Gulf carrier Qatar Airways sees it as a problem that the delivery of ordered aircraft is delayed. According to company boss Akbar Al Baker, this has had a negative impact on the carrier's expansion plans. You have to postpone the inclusion of planned new routes.

As part of the ITB 2023 taking place in Berlin, the manager said that there were many plans and ideas for new routes, but that the first flights had to be planned conservatively. This also includes routes that have been temporarily suspended due to the corona pandemic. Many routes have not yet been reactivated. This is primarily due to the fact that you have to wait longer than originally thought for ordered aircraft.

Both Airbus and Boeing are affected. Both manufacturers are currently suffering from supply chain issues that are adversely affecting airline handover dates. In the case of the Americans, there is also the fact that new problems are constantly being identified with the types B737-Max and B787, which may result in a temporary delivery stop.

According to Al Baker, Qatar Airways recently added seven new destinations. At the same time, eleven destinations that were temporarily paused due to the pandemic were reactivated. Frequency increases would have occurred on 35 routes.

When asked about the disputes it had with Airbus over the A350 fleet, the Qatar Airways boss said, among other things: "We are working very closely and harmoniously with Airbus to bring back as many aircraft as possible. Some require a longer period than others. Some of these A350s will not have their cabin swapped out as they are retiring from our fleet and being replaced with newer A350s and of course Boeing aircraft as we are swapping aircraft all the time."