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A380 delivery delay 'cost Qatar Airways $200m'

Qatar Airways' CEO said on Wednesday a three-month delay in the delivery of A380 superjumbo jets had cost the airline $200 million.

"It cost us nearly three months ... in revenue over $200 million," chief executive Akbar Al Baker said on the sidelines of an aviation conference in Dubai.

Qatar Airways took delivery of its first A380 in September, ending a three-month standoff with the planemaker over the quality of its cabin fittings.

It had previously rejected the first three aircraft after declaring itself unhappy with the cabin fittings as it vies with other Gulf carriers to offer luxury interiors on the world's largest passenger jet.

The airline inuagurated the A380 superjumbo on the Doha-London route on October 10.

Qatar Airways has 13 A380s on order. - Reuters and TradeArabia News Service