Qatar Airways to introduce 787 on Doha-Perth service
Qatar Airways plans to introduce Boeing 787 aircraft on daily Doha-Perth service from 01-Feb-2013, with this becoming the airline's second long-haul 787 route (Arabian Business/Arabian Aerospace, 12-Dec-2012). It will also mark the first 787 service to/from Australia. The carrier launched three times weekly service to Perth in Jul-2012, increasing frequency to daily at the beginning of Dec-2012. Qatar took delivery of its first 787 last month, and now has three 787 aircraft in its fleet. The carrier will launch Doha-London Heathrow service on 13-Dec-2012. Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said: "Our Perth route was launched in July with three flights a week, but we stepped up capacity at the beginning of this month to daily and soon we will deploy our new 787 on the route which demonstrates the confidence we have in this relatively new market for us.... From February, we will be able to offer the UK and western Australian markets a single 787 product all the way giving our passengers a whole new long-haul experience on the world's newest aircraft."