Qatar Airways’ first Boeing 787 Dreamliner arrived at Doha earlier today and was mobbed by hundreds of VIPs, media, airline and airport staff.
Qatar Airways is the first 787 operator in the middle-east with 60 aircraft on order for delivery in phases over the next few years.
Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker, who was onboard the delivery flight, was joined by almost 100 passengers, mostly international media and senior management from the airline and the airframe, on the maiden 13-hour journey direct from Seattle.
The 787 will spend a few days positioned at Doha International Airport giving staff an opportunity to tour the aircraft before it enters commercial service for a few weeks on selected Doha – Dubai flights from November 20 and then deployed long-haul on one of the five daily London Heathrow services.
As more 787s join the fleet over the next few weeks, the aircraft will be inducted on other long-haul routes including Zurich, Frankfurt and New Delhi.
The new aircraft has 254 seats in a two-class layout of 22 flat bed seats in Business Class in a 1–2–1 configuration, and 232 seats in a narrow bone crunching 3–3–3 layout very similar to Air India, in economy.
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