Qatar Airways chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker threatened to stop taking deliveries of Airbus SE jets this year because of an unspecified “serious” disagreement, a warning that could hamper the plane maker’s recovery plans.
“If we are not able to settle that serious issue we have with them, we will refuse to take any aircraft from them,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. Falling out with Qatar Airways, Al Baker warned, will cause Airbus “a stress in the relationship with IAG, with LatAm, with other airlines in which we have a shareholding”.
The subject of the spat? “I unfortunately cannot tell you what that issue is,” Al Baker said.
Airbus won’t say either. A spokesperson for the Blagnac, France-based company said it was in constant talks with customers about their requirements, and that details on those discussions “remain confidential”.
Qatar Airways is among Airbus’s most important customers, particularly as the manufacturer considers competing with US rival Boeing by moving into marketing cargo carriers. It’s a position that has allowed Al Baker to put pressure on Airbus or lampoon the company in public, from threatening to cancel orders or delay deliveries to accusing Airbus of being incapable of building aircraft.
The airline chief previously criticised Airbus’s giant A380 jets over their inefficiency and operational cost. However, he told Bloomberg TV that was “water under the bridge” and not the subject of the latest dispute. He said in January only half of its…