Qatar Airways receives 100th aircraft

Qatar Airways has reached a milestone in its 14-year history, by taking delivery of its 100th aircraft.

The new commercial jet, a 259-seat Boeing 777-200LR aircraft, was delivered to Qatar Airways at a ceremony in the US attended by the airline’s Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al Baker and Boeing’s Commercial President & CEO, Jim Albaugh. The aircraft later departed Boeing’s factory on the US west coast for the 13-hour journey to Doha.

Qatar Airways now operates 27 B777 long-haul aircraft, together with a mix of Airbus A320 Family jets, A330s and A340s to reach the 100-plane mark.

“The industry has watched us closely as we rapidly developed a truly global network of flights to reach all corners of the world with a modern fleet of aircraft to give the travelling public the high levels of service and travel options that they fully deserve,” said Al Baker.

“Since April we have not only launched our 100th route, but have also been given the greatest accolade an airline can ever ask for – that of Airline of the Year – and, now, reaching a third major milestone of operating 100 passenger and cargo aircraft following the latest delivery,” he added.

Boeing’s Jim Albaugh added; “We congratulate Qatar Airways on this significant milestone. In just over a decade, Qatar Airways has grown to become a world-class, award-winning airline with a rapidly expanding network spanning six continents. This is a tremendous achievement by any measure and we are proud the 777 was selected to play a key part in this.”

Of the B777s in Qatar Airways’ current fleet, 16 are of the Extended Range version, nine are ultra Long Range and the remaining two being freighters. The airline also has a further 13 B777s on order.

The new aircraft features 217 Economy Class seats in a 3-3-3 configuration, as well as 42 Business Class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration, with all seats converting into flat beds.