Qatar Airways recently had the opportunity to add a small number of Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft to its fleet, the first of which arrived in Doha on 15 Apr. Since its arrival the aircraft has undergone post-delivery maintenance which has included IFE streaming installation and the aircraft has been used for pilot training almost every day.
The utilisation of the Boeing 737-8s will add capacity to help drive future growth, especially in short-haul markets, which will be expanded from the Doha-Kuwait-Doha route to other nations, principally in the GCC as further approvals take place. As a rapidly growing airline, these efficient and modern aircraft are a welcome addition to the narrow-body fleet to support our sustainable expansion plans as the world’s leading airline. Qatar Airways has now received its second Boeing 737-8 and will receive the remaining 7 aircraft by the end of July.
Qatar Airways is a leading customer for the Boeing 737-10 with 25 of this type ordered at the Farnborough Airshow in 2022. The Boeing 737-10 and Boeing 737-8 have a number of operational synergies, particularly in pilot training and ground handling, which will deliver value to customers, though there are differences in onboard amenities such as the Oryx One Play Wireless Inflight Entertainment, rather than the Individual IFE screens which will be available on the Boeing 737-10. Whilst the Boeing 737-8 will operate on shorter sectors, these are not expected to be exclusively operated with this aircraft and will flexibly utilise the Boeing 777 and Airbus A350 depending on demand and capacity.