www.qatarairways.com

On the first day of this year’s Paris Air Show, Qatar Airways placed a firm order with Airbus for 24 commercial planes.

The deal involves 20 A320s, in addition to a confirmation of the four A321s announced last year at the Farnborough Air Show.

Doha-based Qatar Airways currently has 19 A320s in its fleet, and is the largest customer for this type of aircraft in the Middle East.

The new planes will be configured with two cabin classes, and deployed on services within the region, as well as to Europe and south-west Asia.

Deliveries are scheduled to begin in November of this year, and continue until the end of 2012.

Currently, the carrier has over 200 planes on order, at a total value of more than $40 billion. It is planning the launch of six new routes during the remainder of this year; and it is involved in $1 billion of infrastructure improvements at Doha’s international airport.

Akbar Al Baker, the Qatar Airways CEO, said: “Our latest order demonstrates Qatar Airways’ strong commitment towards continuing its aggressive global expansion strategy. Despite the current shifting economic climate hanging over many economies around the world, Qatar Airways has foresight with long-term objectives and planning which means continuing our growth strategy with vigour.”

He went on to say: “The additional Airbus A320s and A321s give Qatar Airways a firm footing in the rapid development and expansion of our regional network.”

Thanks to www.travelmole.com for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

www.qatarairways.com