Qatar Airways Ditches Boeing 737 MAX 10 Order

May 26, 2025By ePlane AI

Boeing 737 MAX 10 Order Cancellation by Qatar Airways

In an interview with Bloomberg, Qatar Airways confirmed that it would be abandoning its orders for 25 Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft, placed during a spat with Airbus over a paint dispute. The information was revealed by the airline's Chief Executive Officer, Badr Al-Meer. He was speaking about the carrier's recent $96 billion Boeing order for 160 Boeing 787 and 777X jets, responding negatively to a question about whether Airbus was out of the game.

Recent Developments and Fleet Strategy

News of a potential cancelation from Qatar Airways emerged back in December. Citing sources, Bloomberg noted that the reasons being floated during the discussions covered the fact that the plane no longer met Qatar Airways' fleet requirements. It was initially assumed that Qatar Airways would switch its order for the 737 MAX 10 to the 737 MAX 8, rather than cancel it outright. It turns out that Qatar has opted for a complete cancelation. It had 25 Boeing 737 MAX 10s on order, most recently anticipating delivery for late-2025. At the time of the order at the 2022 Farnborough Air Show, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO (at the time), Stan Deal, described the plane as being "ideally suited for Qatar Airways' regional network". The airline is now switching (back) to Airbus for its short-haul strategy. With the Boeing 737 MAX 10 jets now abandoned, the only remaining narrowbody planes the airline has on order are from Airbus. Ch-aviation data shows 50 Airbus A321neos as-of-yet undelivered.

Legal Dispute and Settlement with Airbus

Qatar Airways and Airbus were involved in a fairly noteworthy legal dispute as a result of paint issues with the airline's A350 fleet. Qatar Airways was forced to ground several examples over surface degradation concerns, requiring repairs. In January 2021, Qatar Airways sought more than $600 million in damages from Airbus, ultimately leading to the cancelation of the aforementioned deal for 50 A321neos. Airbus removed Qatar's 23 remaining A350s from its orderbook. Both orders were reinstated in early-2023 after the two parties came to an agreement over the lengthy dispute. In a statement, they had said: "Qatar Airways and Airbus are pleased to have reached an amicable and mutually agreeable settlement in relation to their legal dispute over A350 surface degradation and the grounding of A350 aircraft. A repair project is now underway and both parties look forward to getting these aircraft safely back in the air."

Improved Relations and Future Prospects

At the Farnborough Air Show in August last year, Al-Meer reflected on the carrier's current discussions with Airbus. He noted that since the dispute, the relationship between the two parties has improved significantly. "We have a very good relationship with Airbus," he told journalists -including Simple Flying- at a media roundtable at the time.

Airbus's Role in Qatar Airways' Fleet

The latest revelation concerning the 737 MAX 10 cancelation came as Al-Meer was answering questions about where Airbus stands in terms of Qatar Airways' future fleet plans. Just last week, the airline placed a new substantial order with Airbus, reinforcing its strategic shift and ongoing commitment to updating its fleet with more modern and efficient aircraft.

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