Qatar Airways closes in on major Boeing, Airbus widebody order, Bloomberg News reports By Reuters

(Reuters) – Qatar Airways is close to deciding on a major split of its wide-body aircraft order between Boeing (NYSE:) and Airbus, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The report said the Middle East airline is looking to order around 200 aircraft, and is considering a mix of Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X models, with a decision likely to be made as soon as the Farnborough Air Show in Britain late next month.

Airbus said it was constantly in talks with customers about fleet needs but did not reveal any details, while Boeing referred the matter to Qatar Airways when asked for comment.

Qatar Airways did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Bloomberg reported in March that Qatar Airways was in early talks with Boeing and Airbus to order between 100 and 150 wide-body aircraft to expand and renew its fleet.

Major airlines are racing to buy new, fuel-efficient wide-range jets to keep operating costs low and meet growing demand for international travel.