 Business & Finance Club Magazine - Transportaion Sector - Qatar: Qatar Airways' new Boeing B777 Freighter has started its cargo operations with a flight to Amsterdam on Tuesday.
The cargo freighter, the fourth to join the airline's fleet, was delivered to the national carrier at the weekend following a non-stop flight from the Boeing Everett factory in Seattle, Washington.
The B777F takes Qatar Airways' fleet to 83 aircraft, and adds capacity to the airline's burgeoning freighter network, the airline said.
It has a payload capacity of 102 metric tons, almost double the capability of the airline's Airbus A300-600 freighters.
The new freighter is set to operate to several of Qatar Airways Cargo's freighter network points, including Amsterdam, Lahore, Dubai, Karachi, Chennai, Sialkot, Frankfurt and Amman. From June 1, the B777F will have three weekly freighter services to Hong Kong.
Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways chief executive officer, said the delivery of the new freighter signalled a dramatic shift in the airline's cargo business.
"The capacity of the Boeing freighters is unrivalled and the plane's economics make it an attractive addition to the Qatar Airways' fleet," he said.
"It is an opportune time to be introducing more cargo capacity as Qatar is growing at a phenomenal pace, as are other parts of the Gulf region. We are primed to take advantage of this growth."
A Baker said that the cargo facilities at the New Doha International Airport will consolidate the airline's position in the region. The new airport is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2011.
Qatar Airways has 16 Boeing B777 aircraft in its passenger fleet with the delivery schedule for the full order of 32 B777s, including a total of three freighters, to be completed by the end of next year's summer.
The airline operates a fleet of 83 aircraft to 89 diverse cities across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and North America. It has over 200 aircraft pending delivery with the orders worth more than $40 billion, the airline said. |
