Airbus may lose order for 60 aircraft.

QATAR Airways says it may cancel an order for 60 Airbus A350 jets and buy US rival Boeing's 787 plane instead.

The Persian Gulf airline is becoming increasingly impatient with a seeming lack of firm information about Airbus's proposed new jet and says it needs new jets to expand its fleet.

Such a switch would be a massive blow for Airbus, which plans to build the A350 wings at its aerospace complex on Deeside.

The European aircraft manufacturer has firm orders for 100 of the proposed new jets, excluding Qatar's commitment to 60. Persian Gulf-based Qatar is threatening to cancel its A350 commitment because Airbus has not spelled out what kind of plane it will bring to the market. Airbus is considering a redesign of the A350 and is expected to announce the results of the review next month.

Qatar chief executive Akbar Al Baker said: "We're not going to wait forever. If things don't happen in the time frame we want to happen, then of course we'll look elsewhere.

"They now want to build a bigger plane, with a larger capacity, a bigger cross section, and they've not yet submitted to us or given us the proposal on what this airplane will do or when it will be delivered."

Chicago-based Boeing is threatening to run away with the market for long, range medium sized jetliners if Airbus does not get its act together quickly.

Boeing has racked up orders for about 300 of its 787 which is due to begin entering service from 2008. The present A350 design is slated to fly two years after that.

But a complete redesign, as being demanded by some customers, could see first delivery date of Airbus's new plane slip back even further, to 2012.

The 787 is being designed as a fuel-efficient jet able to carry between 250 and 300 passengers on long haul routes.

Initially, Airbus has wanted to introduce the A350 to challenge the 787 using an existing Airbus fuselage and new carbon composite wings.

But under pressure from potential buyers to improve the aircraft's design it is now believed to be looking at a bigger plane able to carry about 300 people.

Airbus's Deeside factory, will still build the wings for the new jet.