Qatar Airways is reportedly nearing a massive aircraft order, which would take the carrier’s capacity to the next level…
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Qatar Airways plans to order up to 200 Boeing jets
Bloomberg reports that Qatar Airways is nearing a major Boeing wide body aircraft order. The expectation is that the airline will place a firm order for 100 jets, with options for 100 more jets. The reality is that demand for wide body aircraft is through the roof, so if the airline wants to be able to take delivery of more planes before the 2030s, an order needs to be placed ASAP.
The deal is expected to be announced during Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East, which begins next week, and includes stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. It remains to be seen exactly how this order will be broken up, and exact details are reportedly still being finalized.
Will Qatar Airways order the 777X, 787, or both?
Given that Qatar Airways plans to place a Boeing wide body aircraft order, that means the airline will be ordering either the 787 or 777X. While the 787 has been in service for a long time, the 777X hasn’t yet been certified, and current estimates are that the plane will start commercial service in 2026. However, that timeline has been pushed back for six years, so it’s anyone’s guess how that evolves.
For context, Qatar Airways’ passenger fleet currently consists of around 220 aircraft, with aircraft variants being all over the place. Qatar Airways’ fleet planning has been in disarray in recent years, due to a combination of Boeing struggling with getting new aircraft certified, plus the dispute with Airbus from several years back (which has since been resolved).
In addition to the aircraft already in its fleet, Qatar Airways also has 163 passenger jets on order, though many of these are narrow body aircraft. These orders are comprised of:
- 40 Airbus A321neos and 10 Airbus A321LRs
- 18 Airbus A350-1000s
- 25 Boeing 737 MAX 10s
- 60 Boeing 777-9s
- 10 Boeing 787-9s
Just to look at the current state of Qatar Airways’ fleet renewal:
- Qatar Airways’ narrow body fleet currently consists of 28 Airbus A320s, and those will be replaced by A321neos and 737 MAX 10s; that fleet will grow considerably, but it will take time, and rumor has it that the MAX order may be canceled as part of a larger Boeing order
- Qatar Airways has 58 Airbus A350 family aircraft, and this seems to be the carrier’s favorite aircraft, which will be flying for years to come
- Qatar Airways has 51 Boeing 787s, though they’re a mixed bag, with the majority being 787-8s that are already an average of 10 years old
- Qatar Airways has 64 Boeing 777s, and those will eventually be retired, and replaced by newer generation aircraft, including the 777X
- Qatar Airways has eight Airbus A380s, which the airline initially intended to retire, but they were brought back due to A350 issues, plus delays with 777X certification
So I can totally see how Qatar Airways needs a lot of new jets. While narrow body fleet renewal is taken care of, Qatar Airways needs to order more jets to replace existing 777s, A380s, and eventually the older 787-8s.
At some point in the future, the 777X will be Qatar Airways’ flagship aircraft, and I’d expect for it to have the carrier’s new first class as well. I imagine Qatar Airways can get a good deal on these planes, and for that matter, get flexible terms, given the headwinds with certification.
My guess is that we’ll see a split between 777Xs and 787s. To me, the biggest question mark is whether Qatar Airways keeps going with the 787-9 variant, or orders the larger 787-10 variant, which seems well suited for the airline, given its higher capacity and range.
Bottom line
Qatar Airways is reportedly preparing to place a large wide body aircraft order with Boeing, expected to be for 100 firm orders, plus 100 options. While we’ll have to wait for an official announcement, my expectation is that the order will include more 777Xs and 787s. After all, Qatar Airways has a lot of older generation 777s to retire, and both planes are a good addition to the fleet.
What do you make of Qatar Airways’ planned aircraft order?
The Qatar Airways CEO has already commented in an interview on the 2 737 currently on their fleet and mentioned that they only see future with A321 for narrowbody and that we should derive from that their policy on the 737: the 737s don't have any future at QR. That's beyond rumour.
The 737-10 on order will get converted to some wide-bodies.
Another middle-eastern carrier with a poor record of treating their staff and passengers. Google Marc Bennett, and the gynecological examinations that were given to women heading to Australia.
The 787-10 has shorter range than the 787-9, Lucky.
The Airbus fanboys are gutted, sooooo soooory. The relationship with Airbus and Qatar is seriously blemished.
I’d like to see Boeing do a 787-10 ER/LR to extend the range.
Has it not occurred to you 34, that there are other actors in this play?
Think about the scenario including the political connotations involving other countries too, get the picture now?
Sharp American business practices at its best perhaps, get the picture now?
Additionally, one can please many actors by placing a peachy order to gain favour, etc, doing so in the full knowledge that the manufacturer will never be able to...
