Airbus wins Qatar Airways order worth $15bn

June 13, 2005

European aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, has won an order from Qatar Airways for up to 60 of its new mid-sized A350 jets. The order, which is believed to be worth $15 billion, has given a boost to an otherwise disappointing Paris Air Show, which had been dominated by a state aid dispute between Airbus and Boeing.

Qatar Airways, which choose the Airbus A350 over Boeing's 787, will also purchase 20 of Boeing's larger 777 planes for $4.6 billion. Qatar has a previous order for 2 of Airbus' massive new A380's which it will begin to fly in 2009 out of London Heathrow.

In 2004, Airbus sold more planes than Boeing for the first time ever, sparking questions whether the US company had lost its once seemingly impregnable grip on the aviation market. However thus far, Boeing has received far more orders than Airbus in 2005.