Qatar is expected to agree Tuesday to release detailed financial information about its state-owned Qatar Airways, US State Department officials said late on Sunday, a move that follows pressure from U.S. airlines for it to disclose any potential subsidies it has received. Under an understanding to be announced Tuesday, Qatar Airways will issue audited financial reports within a year and within two years must disclose significant new transactions with state-owned enterprises, U.S. officials said. Qatar Airways and the Qatari government could not immediately be reached late Sunday. The largest US carriers - American Airlines, United Continental and Delta - since 2015 have urged the US government to challenge the conduct of three major Middle Eastern carriers under “Open Skies” agreements. The US airlines contend the Gulf carriers are being unfairly subsidized by their governments with more than $50b in subsidies over the last decade. Qatar, Etihad Airways and Emirates, have denied those accusations. The Gulf airlines operate around 200 flights per week to 12 US cities. Qatar and the US are expected to disclose details of the understanding on aviation issues at a US-Qatar strategic dialogue in Washington on Tuesday that will include US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis, along with senior Qatari officials, US State Department officials said. <br/>
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Airbus will deliver the first ever A350-1000 jet to an airline to Qatar Airways between Feb. 15 and Feb. 20, the carrier’s CE said Saturday. Delivery of Europe’s largest twin-engined passenger jet to launch customer Qatar Airways had been delayed from late last year to some time next month due to issues with installing business class seats. “We are progressing very well to receive our aircraft somewhere between the 15th and 20th [of February],” Qatar Airways CE Akbar al-Baker said. Qatar Airways has ordered 37 A350-1000s. The major Middle East airline is known to be a demanding customer when reviewing aircraft for quality defects before delivery. Qatar Airways has in the past refused to take delivery of aircraft over what it said were quality issues, and has also canceled some deliveries. Airbus looks “forward to delivering the world’s first A350-1000 to Qatar Airways in the coming weeks,” Airbus’ COO Fabrice Bregier said. The “complex seat configuration” of Qatar Airways’ Qsuite, business class which features seats that face each other, and lie-flat double beds, had delayed the delivery of the A350-1000, until February, Baker said Monday.<br/>
Following a massive injection of new aircraft in the four years following its December 2013 emergence from Chapter 11 and merger with US Airways, American Airlines is slowing the pace of its fleet renewal and dialing back spending on aircraft. From 2014-2017, Dallas/Fort Worth-based American added an average of 97 aircraft per year for a total of about 400 new mainline aircraft. In 2018, it will take delivery of just 22 mainline aircraft, allowing it to reduce capital expenditures on new aircraft to $1.8b in 2018 from $4.1b in 2017. Deliveries this year will comprise 16 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and six 787-9s. The carrier will retire 19 of its remaining 45 MD-80s in 2018 and end the year with 951 mainline aircraft in its fleet, a net gain of three aircraft over the 948 aircraft it its fleet at the end of 2017. Looking ahead, American will retire its final 26 MD-80s and all of its remaining 20 Embraer E190s in 2019, exiting those aircraft types from its fleet. It also plans to retire 12 of its 304 737-800s in 2019. It will end 2018 with 20 737 MAX 8s in its fleet and will then take delivery of 20 more MAX 8s in each of 2019 and 2020, giving it 60 by the end of 2020. The carrier is scheduled to take delivery of its first 25 Airbus A321neos in 2019, followed by 25 more A321neo deliveries in 2020. American will retire another 33 737-800s in 2020, so its mainline fleet will not grow over the next three years and is now slated to decline slightly, although CFO Derek Kerr said some minor tweaks are possible. <br/>