Qatar Airways’ new chief executive Hamad Al Khater is moving quickly to reset the Gulf carrier’s fraught relationship with Airbus in France and Germany, even as he presses ahead with a sweeping widebody expansion anchored on Boeing jets that will reshape long-haul traffic between Europe, the Gulf and Asia.
A New CEO Signals a Strategic Reset
When Hamad Al Khater took over as Qatar Airways Group chief executive in December 2025, industry attention focused less on his résumé and more on his first moves. Within weeks, he provided a clear signal of intent by choosing Airbus headquarters in Toulouse as his debut overseas visit, underscoring a desire to place the once‑bitter relationship back on a stable, commercial footing.
The visit, which brought Al Khater face to face with Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury, was widely interpreted in European aviation circles as an effort to turn the page on years of dispute over A350 surface degradation and grounded aircraft. People familiar with the discussions say the talks were described by both sides as constructive and forward‑looking, centered on fleet renewal, delivery timetables and industrial cooperation rather than old grievances.
For Qatar Airways, the shift comes at a critical moment. The carrier is executing one of the industry’s most ambitious long‑haul fleet plans, combining a dominant position in widebody aircraft with a renewed focus on narrowbody efficiency and European connectivity. How Al Khater balances relationships with Airbus and Boeing will shape route development and competitive dynamics across France, Germany and the wider European Union for the next decade.
From Courtroom Clash to Airbus Rapprochement
The rapprochement with Airbus follows a bruising legal battle that once threatened to sever ties altogether. In early 2023, Qatar Airways and Airbus reached an amicable settlement over the A350 paint and surface degradation dispute, ending high‑stakes litigation in London and paving the way for grounded aircraft to return to service. Crucially, the agreement allowed both sides to declare there had been no admission of liability, creating room for a commercial reset.
In the months that followed, Airbus reinstated Qatar Airways’ cancelled orders for A321neo aircraft, including long‑range variants that are central to the carrier’s plans for thinner European and regional routes. That move restored Airbus as the backbone supplier of narrowbody jets to the Doha‑based airline, reversing a short‑lived flirtation with Boeing’s 737 MAX family that had been pursued at the height of the rift.
Under Al Khater’s predecessor, Badr Mohammed Al Meer, the relationship with Airbus had already begun to thaw as both sides recognized the operational and financial logic of cooperation. Al Khater is now seeking to build on that fragile detente, shifting the emphasis from crisis management to long‑term fleet strategy, and embedding Airbus once again at the center of Qatar Airways’ European ambitions.
France at the Heart of the Airbus Alliance
France sits at the symbolic and industrial heart of the renewed alliance. Airbus’ headquarters and major production sites in Toulouse make the city a natural stage for visible reconciliatory gestures. Al Khater’s decision to travel there early in his tenure serves both diplomatic and practical goals, reassuring French policymakers that Qatar intends to remain a long‑term investor in European aerospace manufacturing.
French officials have long viewed Qatar Airways as a key partner in connecting Paris with Asian and African markets via Doha, particularly as French legacy carriers recalibrate after the pandemic. A stable relationship between the Gulf airline and Airbus reduces uncertainty around delivery slots, cabin retrofit programs and maintenance work that support thousands of French aerospace jobs.
For Airbus, rebuilding trust with one of its largest widebody and narrowbody customers is equally important. Qatar Airways is a marquee operator of the A350‑1000 and a reference customer for new cabin products and operational innovations. Having Al Khater publicly describe his talks in Toulouse as “fantastic” sends a reassuring signal to investors and to other airlines weighing their own fleet choices in an increasingly crowded Gulf and European market.
Germany Emerges as a Strategic Testing Ground
If France is the emotional center of the Airbus relationship, Germany is fast becoming the strategic testing ground for how that partnership plays out in Europe’s largest economy. Qatar Airways has been steadily expanding in Berlin, recently increasing frequencies between the German capital and Doha in response to double‑digit growth in passenger traffic.
Qatar Airways executives have signaled that further German expansion is constrained less by demand than by aircraft availability, a reminder that fleet decisions taken in Toulouse and Seattle directly influence the number of seats and routes available from Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. With delivery schedules still tight, the airline has prioritized capacity on trunk routes where it can feed premium and connecting traffic most efficiently.
Berlin’s growing role dovetails with Germany’s broader industrial stakes in Airbus. The planemaker’s German facilities in Hamburg and elsewhere are deeply involved in narrowbody production and cabin outfitting, making Qatar Airways’ A321neo program particularly relevant. Industry officials say recent visits to Doha by senior German political and industrial leaders, accompanied by Airbus executives, underline a shared interest in ensuring that the Qatar–Airbus relationship remains stable and predictable.
