Qatar Airways seeks Boeing payout
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Qatar’s national carrier Qatar Airways has intimated that it is going to pursue Boeing for compensation over the grounded Dreamliner incident.
The firm’s CEO, Akbar Al Baker, has said he will be pursuing the aircraft manufacturer to the tune of US$200 million – the amount, Baker said, his line has suffered in lost revenues.
Al Baker, speaking at Arabian Travel Market, also said that Qatar Airways was now talking to Boeing’s rival Airbus about a possible future order of between 10 and 15 A330.
UK national newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, quoted Al Baker as saying: “We are talking to Airbus about A330s to fill in the gap that the Dreamliner delays have caused. It’s a new order.”
The three-month delay of Dreamliner forced Qatar to put five of its 15 planned new routes on hold.
“This is our big issue with Boeing. We took airplanes, which we could not fly. I am very unhappy about this,” Al Baker said. “Since we have not been able to expand to our planned destinations, my bottom line has been impacted.”
Qatar Airways is not expected to be the only carrier that seeks compensation from Boeing and in the next few weeks other airlines are expected to make similar announcements.
