Qatar Airways To Order Planes In June - Report

State-owned Qatar Airways plans to place an order for new planes in June and will add seven new destinations this year, Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National reported on Wednesday.

The Doha-based airline will make the order during the Paris Air Show, Qatar Airways' chief executive Akbar al-Baker told The National, without giving further details.

The airline plans to add an average of seven new routes a year over the next five years, he said. Passenger traffic could rise by 20 percent to reach 14.4 million this year, he added.

Passenger growth in 2009 will be the lowest in 12 years due to the global economic downturn, he said.