Qatar Airways Orders Two Boeing 777-200 Freighters

Qatar Airways has signed an order for two Boeing 777-200 freighters as part of the airline’s continued drive to grow its dedicated cargo business.

The Doha-based carrier’s cargo fleet currently comprises six aircraft – three Boeing 777s and three Airbus A300s. Its cargo fleet will rise to 11 freighters over the next four years. Of the total, eight will be Boeing 777 freighters.

 “The Boeing 777 has quickly become our flagship long-haul aircraft and since we started taking delivery of this airplane in 2007, we have been able to open up exciting, new, diverse passenger and cargo routes worldwide from our Doha hub,” said Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al Baker. “With its payload and range capability, reliability and economics, the Boeing 777 has met our high expectations, operating to cities in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific non-stop from Doha.”

 “Since our recent announcement to acquire a stake in Europe’s largest cargo airline, Cargolux, Qatar Airways has been able to draw on the synergies between our two companies to operate a wider network of freighter services,” added Al Baker. “We currently operate over 20 dedicated freighter routes as far as Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Frankfurt and Amsterdam and we continue to explore more opportunities. The Boeing 777 continues to play a key role in our decision-making process for expansion with further cargo route announcements expected in due course.”

Qatar Airways currently operates 28 Boeing 777s – the three freighters and remainder passenger aircraft – a mix of Long Range (LR) and Extended Range (ER) variants.

Qatar Airways operates a fleet of 102 aircraft to 109 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America. By 2013, Qatar Airways plans to serve over 120 destinations worldwide with a fleet of more than 120 aircraft.

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