Qatar Airways Takes Delivery of First 737 MAX

Qatar Airways has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The 737 MAX 8 aircraft registered A7-BSC departed Boeing's Everett Paine Field on April 13th, bound for Reykjavik Keflavik International Airport (KEF) before continuing to Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH).

The aircraft has a capacity of 176 seats, with 8 seats in business class and 168 seats in economy class. The incoming MAX aircraft will replace Qatar's aging A320-200 fleet and be utilized on short-haul international flights. 

The 737 MAX 8 was originally scheduled for delivery to Russian carrier S7 Airlines. However, Russian authorities have not recertified the MAX along with sanctions imposed on Russia; the airline could not deliver the aircraft. This allowed Qatar Airways to pick up these nine MAX aircraft. Qatar Airways will be leasing all of these additional jets, as eight are owned by Air Lease Corporation, and AerCap owns one. The aircraft took its first flight on December 10th, 2021, and then was put in storage before undergoing test flights between February and April 2023.

The Qatari flag carrier will now take delivery of an additional eight 737 MAX aircraft. All nine of the additional 737 MAX 8s came from an order placed by S7 Airlines. Qatar Airways ordered 30 737 MAX aircraft, including an order in December 2016 for five 737 MAX aircraft and an order in July 2022 for 25 737 MAX-10 jets. 

Although most of Qatar's fleet consists of long-haul aircraft, the airline's narrow-body fleet comprises 29 Airbus A320-200s. These A320s have an average age of 10 years, with the oldest aircraft being 13.5 years old. The airline has 75 narrow-body aircraft on order. In addition to the 30 737 MAX on order, Qatar has ordered 50 Airbus A321neos, which will be delivered in 2026. These 50 aircraft were originally going to be delivered to Qatar beginning in 2023, but because of a dispute between the airline and Airbus, the airline lost its delivery slots.

These 737 MAX aircraft will help Qatar Airways phase out its A320 as it modernizes its fleet. Qatar operates its A320s to destinations across Asia, Europe, and Africa.