Qatar Airways says Airbus delivering jets early as links improve

Two years ago, Qatar Airways’ relationship with Airbus SE was on the ropes. The two companies were facing off in court over what the airline called a defective paint job on its planes, and Airbus retaliated by canceling a large order from one of its most loyal customers.

Now under new management, Qatar Airways says it’s made up with the European planemaker. In fact, Airbus is delivering aircraft earlier than planned, a rare occurrence in an industry hurting from delays and cancellations. 

“We have a very good relationship with Airbus,” Chief Executive Officer Badr Mohammed Al-Meer said at the Farnborough International Air show, “and just to prove this, the problem of the deliveries and aircraft which everybody’s facing, Airbus managed to deliver some of our aircraft earlier than their committed dates.”  

The falling out between Qatar and Airbus a few years ago was an unusually public dispute by two companies that had previously cooperated closely. Qatar was the first customer for the Airbus A350 airliner, and Airbus was keen to advance its relationship with one of its biggest buyers. It all fell apart over surface degradation on the A350, with Qatar escalating the dispute by refusing to take more planes, and then Airbus going one step further by canceled Qatar’s order for the sold-out A321 model.

The case was settled in 2023, averting an open showdown in court. Later that same year, former CEO Akbar Al Baker, the architect of Qatar’s rise to a global aviation powerhouse, stepped down and handed over to Al-Meer, who previously ran the Doha airport. 

While the new CEO is making changes that include loosening up some of the more restrictive personnel rules inside the company, the overall strategy will remain the same, he said.

“We’re talking about a company that has a strategy in place and whoever takes over should continue the strategy of the company,” Al-Meer said, “We might have different personalities, but at the end of the day, the end result should be the same to continue to have the best airline in the world, to have the best financial commercial return in the industry and this is our target.” 

Qatar Airways aims to complete a large widebody order from Boeing Co. and Airbus SE early next year as talks continue with the two planemakers. The company unveiled its next-generation business-class product at the air show this week, and will fit the seats onto its A350 as well as the Boeing 777X planes once that model enters commercial service early in 2026.