Manama: Qatar Airways has placed a $501 million (Dh1, 840.17 million) order with Boeing to buy two additional Boeing 777-200 Long Range (200-LRs) aircraft, as part of its continued growth plans.
The airline also revealed an advanced delivery schedule for its Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with the first set to arrive in the fourth quarter of 2011, to help meet early aircraft requirements.
"Air travel demand is continuing to rise in the Middle East and it is becoming clear that international demand is returning as the global economy shows signs of recovery," Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, said. "We continue to invest in new aircraft and new routes and will be well positioned for the upturn in air travel with a fleet fully optimised for economic and environmentally friendly operations," he told the Qatari daily The Peninsula.
Qatar Airways currently has 19 Boeing 777 aircraft in its fleet - 11 Extended Range (300-ERs), six Long Range (200-LRs) and two freighter versions. With the announcement, Qatar Airways now has orders for 10 Boeing 777s and a further three on option.
"The additional two Boeing 777-200 LRs will help us open up new ultra long-haul markets as we expand and identify new opportunities further," Al Baker said at the Farnborough Air Show.
Qatar Airways' three pairs of Boeing 777-200 LRs currently operate non-stop between Doha and Houston and Melbourne and Sao Paulo, the latter route continuing onto Buenos Aires. It is the longest range commercial aircraft in the world, capable of connecting virtually any key city in the world non-stop from the airline's hub in Doha.
The airline began delivery of its Boeing 777 passenger aircraft in November 2007. Its first Boeing 777 freighter was delivered two months ago, followed soon afterwards by a second.
It also announced that it had reached a formal agreement to advance its Boeing 787 deliveries to support its network growth and fleet replacement requirements by the end of next year.
Qatar Airways' first 787 is now scheduled to start service during the fourth quarter of 2011 and the airline expects to have five aircraft in service by the end of the first quarter of 2012. It’s also negotiating further delivery accelerations of its 30 firm 787s, booked with Boeing, in order to replace its early Airbus A330s, all of which will be less than nine years old when the 787 enters service with the carrier, the newspaper reported.
