Business & Finance Club - Farnborough: Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker says his company has ordered three business jets from Canadian manufacturer Bombardier.

In a press conference yesterday, he announced an order for two Global 5000 aircraft and — a last minute addition, a Challenger 605.

The deal is worth $122 million at list prices, although airlines often negotiate substantial discounts.

Al Baker says Qatar Airways is still talking to Bombardier about buying its C-Series commercial jet, but was not able to conclude a deal at the airshow.

Qatar Airways would have been happy to announce an order for Bombardier's C-series passenger jets at the Farnborough Airshow but unspecified issues have got in the way of talks, its chief executive said yesterday.

C-series

Al Baker said his airline, Qatar's national carrier, was still considering the C-series. The C-series is due to enter service from 2013 serving the market for single-aisle planes carrying 100-149 passengers.

He declined to elaborate on the issues, however, particularly whether Qatar's decision was dependent on decisions by larger manufacturers Boeing and Airbus to potentially re-engine existing models in the same segment for greater fuel and operating efficiency.

Bombardier said some prospective buyers of its C-Series jet are still hesitant to place orders as the economy takes time to rebound.

"A lot of our customers right now are waiting to see if the economy is going to recover, if they can get healthy financing, if they can afford to take on a couple of billion dollars worth of orders," said Guy Hachey, president of Bombardier's aerospace unit.