Qatar’s Dubai A330-200F Order

This past week’s Dubai Air Show revealed many passenger orders – primarily for the Boeing 777-X – but the big news in terms of freighters was Qatar’s commitment to purchase five Airbus A330-200Fs, with options for eight more – a deal worth about $2.8Bn US.

In the past year, Qatar Cargo has taken delivery of a trio of A330-200Fs leased from BOC Aviation. These aircraft were direct replacements for the carrier’s older A300-600Fs, which have been phased out. These new aircraft will serve purely for expansion – the carrier’s rapidly growing network now encompasses more than 40 freighter routes, and that number will likely climb.

Appropriately, this A330-200F was on static display at the show, complete with a variety of Mercedes cars on the loader at various points (including this AMG E63).

Qatar also currently flies five Boeing 777Fs, with three more on order.

Photo: © Airbus SAS.