Airbus may have another customer for the next generation A380 superjumbo

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said on Sunday his airline would consider buying upgraded A380neo or new engine option jets to replace its current A380 fleet.

"If Airbus produces a (plane) which is head and shoulders above what they produce today - we would look at them for replacements," Akbar Al Baker said when asked about interest in the A380neo.

The new aircraft would have to perform better, on range, capacity and fuel burn for it to be interesting, he said.

("Neo" is the designation that Airbus gives to aircraft models that have had their engines and aerodynamics upgraded.)

Airbus has yet to announce an official decision on whether it will build the A80neo, but pressure is mounting from the Middle East.

Qatar is the second major Middle Eastern carrier, after Dubai-based Emirates, to openly state their interest in an upgraded variant of the A380.

Earlier this year, Emirates CEO Sir Tim Clark said his airline could order as many as 200 A380neos, valued at over $86 billion at catalogue prices.

Over the weekend, at the Dubai Air Show, Clark went as far as saying the A380neo is "ready to go."

Emirates is, by far, the Superjumbo's largest customer with a fleet of nearly 70 in its fleet. Of the 317 A380s that have been ordered, 140 have been by the Dubai-based carrier.

Currently, Qatar operates only half a dozen A80s with another handful on order. However, the airlines is a major Airbus customer with more than 100 outstanding orders for A320 series and A350 family airliners.

Airbus has struggled in recent years to find airline customers for the double-deck aircraft. The European airplane maker has not announced an airline order to the A380 since the end of 2013.

Al Baker also said Qatar Airways was not allowed to take part in Indian carrier IndiGo's initial public offering but it would still purchase shares "if the price is correct - I will not overpay." IndiGo raised $464 million from a public offering in late October.

(Reporting by Nadia Saleem, Editing by William Maclean)