The Boeing Expansion That Changes the Long-Haul Game
Even as Al Khater rekindles ties with Airbus, Qatar Airways is doubling down on Boeing for its long‑haul backbone. The airline is the launch customer and one of the largest buyers of the 777X family, having steadily increased its order book for the 777‑9 passenger variant and the 777‑8 freighter. A high‑profile deal announced at the Farnborough Airshow in 2024 added 20 more 777‑9 aircraft, taking its commitments for that aircraft family to nearly 100.
That order built on a wider strategy that culminated in 2025 with one of Boeing’s largest ever widebody agreements, covering a mix of 787 Dreamliners and additional 777X jets. The combined deals position Qatar Airways as a central pillar of Boeing’s recovery in the long‑haul segment, at a time when the American manufacturer is working to rebuild confidence after safety crises and production setbacks.
For route planners in Doha, the influx of new Boeing widebodies unlocks significant growth potential on Europe–Asia, Europe–Africa and transatlantic corridors. The 777‑9, with its high capacity and range, is designed to handle dense city pairs such as Doha to Paris, Frankfurt or eventual secondary German and French cities, while also serving North American and East Asian hubs. The 787, meanwhile, offers flexibility for medium‑density routes and potential new links into secondary markets across Europe.
Airbus Narrowbodies, Boeing Widebodies: A Deliberate Split
At first glance, Qatar Airways’ renewed embrace of Airbus alongside its Boeing expansion might appear contradictory. In practice, Al Khater is inheriting and refining a deliberate split strategy: Airbus for narrowbodies and regional flexibility, Boeing for the majority of new long‑haul capacity. The cancellation in 2025 of a long‑planned order for Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft, and the reaffirmation of Airbus A321neo deliveries starting from the middle of the decade, crystallized that division.
Fleet planners argue that such a split allows Qatar Airways to standardize pilot training, maintenance and cabin products on single‑aisle jets, while retaining the benefits of a dual‑supplier model on widebodies. It also reduces operational risk linked to regulatory delays on any one aircraft program. With the MAX 10 still facing a drawn‑out certification process, the airline’s decision to lean on Airbus for its narrowbody needs has insulated its European expansion plans from further slippage.
For passengers traveling between France, Germany and Doha, the result will be a network increasingly operated by next‑generation aircraft: A321neos on shorter sectors and a mix of 787s, A350s and 777Xs on long‑haul legs. The combination enhances fuel efficiency and cuts emissions per seat, helping Qatar Airways meet tightening European environmental expectations while preserving its reputation for high‑end cabins and service.
European Politics, Open Skies and Competitive Friction
Al Khater’s reset with Airbus is unfolding against a complicated political backdrop in Europe. The European Union’s aviation agreement with Qatar, which provisionally grants wide access for Qatar Airways to EU markets, has come under renewed scrutiny from some European airlines and labor groups. Carriers in France and Germany have argued that state‑backed Gulf rivals enjoy structural advantages and should face stricter reciprocity and environmental conditions.
For now, the open skies framework remains in place but politically fragile, particularly in member states where national carriers are still recovering from the pandemic and restructuring. In that context, Qatar Airways’ willingness to deepen industrial ties with Airbus and to channel investment into European supply chains may carry political weight, especially in Paris and Berlin, where aerospace jobs are electorally sensitive.
Analysts say Al Khater’s challenge will be to demonstrate that Qatar’s aviation presence in Europe is not merely about capturing transfer traffic via Doha, but also about supporting European industry and offering connectivity that complements, rather than simply competes with, local carriers. Close alignment with Airbus and visible cooperation with German and French authorities could help blunt protectionist calls for new limits on Gulf carriers.
Implications for Travelers and Rival Hubs
For travelers, the Qatar–France–Germany aviation reset is likely to translate into more capacity, newer aircraft and a wider spread of one‑stop options between European cities and destinations in Asia, Africa and Oceania. As additional Boeing widebodies arrive and Airbus narrowbodies enter service, Qatar Airways is expected to increase frequencies on high‑demand routes such as Paris–Doha and Berlin–Doha, and to explore new secondary city pairings when delivery schedules allow.
The moves will be closely watched by rival hubs in the Gulf and Europe. Airlines based in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Istanbul, along with European network carriers in Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam, all compete fiercely for transfer traffic. Qatar Airways’ renewed ability to deploy a modern, fuel‑efficient mixed fleet gives it more room to tailor capacity to seasonal demand while maintaining high load factors and premium yields.
In the medium term, the success of Al Khater’s balancing act will depend on execution: aligning delivery streams from Toulouse and Seattle, managing political sensitivities in Paris and Berlin, and ensuring that fleet investments translate into reliable schedules and service quality. If he succeeds, the aviation reset now under way could cement Qatar Airways’ role as a bridge between Europe and the rest of the world, anchored by a rebuilt Airbus alliance and a far‑reaching Boeing expansion.