Qatar Airways calls for new talks on Bombardier jet order

EXPANSION PLANS: Qatar Airways order brightens a largely downbeat (so far) Paris Air Show. (Getty Images)

Qatar Airways says it needs more planes that can seat 110 to 130 passengers and wants Bombardier Inc. to return to talks with a better offer for its CSeries jets, CEO Akbar al-Baker said in an interview.

The Gulf region’s second-biggest carrier on Monday announced an order for 24 Airbus SAS A320 series - planes that carry 107 to 185 people depending on the model - after talks with Bombardier broke down. The Montreal-based company’s offer didn’t meet Qatar Airways' ''stringent'' commercial requirements, al-Baker said, according to news agency Bloomberg.

''It was mission-specific and we still have a requirement for that airplane,'' he said during the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget. ''If Bombardier doesn’t oblige then Qatar Airways has other alternatives.''

Publication flightglobal meanwhile reported the airlne intends launching a corporate jet division in the autumn using three Bombardier aircraft: a Challenger 300, which is already operating, and two new Challenger 605s.

The new arm, Qatar Executive, operating from the airline's Doha base, will operate to anywhere within around 8h flying time from its base, meaning it can serve European destinations.

The business aviation charter market in the Gulf has grown significantly in recent years. Leading operators include Royal Jet, Prestige Jet and Falcon Aviation in Abu Dhabi, with Dubai also home to dozens of aircraft management specialists.

While Saudi Arabia is the region's biggest market, demand for business aviation is also growing in countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.

Bombardier’s CSeries, launched last July, will compete with Boeing and Airbus planes, challenging the manufacturers at the lower end of their offerings.

The model won its first order in March after Deutsche Lufthansa signed a $1.53 billion contract. The Canadian planemaker also has an order for 20 more planes from a lessor.

Bombardier is in talks with other potential buyers including International Lease Finance Corp., the world’s largest lessor of aircraft by value, Bombardier CEO Pierre Beaudoin said in an interview.

Until now, ILFC has only bought jets from Boeing and Airbus because no other Western planemakers in the past offered jets seating 130 passengers. The CSeries will come in two versions, with 110 and 130 seats.

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