Qatar Airways Plans to Launch Boeing 737 MAX 8 Commercial Flights on May 15th

Qatar Airways is scheduled to operate its first commercial flight using a Boeing 737 MAX 8 on May 15th, according to its filing with OAG and Cirium.

The airline plans to use the aircraft to fly to Abu Dhabi, Dammam, and Kuwait from May 15th until the end of the month. The carrier currently has one MAX aircraft with 176 seats, eight in business and 168 in economy. It was meant to join S7 Airlines’ fleet, but Russian sanctions prevented this from happening.

The airline has scheduled MAX flights on May 15th, 16th, 23rd, 24th, 29th, and 30th, and has provisionally planned 16 flights. There may be a schedule misfile or a second aircraft, possibly A7-BSI, due soon. Notably, there are 35-minute turnarounds at Doha, which may lead to changes in the MAX 8 plan.

Qatar Airways has a total of 7,148 departing passenger flights from Doha Hamad hub in May, with a quarter of those being narrowbodies such as the A320ceos and 737 MAX 8.

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