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29 March 2024

First Boeing Dreamliner lands in Dubai

Qatar Airways first 787 Dreamliner prepares to take off to Dubai (SUPPLIED)

Published
By Staff

Qatar Airways on Tuesday began commercial services of its brand new Boeing 787 aircraft with Doha–Dubai becoming the Dreamliner’s debut route.

The aircraft is being deployed on four daily rotations between the two cities marking a new era for Middle East aviation as Qatar Airways is the Boeing 787 launch customer in the region.

Flight QR 106 took off from Doha International Airport at 0800 hrs for the one hour journey to Dubai.

The 787 services to and from the UAE will target peak travel times in a combination of morning, afternoon and night flights to Dubai.

The new operation comes less than a week after the  aircraft’s delivery flight from Seattle to Doha, , where it has since spent a few days positioned at Doha International Airport giving staff an opportunity to tour the aircraft before it enters  commercial service.

Qatar Airways has orders for 60 Dreamliners. The next four 787s are due to join the fleet by the end of December.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said the maiden commercial route marked yet another exciting achievement for the award-winning airline.

“Dubai is one of our most popular routes and we felt it important to give our passengers in and around our neighbouring city an opportunity to experience the comforts of our new plane before it begins long-haul commercial services. With this launch we reaffirm our continued commitment to challenge and lead the aviation industry, redefining the passenger experience as we deliver a truly five-star offering to travellers around the world,” said Al Baker.

Following the 787s welcome into commercial service on the Doha – Dubai route, it will then spread its wings on one of the airline’s five daily flights  to London Heathrow. As more 787s join the fleet over the course of the next few weeks, the aircraft will be inducted on other long-haul routes including Zurich, Frankfurt and Delhi.

Qatar Airways has 254 custom-made seats across its 787 Business and Economy Class cabins with specially designed interiors, together with a unique inflight entertainment system offering over 1,000 audio and video programming options.

A striking feature of every seat throughout the aircraft is the award-winning touch screen Android system, where passengers are able to navigate through a truly interactive service offering more than 1,000 movie, TV programmes, music and gaming entertainment options in a sophisticated and user friendly way, just like the latest smart phones.