DOHA: Qatar Airways (QA) said yesterday that the first commercial flight of Airbus A350-900 would go ahead as scheduled next month despite a delay in the delivery of the next-generation plane.
Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive, QA, said the carrier had a “small issue” it was trying to resolve with the European plane manufacturer.
“The issue should be resolved very soon and we will be taking the delivery of our planes imminently,” he told reporters.
“The aircraft is scheduled to do the first commercial flight on January 15 and this will be to Frankfurt. Airbus 350 will be the backbone of the QA fleet,” he said.
The A350 had been due to be delivered today in the southwestern French city of Toulouse. But on Wednesday the airline postponed the delivery of the first A350-900.
QA has ordered 80 aircraft, whose delivery has been pushed back about a year. The aircraft will also be flown to London’s Heathrow airport for a week of trials to measure the sound emission “to prove to the world, especially to the British community, how quiet this plane is,” Al Baker said.
Meanwhile, Airbus said the delivery of the first A350 had been rescheduled for December 22.
Agencies
