Qatar Airways mulls up to 150 widebody orders from Boeing, Airbus

Qatar Airways is in early talks with Boeing (BA.N) and Airbus (AIR.PA) to order 100 to 150 widebody jets to expand and renew its fleet, according to Bloomberg News, citing people familiar with the matter.

Major airlines are in a race to procure new fuel-efficient widebody jets to keep operating costs down and to cater to booming international travel demand.

The order will most likely be for the Airbus A350 or Boeing 777X models, the report said.

Qatar Airways has submitted a request for a proposal to Boeing and Airbus for a “big” new aircraft order, its CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer said during a CNBC interview on Friday.

“We are in constant dialogue with our customers, but we never comment on the confidential content of our talks,” Airbus said.

Boeing deferred to Qatar Airways for a comment. Qatar Airways declined to comment.

Earlier this month, Qatar’s national carrier said its entire fleet of A350 jets were back into service, more than a year after settling a legal dispute with Airbus over damage to their painted surface.

Meanwhile, Boeing’s 777X program, which has seen hundreds of jet orders from airlines across the world, is plagued by years of delays.