Qatar Airways has announced an order to buy three Gulfstream G650ER private jets at the Farnborough International Airshow.
The Oneworld member already operates three G650 aircraft within its Qatar Executive private jet division, and the latest order follows the signing last year of a sales agreement with Gulfstream for 30 aircraft.
Qatar Airways’ CEO Akbar Al Baker said: “The demand and desire for private air travel continues to grow and our strategy to offer only the newest and best private jets in the world to our loyal customers is paying dividends.
“We are seeing increasing bookings and a desire for longer range journeys – now, as the largest dedicated G650 operator in the world, we are able to respond to this need.”
The Gulfstream G650 has passenger capacity of 13 with a flying range of around 14,000 kilometres, and is billed as the “fastest ultra-long-range business jet in the world”.
“Gulfstream’s commitment to delivering the world’s finest flying experience has made them world leaders in private aviation, which in turn makes them the perfect partner for Qatar Executive,” added Al Baker.
Qatar also revealed that it has nearly trebled operating profit for its last financial year from £230 million in 2015 to £630 million this year as revenue rose to £7.5 billion.
“Qatar Airways continues to lead the industry in all aspects of the business, from our strong financial performance to our award-winning on board product,” said Al Baker. “Our fiscal 2016 year was the best yet for Qatar Airways Group.”