Title: Qatar Airways Considering Purchase of 150 Aircraft from Boeing and Airbus

Bloomberg News reported today, Friday, citing informed sources, that Qatar Airways is in the early stages of talks with Boeing and Airbus to order between 100 and 150 wide-body aircraft to grow and renew its fleet. The Bloomberg report indicated that the order is likely to involve Airbus A350 aircraft and Boeing 777X aircraft. Qatar Airways CEO, Akbar Al Baker, stated in an interview with CNBC today that the company has placed an order with Boeing and Airbus for new large aircraft. Airbus commented, "We are in ongoing dialogue with our customers, but we never discuss the confidential content of our conversations." Earlier this month, Qatar Airways announced that its entire A350 fleet has returned to service after over a year of settling a legal dispute with Airbus regarding surface damage to the aircraft. Meanwhile, the Boeing 777X program has faced years of delays, having received hundreds of orders from airlines worldwide for this model. Major airlines are competing to purchase new wide-body aircraft that are fuel-efficient to maintain low operating costs and meet the increasing global demand for travel.