Summary
- Qatar Airways operates a large fleet with diverse aircraft including the A350-1000, A350-900, B777-300ER, and B777-200LR.
- Qatar is the largest operator of A350-1000 with advantages in fuel efficiency and passenger comfort.
- Qatar’s diverse widebody and narrowbody fleet cater to various routes, including short-haul with the A350-1000.
Qatar Airways
is consistently one of the top-ranked airlines offering excellent long-haul flights to many destinations around the world – including the United States. Unlike its rival, Emirates, Qatar also operates a fleet of narrowbody aircraft, including the A320 and Boeing 737, as well as a
more diverse selection of widebody aircraft
like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A330 (although none of these are used on its US routes).
and (according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company) these are served by four types of aircraft – the Airbus A350-1000
, Airbus A350-900
, Boeing 777-300ER
, and the Boeing 777-200LR
.
1
A350-1000
Qatar’s A350-1000 has 327 to 395 seats
|
Flights: |
458 |
|---|---|
|
Seats: |
149,766 |
|
Air Seat Miles: |
1,184,276,934 |
Qatar Airways became the A350-1000 launch customer in 2018, and today, it is the largest operator of the type, with 24 in service and another 18 on order. Qatar states, “Qatar Airways is the global launch customer and operator of the world’s most advanced passenger aircraft. Bringing major advantages in fuel efficiency along with unmatched passenger comfort, the A350 is notable for the quietest cabin of any twin-aisle aircraft and our luxurious interior ensures a serene and comfortable journey.“
Photo: Phuong D. Nguyen | Shutterstock
Emirates has ordered a fleet of A350s. However, these have not yet been delivered. The A350-1000 is the largest variant of the A350 family. Despite being able to handle long hauls, Qatar uses the A350-1000 on some of the shortest routes around the Middle East region – including as little as one hour. In July and September,
Qatar accounted for 9 of the 10 shortest -1000 routes
. Although it also uses them for long-hauls (e.g. LAX to Doha).
2
A350-900
Qatar’s A350-900 has 283 seats
|
Flights: |
192 |
|---|---|
|
Seats: |
54,336 |
|
Air Seat Miles: |
363,507,274 |
The Airbus A350-900 is the first model of the A350 family of long-range wide-body twin-engine airliners built in response to rival Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. The aircraft is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB high bypass turbofan engines. The first A350 flew in 2013, and the first entered service in 2015 with Qatar (Qatar was the launch customer for both the -900 and -1000 variants).
Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis | Shutterstock
Qatar’s configurations for both the -900 and -1000 are 1-2-1 for Business Class and 3-3-3 for Economy Class. The seat pitch is 50-103 inches for the -900 (103 inches in the -1000) and 31–32 inches in economy class for both variants. The A350-900 is one of the aircraft Qatar flies into New York JFK (a 12-hour and 20-minute flight). Qatar’s A350-900 can also be seen in Boston. This summer,
Qatar boasts a record 16-17 daily flights to the United States
, serving a total of 11 destinations.
3
Boeing 777-300ER
Qatar’s B777-300ERs have between 294 and 412 seats
|
Flights: |
302 |
|---|---|
|
Seats: |
106,908 |
|
Air Seat Miles: |
745,734,276 |
The Boeing-300ER is the extended-range variant of the -300 variant, and Qatar operates a total fleet of 57 of the aircraft. Along with the Boeing 777-200LR, it comes with a business class configuration of 1-2-1 (with 2-2-2 configurations for select aircraft) and 3-4-3 configurations for economy. New York JFK is also among the US routes serviced by the Boeing 777-300ER. Other destinations include Seattle and Chicago O’Hare.
Photo: Fasttailwind | Shutterstock
The 300ER variant boasts a range of 7,370 nautical miles (or 8,480 miles) when carrying 392 passengers (Qatar 300ERs have an assortment of 354, 358, 412, 339, and 294 seating configurations). The variant also features extended rake wingtips, a modified main landing gear, and a strengthened fuselage. It is powered by the most powerful jet engine—the GE90-115BL turbofan with a max thrust of 115,300 lbs. GE boasts, “the GE90 engine is GE Aerospace’s first engine in the 100,000-pound thrust class and became the most technologically advanced commercial turbofan engine in 25 years.“
4
Boeing 777-200LR
Qatar’s B777-200LR has between 272 and 276 seats
|
Flights: |
24 |
|---|---|
|
Seats: |
6.528 |
|
Air Seat Miles: |
50,128,512 |
With only 7 aircraft in service, the Boeing 777-200LR is one of the least common aircraft in Qatar Airways’ inventory (although the Boeing 777 is the world’s most-built widebody airliner). The 200LR entered service in 2006 and is one of the longest-range commercial airliners destined for ultra-long-haul flights (it is employed on Maimi flights). The 200LR has a maximum range of up to 8,555 nautical miles or 9,845 miles. Its closest competitor is regarded as the Airbus A350-900ULR.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
Like its -300ER counterpart, the -200LR is powered by twin GE90-115BL turbofan engines. Boeing is also working to bring the Beoing 777X into service, which it claims will be the “…world’s largest and most efficient twin-engine jet, unmatched in every aspect of performance. With new breakthroughs in aerodynamics and engines, the 777X will deliver 10 percent lower fuel use and emissions and 10 percent lower operating costs than the competition.”