Qatar Airways Places Huge Boeing Aircraft Order, For Up To 210 Jets

Qatar Airways has just placed a massive aircraft order with Boeing…

Qatar Airways orders up to 210 Boeing wide body jets

Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer and Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg today attended a signing ceremony, whereby the Doha-based airline placed a firm order for 160 jets, plus options for an additional 50 jets. Specifically, this includes a firm order for 130 787s (the variant hasn’t yet been revealed), plus a firm order for 30 777Xs. Then the option for 50 additional jets is for either of the aircraft types.

Witnessing the signing was US President Donald Trump and Qatar Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as this happened during Trump’s Middle East visit. For what it’s worth, Trump claimed that the order is worth $200 billion — that’s a long way off from being accurate.

I just mention that because a lot of media reports are continuing to make that claim. The deal is worth significantly less than that at list prices, and list prices are always massively inflated compared to what airlines actually pay.

Of course we’re seeing this order politicized, with some people suggesting that Trump deserves credit for the order. Folks, regardless of who is president, that’s simply baseless. Of course the public signing ceremony is timed around this visit, but this order has been in the works since long before Trump was inaugurated.

Just as we shouldn’t give Biden credit for Air India’s historic aircraft order, we also don’t give Trump credit for a totally routine fleet renewal project. I’ll spare you the jokes about Qatar gifting Trump a $400 million jet. Regardless, congrats to Al Meer and Ortberg!

How the 777X & 787 fits into Qatar Airways’ fleet

As mentioned above, the firm order is for 130 787s and 30 777Xs. While the 787 has been in service for a long time, the 777X hasn’t yet been certified, and current estimates are that the plane will start commercial service in 2026. However, that timeline has been pushed back for six years, so it’s anyone’s guess how that evolves.

For context, Qatar Airways’ passenger fleet currently consists of around 220 aircraft, with aircraft variants being all over the place. Qatar Airways’ fleet planning has been in disarray in recent years, due to a combination of Boeing struggling with getting new aircraft certified, plus the dispute with Airbus from several years back (which has since been resolved).

In addition to the aircraft already in its fleet, Qatar Airways also has 163 passenger jets on order (before today’s order), though many of these are narrow body aircraft. These orders are comprised of:

• 40 Airbus A321neos and 10 Airbus A321LRs
• 18 Airbus A350-1000s
• 25 Boeing 737 MAX 10s
• 60 Boeing 777-9s
• 10 Boeing 787-9s

Just to look at the current state of Qatar Airways’ fleet renewal:

• Qatar Airways’ narrow body fleet currently consists of 28 Airbus A320s, and those will be replaced by A321neos and maybe 737 MAX 10s; that fleet will grow considerably, but it will take time, and rumor has it that the MAX order may be canceled as part of the larger Boeing order
• Qatar Airways has 58 Airbus A350 family aircraft, and this seems to be the carrier’s favorite aircraft, which will be flying for years to come
• Qatar Airways has 51 Boeing 787s, though they’re a mixed bag, with the majority being 787-8s that are already an average of 10 years old
• Qatar Airways has 64 Boeing 777s, and those will eventually be retired, and replaced by newer generation aircraft, including the 777X
• Qatar Airways has eight Airbus A380s, which the airline initially intended to retire, but they were brought back due to A350 issues, plus delays with 777X certification

So I can totally see how Qatar Airways needs a lot of new jets. While narrow body fleet renewal is taken care of, Qatar Airways needs more jets to replace existing 777s, A380s, and eventually the older 787-8s.

At some point in the future, the 777X will be Qatar Airways’ flagship aircraft, and I’d expect for it to have the carrier’s new first class as well. I imagine Qatar Airways can get a good deal on these planes, and for that matter, get flexible terms, given the headwinds with certification.

To me, the biggest question mark is whether Qatar Airways keeps going with the 787-9 variant, or orders the larger 787-10 variant, which seems well suited for the airline, given its higher capacity and sufficient range.

Bottom line

Qatar Airways has just placed a large wide body aircraft order with Boeing, with 160 firm orders plus 50 options. Of the 160 firm orders, 130 are for the 787, while 30 are for the 777X. Then the 50 options are for either jet. Congrats to Qatar Airways and Boeing!

What do you make of Qatar Airways’ Boeing aircraft order?