Qatar Airways has ordered two Boeing 747-8 Freighters, and added another four 777-300ERs to its orderbook.
The Oneworld carrier's chief executive Akbar Al Baker hinted during a 25 September press conference that the airline could potentially order a third 747-8F, citing strong demand in its cargo business.
"We've already sold the capacity of two 747-8Fs," says Al Baker, adding that the airline could perhaps order a third.
While Al Baker acknowledges that the airline has been negatively impacted by the ongoing blockade against Qatar, he says that the diplomatic rift "has quite the opposite impact" on the airline's cargo business, with cargo volumes more than doubling.
"We were the bridge during the blockade," says Al Baker. "These two additional 747 freighters is witness to our perseverance."
Qatar already operates 12 777Fs and has orders for another four of the type, Flight Fleets Analyzer shows. Prior to today's announcement, it held orders for nine 777-300ERs, 60 777Xs and 30 787-9s.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
