting.
on October 13, 2009 2:55 AM | Reply
Boeing investor,
Does Qatar have any alternative aircraft available in the time frame of their expected 787 delivery date?
The answer is a blunt NO.
It's the 787 or they must take a risk of losing more money and time (and market share).
on October 13, 2009 9:38 AM | Reply
Great news on the 787 - Qatar Airways order. Slightly OT but still 787-related, here's a positive article I found regarding 787 production. This answers some questions I've had about how things are going around the Everett factory since Boeing started work on the side-of-body fix on ZA001/002 a couple weeks ago, but Jon, I'm sure you'll have an even more detailed report soon. In the meantime, this was a nice read:
http://www.portfolio.com/industry-news/2009/10/13/structural-weakness-forces-Boeing-to-park-finished-787s/
- Rene Rosales
on October 13, 2009 9:39 AM | Reply
Great news on the 787 - Qatar Airways order. Slightly OT but still 787-related, here's a positive article I found regarding 787 production. This answers some questions I've had about how things are going around the Everett factory since Boeing started work on the side-of-body fix on ZA001/002 a couple weeks ago, but Jon, I'm sure you'll have an even more detailed report soon. In the meantime, this was a nice read:
http://www.portfolio.com/industry-news/2009/10/13/structural-weakness-forces-Boeing-to-park-finished-787s/
- Rene Rosales
on October 13, 2009 10:18 AM | Reply
Andrew,
The GTF can't be hung on the A320 or 737 with the same benefits as the CSeries, and Al-Baker knows it. This is simple posturing for pricing negotiations.
on October 13, 2009 10:22 AM | Reply
Jon, you're getting a 500 error whenever we try to submit a comment. Apparently it looks like the comment is still being posted but with the 500 error page.
on October 13, 2009 10:40 AM | Reply
Mr. Venia
He is a public negotiator/bluffer.
Is American Airlines waiting for some early cancellations so they can place an order? They never confirmed their intention to buy 100 787's.
Do you think this will occur later in the year after first flight.
In truth, there have only been some 70 cancellations to date....
on October 13, 2009 12:52 PM | Reply
Akbar Al-Bakr is a pompous egotistic megalomaniac.
He behaves as if his Airline is the only customer on earth, and treats the manufacturers with complete disdain, scolding and admonishing them like errant school children. His scolding and threatening Boeing for the problems on the 787 were more laughable than to be taken seriously.
If he wants to keep coming in the media, he should open his own news channel and keep getting interviewed on some pretext or the other!
I wish he would grow up and behave maturely for his age and his position and CEO of the airline of a small but progressive and important Gulf nation.
on October 14, 2009 5:36 AM | Reply
We're making some changes to the back-end of the blog that should solve the problem (hopefully).
on October 14, 2009 7:35 AM | Reply
I have been informed about the American Airline 787 intention to order:
American Airlines is still negotiating with its Pilots Union over the pay scale for flying the 787.
It is this obstacle that is holding back the confirmation of its order.
In all likelyhood, when this is settled, a firm order will follow.
They originally stated their intention to purchase 100 planes.