Qatar Airways is having a busy week, as the Gulf-based carrier continues to grab the aviation sector\u2019s attention at the Farnborough Airshow in the U.K. In addition to releasing its financials for the first time in a bid to suppress allegations of opacity and unfair subsidies, the carrier also signed an agreement today to buy up to a 10 percent stake in LATAM. Qatar\u2019s national carrier also announced that it was in \u201cadvanced talks\u201d with Boeing to buy up to thirty 737 Max and 737NG aircraft.
\nThe LATAM deal, according to Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, would have the airline investing US$613 million in the Latin American carrier, which has been struggling of late due to weak local demand. The Wall Street Journal reported that the deal with LATAM would also include a fresh fundraising round, which Qatar Airways would subscribe to.
\nRegarding the Boeing deal, the airline\u2019s chief executive insisted that despite negotiations being \u201cadvanced,\u201d it was too soon to say whether a deal would be signed at this week\u2019s airshow. “We still have a few things to iron out,” he told Farnborough press.
\nThe decision by Qatar Airways was based largely on the breakdown of its deal with Airbus over delays.\u00a0 Last month, the airline canceled its order for its first A320neo jetliner from Airbus due to complications that the Wall Street Journal attributed to supply bottlenecks. Al Baker already managed to trigger a spat over the Airbus deal last week that prompted a rare public rebuke from Airbus engine supplier Pratt & Whitney. Al Baker\u2019s comments, the engine maker alleged, were \u201ccompletely inaccurate\u201d and mischaracterize the performance of the engine,\u201d which, the company argued, meets its fuel-consumption promises.
\nQatar Airway\u2019s financial statement for the financial year ending March 2016 revealed that cargo revenue was US$1.53 billion, a substantial 21 percent of the airline\u2019s revenues. Total revenues were $8.87 billion. The release marked the first time the government-owned carrier has disclosed such detailed financial records, however little financial information was provided about Qatar\u2019s cargo operations or airline profits. This decision was taken in an effort to stave off long-standing allegations by U.S. carriers that Qatar Airways has benefitted from unfair government subsidies.
\nThat\u2019s not the case, argued Al Baker. \u201cOur position on this is clear: Qatar Airways is not subsidized,\u201d he asserted.
\nSource: aircargoworld<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"