Qatar Airwayshas issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to Airbus and Boeing for a “big” order for new aircraft, Qatar Airways CEO Badr Al Meer told CNBC on Saturday. The upcoming order will likely be composed of 100 to 150 twin-aisle aircraft, most likely involving some mix of Airbus’ A350 and Boeing’s 777X variants, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

The move would follow similar steps by other regional airlines: Dubai-based Emirates ordered 90 of Boeing's largest aircraft type, the 777X, and an additional five 787s, in a bumper USD 52 bn agreement with Boeing in November last year. That same month saw UAE-based budget carrier Flydubai put in an order for 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, while Royal Jordanian, Egypt Air, and Air Maroc also logged smaller orders with Boeing. Turkish Airlines also closed a 220 aircraft order with Airbus in December last year, with the transaction’s value reported to be in the tens of bns USD.

But what about Boeing’s recent string of safety failures? Qatar Airways is 110% confident in Boeing’s ability to make safe planes, Al Meer told CNBC (watch, runtime: 02:41), citing the US plane maker's resilience when faced with challenges in the past. Boeing has been under pressure after the US Federal Aviation Administration grounded over 170 Boeing 737 Max 9s following an incident that saw a panel blow off mid-flight in January. Qatar Airways also seems to have overcome a recent tiff with Airbus, with the carrier returning its full fleet of A350 aircraft to service after settling a dispute with the European aerospace giant.

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