(TAN): Qatar Airways is adding some Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft to its fleet, the first of which arrived in Doha on April 15, the airline said.
The aircraft has already undergone post-delivery maintenance and has been used for pilot training almost every day. The utilization of the Boeing 737-8s will add capacity to help drive future growth, especially in short-haul markets, which will be expanded from the Doha-Kuwait-Doha route to other nations, principally in the GCC as further approvals take place, the airline said.
Qatar Airways has now received its second Boeing 737-8 and will receive seven more by the end of July.
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Qatar Airways is a leading customer for the Boeing 737-10 with 25 of this type ordered at the Farnborough Airshow in 2022. The Boeing 737-10 and Boeing 737-8 have a number of operational synergies, particularly in pilot training and ground handling.
Whilst the Boeing 737-8 will operate on shorter sectors, these are not expected to be exclusively operated with this aircraft and will flexibly utilise the Boeing 777 and Airbus A350 depending on demand and capacity.
