Qatar Airways Ceo Akbar al-Baker told local press yesterday that the airline is still interested in launching an initial public offering (IPO), but the timing will be based on the airline’s performance within the next three years.

Speaking to Gulf News, Akbar al-Baker said the IPO will ‘definitely’ come earlier than people expect and he pointed out that Qatar Airways is now in its third consecutive year of profitability having made a net profit of $205m in its 2009/10 financial year and more than $230m in 2010/11.