Airbus has announced that Qatar Airways is to receive the first model of the Airbus A350 XWB by mid-2013, the Peninsula has reported. The new aircraft is part of a plan by the carrier to purchase 80 Airbus A350, 24 Airbus A320, 60 Boeing 787 and 32 Boeing 777 in addition to other purchase orders worth more than $40bn for a total of more than 220 new aircraft.