Qatar Airways will not take delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 this weekend, as originally expected.
Mystery surrounds the reason for the delay with both the Gulf carrier and Airbus refusing to disclose any information. Instead, Qatar Airways has simply stated that the “ceremonial transfer of title has been postponed until further notice”.
“With the imminent launch of the A350 program, both [Qatar Airways and Airbus] are committed to introducing the A350 very soon”.
Airbus did not elaborate on the situation either, with the aircraft manufacturer simply stating: “We are working very closely with Qatar Airways to meet our common goal to deliver their first A350 very soon”.
This is the second time that Qatar Airways has delayed delivery of an Airbus aircraft this year. As reported previously by Business Traveller Asia-Pacific back in July (see here), the airline rejected delivery of its first A380 superjumbos citing quality issues with the aircraft’s cabin interiors.
Qatar Airways has a total of 80 A350s on order – the most of any carrier. The order consists of 42 A350-900 and 37 A350-1000.
For more information, visit qatarairways.com
Clement Huang
