Already the Middle East’s second-biggest carrier, Qatar Airways’ CEO Akbar al Baker says the company has orders for more than 200 aircraft, at a cost of over $40 billion. 

Al Baker also said a “low-cost airline would be launched,” not with the new planes, but with existing ones. 

He didn’t go into much depth about the forthcoming discount carrier, only saying that the project is “very much alive,” but would only be implemented “if and when low-cost rivals begin to affect market share.”