Qatar Airways to add 30 brand new planes to its fleet this year

Qatar Airways has been expanding like ever before in recent times. It will add 30 new aircraft, including from both Boeing and Airbus, said Qatar Airways’ Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker has said.

“We aren’t going to place any new order at the moment unless we do more acquisition of airlines during this year. In that case we’ll see the requirements in our new acquisition of airlines. 

“For the time-being, what we’ve ordered is already in the pipeline. We’ve more than 300 aircraft that are still to be delivered. So I think it’s already a lot for a small country like Qatar and a large airline like Qatar Airways,” Al Baker was quoted as saying by Gulf Times.

He said Qatar Airways would not slow down on its expansion plans despite the ongoing illegal siege of Qatar. 

“We’re receiving all these new planes at a time when our neighbours thought we were going to fail. During this difficult time we’ve proved to the world that Qatar is very resilient and all our plans for expansion, investment and growth are intact.”

“We aren’t going to slow down in any manner. We’ve been doing continuously what the blockading countries didn’t expect,” he said, according to Qatar Tribune.

Al Baker said that Airbus would deliver the first-ever A350-1000 jet to Qatar Airways between February 15 and February 20 this year.

“Qatar Airways is proud to be the first recipient and operator of the Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. This is one of the most sophisticated Airbus planes as it has a longer fuselage to accommodate 40-50 more passengers. The A350-1000 also features a modified wing trailing-edge, new six-wheel main landing gears and more powerful Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines,” he said.

Airbus A350-1000 has the best fuel consumption per feet mile compared to any aircraft. It also has several in-flight features to make it more comfortable for ultra-long-haul flight passengers. 

“Once we receive the Airbus A350-1000, it’ll be first used for long-haul flight destinations in Europe. After a few months of experience on long-haul flights, we’ll use them for ultra-long-haul flight destinations to US,” Al Baker said.

Currently, the plane is being fitted with Qsuite, a patented Qatar Airways product. Qsuite features the industry’s first-ever double bed in business class, as well as privacy panels that stow away, allowing passengers in adjoining seats to create their own private room, a first of its kind in the industry.