Qatar Airways has canceled the order for its first A320neo jetliner from Airbus Group SE in the clearest sign yet that supplier bottlenecks are undermining commitments the European plane maker has made to customers.
Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said on Friday that months of delays to the single-aisle plane have allowed the Doha-based airline to invoke a cancellation clause. He suggested that Qatar Airways, the onetime launch customer for the A320neo, could walk away from more orders when the contracts permit.
Qatar Airways, one of Airbus’s biggest customers, had ordered 50 A320neo-family planes and originally was due to receive the first plane last year.
Airbus and the plane’s engine maker, United Technologies Corp. unit Pratt & Whitney, have struggled to get the A320neo up to performance standards, resulting in considerable delays.
Mr. Al Baker said the airline should have had five A320neos in service by now under the original agreement. “It is making a huge impact on my bottom line,” he said. “We are, quite frankly, screaming.”
Qatar Airways said it would consider buying A320neo jets with the alternative engine made by a joint venture of General Electric Co. and France’s Safran SA.
Another alternative is buying the current versions of Boeing Co.’s 737 and then upgrading to the 737 Max, the direct competitor to the A320neo, Mr. Al Baker said.
