Qatar Airways have taken delivery of a new Airbus A350-900 from Toulouse. While not a groundbreaking announcement in itself, it marks the 250th aircraft to be added to the carrier’s fleet.

Qatar Airways are celebrating an important milestone with the delivery of their 250th aircraft for their fleet. Delivered yesterday, the Qatar Airways 250th aircraft in question was a shiny new A350-900, direct from Toulouse.

At only 22 years old, the growth of Qatar has been nothing short of exceptional. During that time, they have enjoyed numerous successes, including winning the Skytrax World Airline of the year on no less than four occasions. It has also snagged awards for Best Business Class Seat, Best Airline in the Middle East and World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge.

Group CEO, Akbar Al Baker, said,

“I am extremely proud that we have reached this historic landmark of having a fleet that now numbers 250 aircraft. The delivery of our newest Airbus A350-900 is a mark of the outstanding growth we have seen over the last two decades, and to our commitment to flying only the newest and most technologically advanced aircraft in the world.”

The Qatar Airways fleet

The new A350-900 joins what could be described as a state of the art lineup of aircraft for Qatar Airways. The average age of their fleet is less than five years, and is made up of 203 passenger jets, 22 Qatar executive jets and 25 cargo planes.

Qatar a350-900
Qatar were the original launch customer for the A350-900. Photo: Wikimedia

Qatar Airways were the launch customer of the A350-900 back in 2014 and became the world’s first airline to operate every single family of the modern Airbus portfolio. In 2016, they became the first airline in the world to fly the A350 family to three different continents. Last year, the airline was the launch customer for the new Airbus A350-1000.

The expansion of Qatar is undoubtedly going to continue, as the carrier eyes a purchase of a new airline this year. They continue to add new routes and hard products to their repertoire too. Although rumors are ongoing about their departure from the Oneworld alliance, we have a feeling that they’d do quite nicely on their own too.