- Qatar Airways just finalized an order for 25 Boeing 737 MAX 10 jets — the largest of the MAX family.
- The move comes after a Memorandum of Understanding for MAX 10 jets, which was signed in January, had expired.
- Qatar's investment comes during an ongoing dispute with Airbus over paint issues on the carrier's A350 planes.
Qatar Airways is betting big on Boeing as its dispute with Airbus continues.
On Thursday, at the Farnborough International Airshow 2022 in England, Qatar finalized an order for 25 Boeing 737 MAX 10 jets — the largest of the MAX family. According to a Boeing press release, the aircraft will support the airline's short and medium-haul routes and provide improved fuel efficiency and economics.
"We are honored that Qatar Airways has decided to add Boeing's single-aisle family to its fleet, deepening our relationship with this world-class airline," Stan Deal, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO, said. "The 737-10 is ideally suited for Qatar Airways' regional network and will provide the carrier with the most capable, most fuel-efficient airplane in its class."
Qatar's announcement comes just weeks after the carrier indicated a provisional agreement to buy 25 MAX jets, with an option for 25 more, had "expired," Reuters reported. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed in January.
Turning and spurning
The news of the expired MOU was revealed by Boeing's rival Airbus, which requested documentation of the Boeing deal as part of the ongoing legal battle between the European planemaker and Qatar.
Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker confirmed to reporters at a roundtable in Farnborough on Monday, which Insider attended, that the MOU had indeed lapsed.
He emphasized that he did not understand Airbus' interest in the MAX agreement in the London court "when the MAX has no relation to the A321 order that [Airbus] erroneously, illegally canceled."
Airbus and Qatar have been in a year's-long dispute over surface paint issues on the carrier's A350 aircraft, which has led to a bitter battle in the court system, and Airbus canceled some of Qatar's A321 and A350 orders.
Since August 2021, Qatar has grounded 23 of its A350 jets at the direction of the country's air safety regulator, as well as the airline's internal concerns about safety. Airbus has maintained that the issue is "cosmetic," which the European Aviation Safety Agency backed in June, Aviacionline reported.
Other airlines have also committed to the 737 MAX 10, including Delta Air Lines, which announced an order for 100 of the MAX 10 variant on Monday.
Deal said on Tuesday that the jet has been "rebooted," per Reuters, and that the planemaker has gotten over 1,000 orders for the MAX since its global grounding after two fatal MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019.
Not yet set to jet
Despite the orders, Boeing's 737 MAX 10 is still not certified to fly, but the manufacturer hopes to get regulatory approval by the end of 2022. A company spokesperson told Insider on Wednesday that the timeline "is completely in the hands of the regulator" but the company is still intending to certify the plane.
If the planemaker doesn't meet the end-of-year deadline, it may be forced to redesign the cockpit, which is required of all aircraft certified after December 31, 2022, due to new laws governing pilot warning systems.
Boeing said it may ask for an extension from the FAA on the issue for the MAX 10, according to the Seattle Times. However, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told Aviation Week in early July that he is willing to cancel the program if the company is not granted an extension, But, he added that he does not expect to shelve the plane, and "it's just a risk."
The current cockpit design is similar to the MAX 7 and MAX 8 planes, so if the MAX 10 jet's flight deck was upgraded it would require additional pilot training, costing airlines time and money.