Qatar Airways Plans To Launch Fully-Owned Airline In India With 100 Planes

Berlin: Qatar Airways will not take delivery of any Airbus A320neo aircraft this year as it looks to change its order to larger A321neos, Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said on Wednesday. Al Baker said that unlike rivals, Qatar Airways was not reducing capacity growth or delaying plane orders, saying Qatar Airways had always been "prudent" in how it deploys capacity. Seeking to extend its reach Qatar Airways has been buying stakes in other airlines, and Al Baker said India was next on Qatar's list, once it has finalised a deal with Italian carrier Meridiana. Al Baker said he wanted to set up a full service Indian carrier to fly domestic routes with around 100 narrowbody planes, now that the country had opened up the airline industry to foreign investors. Under current rules foreign airlines are still restricted to holding a maximum stake of 49 percent in Indian carriers, but other foreign investors may own up to 100 percent. Qatar's sovereign wealth fund QIA could own the carrier, and Qatar Airways would then take a stake, Al Baker said. "We work in partnership. They may use us to run the airline," he said. Qatar Airways has previously talked of investing in IndiGo, but missed out on taking a stake in its IPO. Al Baker said taking a stake in an existing carrier was off the table now, but that Qatar Airways was talking to two Indian carriers to code share with them.