It was just over four years ago that Boeing announced that Qatar Airways had purchased a large order of jets. That order consisted of 787-9s, 777-300ERs, and the 737 MAX. While delivery of these jets has come a little later than originally scheduled, we now have a better idea of when and where they will be put into service.

Where Qatar Airways’ new 787-9 is flying

According to One Mile At A Time, the 787-9 has been listed on the Qatar Airways Cargo website as going into service today. It’s been noted that the 787-9s have been slated to operate flights to Kuwait, London, Mumbai, and Paris.

The flights out of Doha (DOH) are as follows:

• Kuwait (KWI): QR8382/8383

• London (LHR): QR8850/8851

• Mumbai (BOM): QR8303/8304

• Paris (CDG): QR8852/8853

However, it’s quite interesting to note that when entering all of these flight numbers into FlightRadar24.com, the 787-9 type doesn’t always show up. In fact, it’s only the Doha-Mumbai flight that shows the 787-9. All other flights are showing that they will be operated by the 777-300ER. This data will likely be updated closer to the time of the actual flights.

The Qatar 787-9 origin story

It’s been quite a journey getting Qatar Airways’ 787-9 into service. In late March, the airline finally took delivery of the longer Dreamliners. However, the jets first arrived in Doha all the way back in December 2019. The funny part is that they were immediately returned to Victorville in California to have their interiors fitted.

Having pushed delivery back from October, Qatar ‘officially’ took delivery in late 2019, with the four 787-9s arriving in Doha on Thursday, December 26th. Another three would take off and arrive on Saturday. However, before the Saturday contingent arrived, the Thursday four had already started flying back to Victorville, passing each other on route!

All seven eventually arrived back in Victorville, where they had their Qsuites and other components fitted.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The 4 Qatar Airways Dreamliners delivered yesterday from Seattle to Doha, are on the way back to Victorville in USA, probably for some cabin and/or IFE installation/upgrades.<a href="https://t.co/JAJYZX8xgM">https://t.co/JAJYZX8xgM</a><a href="https://t.co/wdRbaTmxSA">https://t.co/wdRbaTmxSA</a><a href="https://t.co/u8Ace6U3Zx">https://t.co/u8Ace6U3Zx</a><a href="https://t.co/VUpgvZysPs">https://t.co/VUpgvZysPs</a> <a href="https://t.co/11FYdwcYW7">pic.twitter.com/11FYdwcYW7</a></p>&mdash; Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) <a href="https://twitter.com/flightradar24/status/1210866700356337664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Qatar 787-9 QSuite

Onboard the carrier’s new 787-9s are the second-generation of QSuite. These appear to be almost the same as the original. A double suite and bed can still be created by lowering partitions.

Qatar Airways has ordered 30 787-9 jets.

However, the main difference is that, because of the width restriction of the 787-9, there is no longer the option for a central quad suite. Executive Traveller also reported that the height of the partitions and privacy doors had been reduced.

Already in Mumbai at the moment, the aircraft registered as A7-BHC on FlightRadar24.com only has its one outbound flight listed. The return flight to Doha isn’t even shown on the flight tracking website. 

According to FlightGlobal, the Boeing 787-9 has an internal cabin width of 5.49 meters. This compares with a fuselage width of 5.96 meters on the Airbus A350 and 5.86 meters on the Boeing 777, according to the respective manufacturers.

QSuite 2.0 offers a 20% reduction in weight over the first generation.