Airbus A350 F drops out of the race: Qatar Airways shortly before ordering Boeing’s 777X freighter

In the summer of 2019, Akbar Al Baker was still interested. When aeroTELEGRAPH asked if an A350 freighter would be tempting for him, The head of Qatar Airways said at the time In short: “Yes.” He added after a pause: “Different chassis have different capacities. We will need the capacity that matches the A350.”

Meanwhile, Airbus owns An A350 cargo plane is officially on display. But something else happened: Qatar Airways has had one since August Double digit number of A350 aircraft installed in the passenger version – In the meantime, there are 20 copies out of 53. The reason is problems With the fuselage paint, and according to the airline, also with lightning protection.

Airbus A350F out of service

In a speech to the UK’s Aviation Club on Tuesday (November 30), Al Baker accused Airbus of not having a solution to the problem, and of not fully understanding what was going on. Airbus’ difficulties with the A350 would overshadow Boeing’s problems with the 787, and the Qatar Airways chief, who likes to use strong words, also criticized.

When asked if these problems closed the door to a potential A350 freight order, Al Baker said “yes,” as a Cirium flight data service reporter said. mentioned. However, approximately 50 new cargo planes are needed. The airline’s president indicated that Boeing should secure the order with the 777X truck.

777X-F ordered before the end of the year?

Al Baker said the order could be submitted before the end of the year. If so, Boeing will give the long-awaited go-ahead for the 777X cargo program, which many observers have already anticipated at the Dubai Air Show.