Qatar Airways is often regarded as one of the best and most successful airlines in the world. It currently flies to over 170 destinations worldwide via its hub in Doha (DOH) using a diverse fleet of aircraft. One of these aircraft is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, of which Qatar Airways operates two variants, the Boeing 787-8 and the Boeing 787-9. These aircraft have an important function within the airline’s fleet, offering flexibility in smaller markets.
The airline currently operates 23 Boeing 787-9 aircraft, and in this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at the role this aircraft plays in Qatar Airways’ fleet and network. For this, we dived into Cirium data to see Qatar Airways’ 10 longest regular Boeing 787-9 routes in 2025. Important to note is that Qatar Airways used the Boeing 787-9 dynamically with the Boeing 787-8, and a specific flight number might thus see a mixture of aircraft types depending on demand patterns. We excluded routes on which the aircraft is only used incidentally, with the threshold being a minimum of 30 flights, thus a full month per year.
The Longest Qatar Airways 787-9 Routes
The longest Qatar Airways flight operated by the Boeing 787-9 is between the airline’s hub in Doha and Johannesburg (JNB) in South Africa. This route covers 3,864 miles (6,218 kilometers) and is closely followed by the route between Doha and Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) at 3,729 miles (6,001 kilometers). The third-longest route frequently operated by the Boeing 787-9 is Doha to Dublin (DUB) in Ireland with a total distance of 3,527 miles (5,576 kilometers).
Other long routes exceeding 3,000 miles (4,828 kilometers) and frequently operated by the Boeing 787-9 include Doha to Edinburgh (EDI) in Scotland, Lagos (LOS) in Nigeria, Hanoi (HAN) in Vietnam, Manchester (MAN) in England, Madrid (MAD) in Spain, Bangkok (BKK) in Thailand, and London Gatwick (LGW) in England. Additional destinations with frequent Boeing 787-9 flights short of the top 10 but above 3,000 miles (4,828 kilometers) can mainly be found in Africa and Europe. In the table below, you can find a full overview of the top 10 longest Qatar Airways routes with the Boeing 787-9.
|
Origin* |
Destination* |
Distance |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
#1 |
Doha (DOH) |
Johannesburg (JNB) |
3,864 miles (6,218 kilometers) |
|
#2 |
Doha (DOH) |
Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) |
3,729 miles (6,001 kilometers) |
|
#3 |
Doha (DOH) |
Dublin (DUB) |
3,729 miles (5,576 kilometers) |
|
#4 |
Doha (DOH) |
Edinburgh (EDI) |
3,450 miles (5,552 kilometers) |
|
#5 |
Doha (DOH) |
Lagos (LOS) |
3,436 miles (5,529 kilometers) |
|
#6 |
Doha (DOH) |
Hanoi (HAN) |
3,435 miles (5,528 kilometers) |
|
#7 |
Doha (DOH) |
Manchester (MAN) |
3,365 miles (5,415 kilometers) |
|
#8 |
Doha (DOH) |
Madrid (MAD) |
3,317 miles (5,338 kilometers) |
|
#9 |
Doha (DOH) |
Bangkok (BKK) |
3,284 miles (5,285 kilometers) |
|
#10 |
Doha (DOH) |
London Gatwick (LGW) |
3,244 miles (5,220 kilometers) |
* The round-trip flight has a similar length.
As briefly mentioned before, Qatar Airways uses dynamic fleet management for its Boeing 787 fleet, which involves a continuous and adaptive strategy to increase operational efficiency and minimize costs. A reason this works for the Boeing 787 fleet is commonality in maintenance and crew training across all subtypes of the aircraft family. This fleet commonality significantly reduces costs through economies of scale and allows for flexibility in scheduling and demand planning. Dynamic fleet management is, for example, more complex between a Boeing 787-8 and an Airbus A350-900, as it is unlikely the pilot scheduled to operate the flight is certified to operate the other aircraft, in case of a last-minute disruption.
Qatar Airways And The Boeing 787 Dreamliner
The Boeing 787 composite fuselage and efficient engines make it one of the most economical aircraft currently on the market. This, combined with the aircraft’s long range of 7,565 nautical miles (14,010 kilometers) in the case of the Boeing 787-9, makes it a great fit for almost every long-haul fleet. In addition to this, the aircraft is loved by passengers, and on the Qatar Airways Boeing 787 fleet, passengers will find a consistent onboard product across all subtypes. The Qatar Airways Boeing 787-9 has a capacity of 311 passengers with 30 seats in business class and 281 in economy class.
Qatar Airways received its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner back in 2012, making it the first airline in the Middle East to operate the aircraft. Today, the airline operates 56 Boeing 787s, and the aircraft serves an important function within the airline’s fleet strategy. The airline primarily uses the aircraft for its efficiency on lower-demand medium- and long-haul routes, complementing the airline’s fleet of larger widebody aircraft.
As of writing, Qatar Airways operates 32 smaller Boeing 787-8s and 23 Boeing 787-9s. However, the importance of the Boeing 787 within Qatar Airways’ fleet is set to grow as the airline ordered over 130 Boeing 787 aircraft, and options for an additional 50 Boeing 787s or Boeing 777X aircraft earlier this year. This order also includes the larger Boeing 787-10, which will be a new addition to the Qatar Airways fleet, only increasing the flexibility of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet.
