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BY OUR AVIATION CORRESPONDENT
24 July, 2005: The delivery of Qatar Airways first Airbus A380 plane will be delayed, with the aircraft expected to arrive only by early 2010. The carrier, which expects to be profitable by 2010, is planning for a public float by 2012.
Delivery of the world’s largest commercial jetliners will now be pushed back to end-2009 at the earliest or early 2010, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar al-Baker told reporters in Singapore.
Airbus Industrie had said in June that the first deliveries of the A380 will be delayed and customers including Singapore Airlines, Australia’s Qantas Airways, Dubai-based Emirates and Qatar Airways.
Qatar Airways had placed orders for four A380s aircraft in December 2003, with options for 14 additional planes. Toulouse, France-based Airbus would have to pay compensations to airlines for the delayed delivery of the A380s.
The carrier was intending to use the A380s for flights to London and other European destinations. The airline is also planning to become profitable by 2009 or 2010, and would be looking at public listing by 2012.
“As soon as we are profitable for two continuous years, we will go public,” Baker said.
Last month, the carrier had ordered 60 Airbus A350, valued at around $10.6 billion, apart from ordering 20 Boeing 777s.
Qatar Airways, which also operates the Doha Airport and owns ground handling and airline catering firms, was launched in 1994.
Al-Baker also said Qatar Airways wanted eventually to join a global airline alliance, such as the Lufthansa-led Star Alliance, or Oneworld, which is headed by American Airlines and British Airways.
The carrier is also on an expansion mode, with it expanding its services to serve 85 destinations by the end of next year, al-Baker said.
It plans to offer flights to Hong Kong and other cities in Asia. He, however, did not disclose further details.
BY OUR AVIATION CORRESPONDENT
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