Qatar Airways Ltd, the Middle East's second-biggest carrier, plans to place a "multi-billion-dollar aircraft order" at the Dubai Air Show next month, Chief Executive Officer Akbar al Baker said.
The Gulf airline already has orders for more than 200 aircraft with a value in excess of $40 billion at list prices, Al Baker said at a press conference in Oslo, without specifying whether he's interested in more single-aisle or widebody jets. Qatar Airways failed to place an order for Airbus SAS's A320neo at the Paris Air Show in June after earlier saying it would sign a deal for the re-engined version of the European company's narrowbody model. The requirement to be filled at the Dubai expo starting November 13 isn't for Qatar's planned discount unit, which would use existing jets, Al Akbar said today. "The low-cost airline would be launched with the aircraft we already have," he said. "We will not buy new planes. We cannot have very high ownership costs." The discount project is "very much alive," the CEO added, though will be implemented only if and when low-cost rivals begin to affect market share. Qatar Air also aims to announce a route to Helsinki "imminently," the CEO said today, after the Doha-based carrier began flights to Norway yesterday. It already operates to the Nordic capitals of Stockholm and Copenhagen. Al Baker said plans for an initial public offering are on hold given the likely impact of concern about the global economy and pending completion of the carrier's expansion program. Qatar had been considering a share sale to fund its strategy of establishing Doha as a hub for long-haul travel between North America and Europe and the high-growth economies of Asia. "The IPO has been delayed because of the global economic situation," the executive said, adding that it would be "foolish" to go ahead with a sale right now. "I don't think it's the right time. So it has been delayed indefinitely until we see the light at the end of the tunnel." Qatar Airways currently operates about 100 aircraft to more than 100 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific and the Americas, and plans to serve more than 120 routes by 2013 with a fleet exceeding 120 planes. Al Baker indicated at the Paris Air Show that plans to buy Bombardier Inc's CSeries plane, a rival to the Airbus A320, were on hold. Qatar Airways is forecasting a profit for the fiscal year ending March 31 "similar" to the $220 million posted last year, Al Baker said.
"As the oil price is going down we think we'll again have a very good year," he said. First-half earnings were "very good," he added, while declining to give specific figures. Al Baker declined to say whether Qatar Airways will look at Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA)'s BMI unit, which may be offered for sale, or Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd, which has been seeking a partner. Both carriers are major operators at London's Heathrow airport, the busiest in Europe. "I don't know," the executive said.
