Qatar Airways flies newest Boeing 787 to Paris Air Show

787 Takes Centre Stage At Global Aerospace Event

Thousands Of Visitors Expected At 50th Edition Of Event

Qatar Airways will proudly take part in the 50th International Paris Air Show this week with its newest Boeing 787 Dreamliner taking centre stage during one of the world's largest aerospace events.

The Doha-based airline took delivery of its sixth Dreamliner this morning following its direct flight from Seattle to the show venue Le Bourget.
Qatar Airways traditionally has a strong presence at the Paris Air Show, held every two years, by having a static aircraft on display. This year the airline's Boeing 787 will make its debut for the first time in France, at Le Bourget.

Tens of thousands of trade visitors from around the world are expected to attend the Air Show, which runs from June 17-23. A limited number of tours of the 787 are planned for select VIPs, industry guests and the media during the trade days.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said: "We are absolutely delighted to have our brand new 787 fly into Le Bourget direct from Boeing's assembly plant in Seattle for what promises to be yet another exciting Paris Air Show.

"The 787 has created new benchmarks in comfort and space, with revolutionary seat design as well as key state-of-the-art features, and we look forward to showcasing this aircraft to visitors from around the world.

"Our 787s provide passengers with a travel experience quite unlike any other with custom-built comfort features that are the hallmark of our Five Star service across both the Business and Economy cabins."

Qatar Airways' 787s feature 254 seats - 22 in Business Class in a 1-2-1 configuration and a 232 seating capacity in Economy with a 3-3-3 layout.

Key features include an award-winning iTouch touch control unit, over 1,000 movies, programming and audio entertainment options, an iPort, USB port, remote data outlet, a custom designed culinary offering, plenty of storage space for personal items and more - all available in every seat across both cabin classes.

Of the airline's five Dreamliners already in service, they fly from Doha to a select few destinations including London Heathrow, Zurich, Frankfurt, Munich and Dubai with more 787 routes expected to be announced over the next few weeks.

As the 787 Middle East launch customer, Qatar Airways' first unveiled its Dreamliner at the world's largest aviation event, Farnborough Air Show in Hampshire, UK in July last year.

Organised by the Salon International de l'Aeronautique et de l'Espace (SIAE), Paris Air Show brings together industry leaders from across the aviation, aerospace, travel and corporate sectors.

The show is also open to members of the public, as more than 2,000 exhibitors from over 40 countries display their products and services.

Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 125 aircraft to 128 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas.

Qatar Airways has so far this year launched six destinations - Gassim (Saudi Arabia), Najaf (Iraq), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Chicago (USA), Salalah (Oman) and Basra (Iraq).

Over the next few weeks and months, the network will grow further with Sulaymaniyah, Iraq (August 20), Chengdu, China (September 3), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (September 18), Clark International Airport, Philippines (October 28) and Philadelphia, USA (2 April 2014).