QR's Al Baker Not Happy With 787 Teething Problems - Considers More A350s
 

Interesting comments from Al Baker about the continuing 787 teething problems. Also interesting that he mentions potentially converting the 30 options for -8s to -9s.

See Flightglobal article below:




Al Baker fires off warning to Boeing about continuing 787 problems



Qatar Airways is growing frustrated by the ongoing teething problems being suffered by its 787 fleet, warning Boeing that future orders could be in doubt unless remedies are quickly found.

The Doha-based airline has firm orders for 30 787s, of which six have been delivered, and holds 30 additional purchase rights. It aims to take all its 30 firm orders as 787-8s and is considering firming up the purchase rights as the larger -9 variant. But chief executive Akbar Al Baker says this will depend on how quickly Boeing can address the frustrations with its in-service fleet.

The outspoken CEO, who has previously been critical of problems with the airline’s 787s, says there are “still issues and Boeing is aware of that. And they need to resolve these issues very quickly because Qatar Airways is getting very frustrated with them.

“There are so many teething problems... although it is not anything major that would require us to ground our aircraft, it is enough to give us grief on our dispatch reliability,” says Al Baker.

Qatar Airways is considering whether to take up its 30 purchase rights as the stretch 787-9, but the ongoing 787-8 issues are playing into its -9 evaluation, which also includes the A350.

Qatar has 80 A350s on order, of which 42 are -900s and 38 -1000s. The airline is due to receive its first A350-900 by the end of 2014.

“We will either make a decision to take the -9, or take additional A350-1000s. And we have to decide soon,” Al Baker says. “They are different sizes, but we think that the seat-mile cost efficiency of the A350-1000 will do a better job.”

The decision about which aircraft to order will be driven by “how the problems are fixed and how we are convinced that we have confidence that the problems will be fixed. With the amount of problems they’re having with the 787-8, we don’t know if this will be translated into the -9.”
Al Baker says the airline still plans to take its 30 firm orders as 787-8s, but warns that “it all depends on how much pain we are prepared to sustain”.

Although an earlier proposal to place an order for interim A330s has cooled as A350-900 deliveries are “now so close”, Al Baker says that he may revisit that possibility if the 787 problems are not resolved: “If we have to move away from the -8 due to the issues we have, then we may look at interim A330s.”

I could be wrong but I would bet the 350'will have few issues too!

with respect: he is never happy
 

There are similarities with RyR.

glf

I struggle to take this guy seriously, so he may cancel an aircraft going through its maturity and buy one that hasn't even started it's maturity! Bluff or cutting your nose off to spite your face?

Wait till he gets his first A380, that is not an easy dispatch for engineering - still.

Utter bollocks. 380 dispatch reliability is exceptional today.

So it appears for the 380..(formerly 180)...as long as the operator accepts the fact it will be removed from service for 5-6 weeks to repair the wing rib feet...

QR's Al Baker Not Happy With 787 Teething Problems - Considers More A350s
 

QR's A380s are being delivered with the permanent wing rib fix accomplished.

With what airline?

The one with the biggest fleet, if you speak to our engineers who have been here for long enough they will happily confirm that the 380 has settled down much quicker than the 777 as far as dispatch reliability go's.

777 when first introduced was a total 'mare, of course now it is a well sorted aircraft with great economies, but let's not open that can of worms again.

Over 3 years of flying the 380, have changed aircraft once, apart from that very few technical delays of any kind.

The B787 options will be converted to B777

Just that the 380 is flying around with a defect that eventually parks it for a spell...a rather expensive spell..on that subject...do the ones rolling off the line still need the fix, or has the mod been incorporated into the production line..

Just heard that the A350 is 6t heavier than predicted :hmm:

think about it.......... ;)

A350 6 tons heavier, means 6t loss of cargo revenue, lower performance....:ugh:

So why does he pretend in the September 2013 edition of the famous
Oryx magazine that he is very happy about the 787, the aircraft adds value to Qatar airways...bla bla bla....:}
I guess he is not that unhappy.
Just making noise as usual.

loc225500 you are in the management of QR, you should show more respect for the one who gave the Ok for your appointment

So what is he saying to himself, that the new airport in Doha is still not up and running..

Funny... You never read anything about that....

Subsonic - And bollocks to you sir as you can't read!! I didn't mention dispatch reliability. I stated that it wasn't an easy dispatch i.e it takes a lot more work, effort and experience to dispatch a 380 than everything else I can think of.

Given that QR don't have that experience it will be tough going once that get the aircraft.