A lot of airlines are rethinking their fleets as a result of the current pandemic, and Qatar Airways is no exception. The airline has revealed two surprising (to me) updates about the future of the Boeing 777.
Qatar Airways will retire current 777s by 2024
Qatar Airways currently has 57 Boeing 777s in its fleet, including:
- Nine Boeing 777-200LRs, which were delivered between 2009 and 2011
- 48 Boeing 777-300ERs, which were delivered between 2007 and 2019
Qatar Airways 777-300ER
Executive Traveller reports that Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker has indicated that all current Qatar Airways 777s will be retired by 2024.
Personally this surprises me a bit:
- Qatar Airways took delivery of 777s as recently as 2019, so plans on retiring them after at most five years of service
- Qatar Airways has just spent a boatload of money installing new Qsuites cabins on 777s
Qatar Airways’ 777 Qsuites
For a long time the 777 was the backbone of Qatar Airways’ long haul fleet, though in the meantime the Doha based airline has just as many A350s (split between the -900 and -1000), with nearly 30 more on order.
On top of that, Qatar Airways has the next generation Boeing 777Xs on order, including:
- 10 Boeing 777-8s
- 50 Boeing 777-9s