Where Qatar Airways Will Fly Its High-Capacity Airbus A380s This Winter
The aircraft offers some exceptional long-range capabilities.
A Look At The Qatar Airways Fleet In 2025
The Qatar Airways fleet comprises a wide variety of aircraft types with a heavy focus on widebody aircraft. As of writing, the airline is operating 226 passenger aircraft according to planespotters.net. Besides the B787, this includes both Airbus and 
Boeing aircraft, such as the A330, A350, B777, as well as the famous A380. And as mentioned earlier, Qatar Airways has hundreds of new planes on order, with a massive order of 160 new Boeing widebodies having been placed last May during President Trump’s visit to Qatar.
Besides this wide variety of widebody aircraft, Qatar Airways also has several narrowbody Airbus A320-200 aircraft in its fleet, which are currently being replaced by the Airbus A321neo family, of which the airline has ordered 50. As you would expect from Qatar Airways, these Airbus A320-200 aircraft have a premium heavy configuration, seating 12 passengers in a lie-flat business class and only 120 or 132 passengers in economy class. This narrowbody fleet is not necessarily used for short-haul, but rather on low-demand routes. In some cases, these aircraft are scheduled on routes exceeding the typical A330 route in length. Examples of routes flown by the Qatar Airways A320 include Sofia in Bulgaria, Zanzibar in Tanzania, and even as far west as Vienna in Austria. Contrary to the premium-heavy focus of the airline, Qatar Airways recently also announced it will add three high-density all-economy A321neos to its fleet, to cope with strong growth in economy demand in specific markets.
According to planespotters.net, the Qatar Airways fleet includes the following aircraft as of writing:
|
Aircraft |
# Active |
Average Age |
|---|---|---|
|
Airbus A320-200 |
27 |
13.4 years |
|
Airbus A321neo |
4 |
0.1 years |
|
Airbus A330-200 |
2 |
16.7 years |
|
Airbus A330-300 |
9 |
16.7 years |
|
Airbus A350-900 |
33 |
8.5 years |
|
Airbus A350-1000 |
27 |
5.3 years |
|
Airbus A380-800 |
8 |
9.9 years |
|
Boeing 777-200 |
6 |
15.8 years |
|
Boeing 777-300ER |
55 |
12.6 years |
|
Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner |
32 |
11.3 years |
|
Boeing 797-9 Dreamliner |
23 |
3.9 years |
Another development regarding the Qatar Airways fleet worth mentioning is the cancellation of the airline’s order for the Boeing 737 MAX 10. These aircraft had been previously ordered as a reaction to a noteworthy dispute the airline had with Airbus back in 2021 regarding the Airbus A350, when Qatar Airways sought $600 million in damages from Airbus. Back then, Airbus decided to cancel Qatar Airways’ outstanding order for the Airbus A321neo and A350, a unique move previously unheard of in the industry. Both these orders were reinstated after the dispute got settled in early 2023, which later resulted in the cancellation of the Boeing order to avoid the unnecessary operational complexity of a mixed fleet.
Keeping A380s, Ditching The 737 MAX? Qatar Airways’ Fleet In 2025
The last time we took a look at the fleet of Qatar Airways, the oneworld alliance carrier had JUST settled its legal ordeal with Airbus regarding surface degradation of its A350 fleet. To be more specific, Airbus announced on February 1st 2023 that the two organizations had reached an amicable settlement in the legal dispute while our video came out on March 4th.
A lot has changed since then – yes there have been some changes with the fleet, but the bigger change is the shakeup in management that took place later in 2023.
The Best Airline In The World
Although Qatar Airways is a sizable player on the global aviation market, the airline definitely doesn’t put quantity over quality. The airline is consistently considered among the best airlines in the world. In 2025, the airline even received the Skytrax “World’s Best Airline” award for an unprecedented 9th time. Besides this, Qatar Airways also received the “World’s Best Business Class” and “World’s Best Airline Business Class Lounge” awards.
Qatar Airways’ award-winning business class product, Qsuite, is built around three key pillars: privacy, flexibility, and consistency. Each seat offers sliding doors for maximum privacy, a full lie-flat experience with comfortable bedding, and 4K in-flight entertainment (IFE) screens. For couples, there is the flexibility to convert seats into a double bed, and for passengers traveling as a group, there is even the possibility to turn four adjacent seats into a quad to be able to dine or work together. In terms of soft products, the airline provides passengers with a dine-on-demand menu with world-class curated menus. Unfortunately, the Qsuites are not available on all Qatar Airways aircraft, being primarily available on the Boeing 777 and Airbus A350. The Boeing 787-9, unfortunately, does not have the Qsuite installed, but still offers a competitive premium product to passengers.
Besides the airline’s onboard experience, a flight with Qatar Airways is also a guarantee for an award-winning airport experience. Doha’s Hammad International Airport is considered to be one of the best airports in the world, having won multiple Skytrax awards such as “Best Airport in the Middle East” for 11 consecutive years, “World’s Best Airport Shopping”, and previously “World’s Best Airport”. So wherever you are flying on Qatar Airways, and whether on the Boeing 787-9 or not, a world-renowned passenger experience is a guarantee.