Has it not occurred to you 34, that there are other actors in this play?
Think about the scenario including the political connotations involving other countries too, get the picture now?
Sharp American business practices at its best perhaps, get the picture now?
Additionally, one can please many actors by placing a peachy order to gain favour, etc, doing so in the full knowledge that the manufacturer will never be able to deliver, get the picture now?
Finally, he who laughs last …. laughs loudest!
@AeroB13a
Did you take your dementia pill today?
Mason, one would have done so however rumour control has informed me that your need is much greater than mine, therefore, rock on bro, fill your boots …. :-)
Hey, Fake British Tim Dunn, I was seated and ready to fly CLT-MAY just a few minutes ago when my plane went tech and we had to disembark and get another plane. You know what it was? A piece of Eurotrash A321. The replacement that worked? A Boeing. Give and answer to that, Timbits.
Correction: CLT-MSY. Autocorrect kicked in, yo.
I’d seriously like to see them get their act together with the current fleet - I’m so sick of them switching out aircraft and being disappointed constantly on aircraft that are supposed to have QSUITES and then the 2x2x2 , and the bus gates gone at DOH !!!
The aircraft order breakdown you show for 163 aircraft appears to be incorrect as the number of aircraft ordered by type that you list only totals 153 planes. Thoughts?
I could see QR ordering the B787-10 for the capacity and not the range.
Either way, you can be sure that an order for the A350 is on the way too. But at this time i expect only an order for Boeing for the headlines only.
Timed to fit into Trumps upcoming visit to the region next week is not out of the realms of possibility!
Report on Bloomberg said the order is going to be mainly for 787s and a few 777Xs. Which leads me to believe Qatar will order both the 787-9 and the 787-10
@Lucky, could you write an article about the partnerships and fleet situation of Qatar? For example, I notice some 737 max are leased to IndiGo, and are used exclusively for flights to Qatar with IndiGo flight nrs. There are many more examples, from leasing Oman Air aircraft, to getting airlines like Iberia to operate flights for them, I'd be interested to see a comprehensive list of these arrangements.
QR got those 737 Max because of shortage after the deal with Airbus went downhill and barely operated them themselves. That's why all were leased to Indigo for flights between India and Qatar. You can bet they'll be gone as soon QR gets the 321NEOS.
4 WY 330-200 and 3 WY 330-300 (1 330-300 is already registered as A7-AER) will fully come on line by summer with QR registration. Not sure if they will be painted. These aircraft feature APEX business class and are far superior to QRs current 330s which are older as well. I believe these will stay until the new aircrafts finally begin to arrive.
This deal will probably also involve renegotiation of the 737 MAX order, most likely converting them into 777/787s. It's been reported on several occasions that they wanted to get rid of this now the A321s have been reinstated.
So Qatar wants to retire 787 and 777 that on average are just 10 and 12 years wow.
Vanushka , you did not understand the article - please , read it again (and again )…
Passengers who know might well think that QR are making a poor choice.
One source said they’re still interested in additional A350 orders. I’m just wondering how Doha’s existing infrastructure could accommodate all of this exponential projected growth?!
More bus gates.
Mo' Airbus Mo' bus
Disappointed. I expected them to order dozens more A350-900s and perhaps another 30-40 A350-1000s...
I still think they will have a 2nd order with Airbus
Qatar airways has 60 orders for the 777-9 and the MAX 10 order has been cancelled.
Slight correction. The 787-10 carries more passengers, but doesn’t have a longer range than the 787-9.
This is true, though the range is well suited to much of QR's network outside the Americas and Oceania, which can be easily served with A350 and 777 aircraft, and the economics are impressive.
Agreed! It’s perfect for India.
The issue with QR ordering the 787-10 for India/South Asia routes is that those routes are often flown by Qatar's long-haul aircraft in between long-haul flights in order to maximize aircraft utilization. For example, each Qatar US flight needs two dedicated aircraft on each daily frequency. That gives the plane about 15 hours of rest time in DOH for east coast US routes. That's enough time to restock the plane in DOH, fly it to...
The issue with QR ordering the 787-10 for India/South Asia routes is that those routes are often flown by Qatar's long-haul aircraft in between long-haul flights in order to maximize aircraft utilization. For example, each Qatar US flight needs two dedicated aircraft on each daily frequency. That gives the plane about 15 hours of rest time in DOH for east coast US routes. That's enough time to restock the plane in DOH, fly it to South Asia and back, and then turn the aircraft and put it on the long-haul flight again. A lot of QR's South Asia flights follow this pattern. As a result, there aren't as many routes where the 787-10 would make sense for QR in South Asia. But a few could be useful, and given QR's history, they will likely order it because they seem to love to order every plane available.