Qatar Airways Wants to Launch Upgraded Boeing 777 Freighter

(Bloomberg) -- Qatar Airways would like to be the first customer for a freighter version of Boeing Co.’s 777X aircraft, and Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker even suggested he’d prefer a mid-2020s debut.

The only problem: the U.S. planemaker hasn’t yet committed to build a cargo version of its upgraded wide-body passenger plane.

The Persian Gulf carrier that’s operating one of the industry’s biggest freighter fleets ordered five current-generation 777Fs on Wednesday in a deal worth $1.75 billion at list prices. Al Baker used a signing ceremony at the Paris Air Show to advocate for a larger, fuel-efficient model to fit with a wider cargo-fleet overhaul that will start in 2025.

Boeing plans to begin delivering a new 777X version of its popular passenger jet in 2020, although an engine glitch and regulatory review could delay its market entry. Executives have hinted that they’d roll out a cargo-hauling version later in the decade.

Qatar Airways plans to introduce three new cargo routes next month as it grapples with a trade and transport embargo imposed by other Middle Eastern countries led by Saudi Arabia. The freighter fleet, which already includes 16 777Fs, provides a “vital link” during the blockade, Al Baker said earlier in the week.

He hit out at Qatar’s Mideast rivals, saying at the expo that his airline’s performance has been affected more by a local economic slowdown than attempts to isolate its home country over alleged support for Iranian aggression.

To contact the reporters on this story: Julie Johnsson in Paris at jjohnsson@bloomberg.net;Christopher Jasper in Paris at cjasper@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Tara Patel

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