DOHA: Qatar Airways is to swap its order for up to 80 Airbus A320neos for the larger, longer-range A321 version, the airline’s CEO said on Thursday.
The Doha-based carrier has refused to take delivery of A320neos since December 2015 over performance issues with the aircraft’s engines.
“We are going to take all A321s, there will be no more A320s,” said CEO Akbar Al-Baker.
An Airbus spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
The airline is also deciding whether to switch the engine order for the narrow-body jets from Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp, to CFM, a joint venture between General Electric Co. and Safran SA of France.
“We are still negotiating,” Al-Baker said.
Qatar Airways has refused to accept A320neos powered by Pratt & Whitney engines because they require additional time to start under certain conditions.
The airline said in May it was cutting frequencies on more than a dozen routes from its Doha hub because of delays in acquiring new aircraft from Airbus.
Airbus successfully completed its first test flight for the A321neo in February 2016. However, in December it delayed delivery of its first A321neo to Hawaiian Holdings Inc. by three months.
Airbus’s delivery schedule saw delays through 2016, in part because of problems with engine and cabin parts suppliers.
Al-Baker has said he wants the A321neos from 2018.
Qatar Airways is also moving closer to taking a 49 percent stake in Italy’s Meridiana, which it originally planned to finalize in October 2016.
“By the end of the month we should have put all the loose ends together,” Al-Baker said.
Qatar Airways confirms change to Airbus plane order
Qatar Airways confirms change to Airbus plane order
PIF’s Humain invests $3bn in Elon Musk’s xAI prior to SpaceX acquisition
JEDDAH: Humain, an artificial intelligence company owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, invested $3 billion in Elon Musk’s xAI shortly before the startup was acquired by SpaceX.
As part of xAI’s Series E round, Humain acquired a significant minority stake in the company, which was subsequently converted into shares of SpaceX, according to a press release.
The transaction reflects PIF’s broader push to position Saudi Arabia as a central hub in the global AI ecosystem, as part of its Vision 2030 diversification strategy.
Through Humain, the fund is seeking to combine capital deployment with infrastructure buildout, partnerships with leading technology firms, and domestic capacity development to reduce reliance on oil revenues and expand into advanced industries.
The $3 billion commitment offers potential for long-term capital gains while reinforcing the company’s role as a strategic, scaled investor in transformative technologies.
CEO Tareq Amin said: “This investment reflects Humain’s conviction in transformational AI and our ability to deploy meaningful capital behind exceptional opportunities where long-term vision, technical excellence, and execution converge, xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by its acquisition by SpaceX, one of the largest technology mergers on record, represents the kind of high-impact platform we seek to support with significant capital.”
The deal builds on a large-scale collaboration announced in November at the US-Saudi Investment Forum, where Humain and xAI committed to developing over 500 megawatts of next-generation AI data center and computing infrastructure, alongside deploying xAI’s “Grok” models in the Kingdom.
In a post on his X handle, Amin said: “I’m proud to share that Humain has invested $3 billion into xAI’s Series E round, just prior to its historic acquisition by SpaceX. Through this transaction, Humain became a significant minority shareholder in xAI.”
He added: “The investment builds on our previously announced 500MW AI infrastructure partnership with xAI in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing Humain’s role as both a strategic development partner and a scaled global investor in frontier AI.”
He noted that xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by SpaceX’s acquisition, exemplifies the high-impact platforms Humain aims to support through strategic investments.
Earlier in February, SpaceX completed the acquisition of xAI, reflecting Elon Musk’s strategy to integrate AI with space exploration.
The combined entity, valued at $1.25 trillion, aims to build a vertically integrated innovation ecosystem spanning AI, space launch technology, and satellite internet, as well as direct-to-device communications and real-time information platforms, according to Bloomberg.
Humain, founded in August, consolidates Saudi Arabia’s AI initiatives under a single entity. From the outset, its vision has extended beyond domestic markets, participating across the global AI value chain from infrastructure to applications.
The company represents a strategic initiative by PIF to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and reduce oil dependence by investing in knowledge-based and advanced technologies.
