Originally Posted by
Severn
Taken from ch-aviation:
01NOV2016
Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad Int'l) will place an unspecified number of B737 MAX 8s with a carrier it is investing in airline Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Akbar al Baker has told Bloomberg.
The Qataris signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Boeing (BOE, Chicago O'Hare) earlier this month for up to sixty B737 MAX 8s. Although al Baker did not specify the carrier in question, it is believed Italian operator Meridiana fly (IG, Olbia), in which Qatar Airways is acquiring a 49% stake, will be a part beneficiary.
The tentative order broke Qatar Airways' traditional reliance on Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) for its narrowbody needs amid teething problems with the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM-powered A320neo. Given its dissatisfaction, Qatar Airways has cancelled the delivery of at least five A320neo so far with al Baker warning that more would follow unless a permanent fix for the engine's issues is found.
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In an interview with Arabian Aerospace Online News Service on 28th November 2016, Akbar Al Baker said “We won’t operate the A320 with the 737. The 737 is to cater for investment in other airlines.”
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In a article in April this year, it suggested that Meridiana by 2021 will in total operate eighteen B737-800s (up from the current six).
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These 60 aircraft are not yet confirmed orders and still remain 'Letter Of Intent'.
This article is the one i referred to so thanks for that Severn.
CWL will be a B787 route when a sufficient number of A350's have been delivered for other route upgrades.