Qatar Airways to Boeing: help us, or else
Qatar Airways says it has struck a deal with Airbus to delay the delivery of new jets.
The airline has 27 large planes and 50 smaller jets on order from the European firm, according to the Airbus website.
Now Chief Executive Akbar Al-Baker says the aircraft deliveries can still be brought forward if there’s a sudden rebound in demand.
Qatar has even more jets on order from Boeing, however.
That includes 60 of the latest generation of 777 airliners.
And Al-Baker had a warning for the U.S. firm over talks on deferrals.
People who don’t stand with us in these difficult times, he says, won’t see us again.
Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic’s rescue deal looks all but done.
On Wednesday (September 2) a judge in London gave the go-ahead for the 1.6 billion dollar package.
That after creditors voted to support it last week.
Virgin had said it would run out of cash by the end of the month if the deal was not approved.
The airline has already had to close its base at London’s Gatwick Airport, and says it will cut more than 3,500 jobs.
A spokeswoman said the rescue deal would allow Virgin to rebuild its balance sheet and restore customer confidence.
Now the final hurdle is a court hearing on Thursday (September 3) in the U.S.
