Qatar Airways has placed an order for 160 widebody Boeing airliners, with options for an additional 50, in a ceremony witnessed by the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and President of the United States Donald Trump.
The order is made up of 30 Boeing 777-9 and 130 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Qatar Airways already has orders for 60 Boeing 777-9, which will be the largest passenger jet available when it enters service in what is forecast to be at some time in 2026 with launch customer Lufthansa. Qatar Airways operates an existing fleet of 54 Boeing 777-300ER.
The 130 Boeing 787 will join an existing fleet of 60 of the type, consisting of 32 of the smallest -8 variant and 28 of the mid-sized offering (but longest range) -9. The details of which variants make up this new order of 130 are yet to be announced. Additionally, the options for 50 more jets are for both the 787 and 777X, details of which have also not been announced.
It’s worth noting that Qatar Airways will also be the launch customer for the Boeing 777-8F freighter, after the airline demanded Boeing offered a freighter variant of its latest flagship, and subsequently ordered 34 in 2022 when Boeing launched the program.
Qatar Airways also operates a large fleet of Airbus aircraft, including the A320 family, A330ceo, A350 and A380. It is likely that the 787 fleet will eventually replace the airline’s ageing A330 fleet, and the 777-9 set to ultimately replace the A380.
This announcement comes just days after the news that Qatar’s Royal Family has offered US President Trump the gift of a Boeing 747-8 BBJ for use as a temporary Air Force One. Although ‘Air Force One’ technically is just the callsign of any US Air Force aircraft whilst carrying the President of the United States, it is fairly universally used to refer to the two identical, heavily modified Boeing 747-200Bs – designated Boeing VC-25A, which entered service as the primary presidential transport with the US Air Force in 1990. These are set to be replaced with a pair of Boeing 747-8s (designated VC-25B), due to be delivered to the US Air Force in 2027 and 2028.
Matt is a Berlin-based writer and reporter for International Flight Network. Originally from London, he has been involved in aviation from a very young age and has a particular focus on aircraft safety, accidents and technical details.
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