Special Guests at the Elysee Palace

On May 30, 2007, France President Nicolas Sarkozy had some special guests in the Elysee Palace: Qatar Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and Qatar Airways CEO were in France to place an order: $16 billion worth of Airbus A350.

The state-owned Qatar Airways, which flies to 75 cities and plans to reach 110 destinations early next decade, is another Middle Eastern airline, after the mighty Emirates, on its way to make life harder for the incumbent airlines. Although in contrast to the hugely profitable Emirates, Qatar Airways expects to make its first profit only by 2010.

For now, they are out shopping ...