Qatar Airways’ Fleet Grows to 80 Aircraft

Qatar Airways has inducted its 15th Boeing 777 into its fleet. The airline’s fleet size now stands at 80 aircraft – double the size of five years ago.

The newest Boeing 777-300 Extended Range aircraft will serve long haul routes from the airline’s operational hub of Doha, capital of the State of Qatar. The aircraft is part of a larger order for more than 220 different aircraft worth over US$40 billion placed in recent years.

With the fleet set to grow to 120 aircraft by 2013 and current global network of 86 destinations also expected to rise to 120 by 2013, Qatar Airways is continuing its expansion strategy with vigour.

“Yet again, Qatar Airways is demonstrating its continued commitment to growth, a strategy set in 1997 when the airline was launched under the auspices of The Emir, His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani,” said Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker. “Just five years ago, Qatar Airways operated 40 aircraft. Today our fleet has doubled in size to 80 aircraft. As our fleet increases, we are able to raise capacity on existing services and introduce new routes which is continuing as planned despite the industry facing challenges amid the current global economic climate.”

Last week, Qatar Airways embarked on its aggressive 2010 expansion programme with the launch of daily non-stop flights between Doha and Bengaluru (Bangalore), the State capital of Karnataka. It was the first of several planned new route launches this year.

Beginning 30 March, scheduled flights are set to be introduced to the Danish capital of Copenhagen; 5 April sees the Turkish capital Ankara coming on line; 26 April is the launch date of daily flights to the Japanese capital, Tokyo; 7 June sees Barcelona added to the network.

Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777-200LR passenger aircraft features a total of 259 seats - 42 seats in Business Class in a 2–2–2 configuration and 217 seats in Economy in a 3–3–3 configuration.

The Boeing 777-200LR flies on ultra long-haul routes of up to 17 hours non-stop, such as Doha to Houston and Melbourne.

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