Qatar Airways in alliance with Flexjet

Qatar Airways yesterday said it has signed a "strategic alliance" with fractional jet programme provider Flexjet, a unit of Canadian planemaker Bombardier, in order to expand its private jet business. Through the deal, signed at the ongoing business aviation show in Geneva, European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (EBACE), Qatar Airways will offer customers access to over 5,000 destinations beyond its four North American gateways, the Doha-based carrier said in a statement, adding that the new agreement, effective yesterday, will allow customers travelling on the airline's scheduled flights to and from New York, Washington, Houston and Montreal, to book a private premium jet service in a single transaction to cover over 5,000 airports across the region. In yet another development, Qatar Airways' charter division, Qatar Executive, has signed a deal with Bombardier, also during EBACE, to buy up to 10 corporate jets, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report. "Qatar Executive, the charter division of Qatar Airways, has signed up to buy 10 Global 7000 and 8000 corporate jets from Canada's Bombardier Inc. to strengthen its fleet," the report stated, quoting Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker. The news comes shortly after Al Baker said this month during the Arabian Travel Market that the carrier was planning to place a $700 million (Dh2.57 billion) order for 10 Bombardier jets for its corporate jet division. Qatar Airways has, meanwhile, been delaying its decision on the Bombardier C Series aircraft for its private jet unit. "We are very busy [and] have our hands full," Al Baker was quoted as saying by Aviation Week during EBACE, pointing to plans for the Boeing 787, Airbus A380, A350 and A320neo, adding that the carrier has as a result "delayed further negotiations" for the C Series. He, however, reportedly said that he remains interested in Bombardier"s narrowbody aircraft with negotiations likely to resume in 6 to 12 months.