QATAR: Qatar Airways Ends A330 ops; seconds flight crew to RwandAir
DOHA, Qatar
- Qatar Airways has retired its last Airbus A330 passenger jets.
- The carrier seconded some A330 pilots to RwandAir.
- Prolonged Iran war doubled jet fuel prices and ended post-COVID demand for older wide-bodies.
- Qatar Airways acquired wide-body A330s from Oman Air last year but never placed them in commercial service.
- One of the A330s moved to RwandAir earlier this year - A330-200 (MSN 1049 ¦ 9XR-WS), formerly A4O-DC with OmanAir and slated to have bee A7-ACV with Qatar Airways but never taken up, having entered the Rwandan carrier's fleet in July this year. The Qatari carrier operated twenty-nine A330-200s and sixteen -300s. Ten of the last -300s have been stored since the first quarter of this year alongside the last three -200s.
- Qatar Airways pilots, some grounded since the war began, started secondments at RwandAir.
- Qatar Airways operates 239 passenger jets and 30 freighters. Its widebody fleet now consists of thirty-four A350-900s and thirty -1000s, eight A380-800s, six 777-200s, fifty-seven 777-300ERs, thirty-two 787-8s and twenty-nine 787-9s.
- Qatar Airways plans to receive 138 new aircraft over the next five years.
- Remaining leased A330s remain parked in Teruel, Spain, or Doha.
- Two A330s leased from Jetran will return to the lessor in October.
- Qatar Airways plans six aircraft exits and 19 deliveries between September 2026 and end-2027.
- Qatar Airways holds orders for 410 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus.
- RwandAir received the first of five expected A330s in August. Its fleet currently consists of three A330-200s and one -300. The Central African carrier has an interline partnership with Qatar Airways. The Gulf carrier has long been linked to a 49% stake in RwandAir though to date, no firm commitment has been made.
Sources:
Comments ()