Qatar Airways' first Airbus A350-1000 to be delivered Feb 15-20: CEO

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/>