Qatar Airways begins participation in Farnborough International Airshow with a bang

Qatar Airways stole the limelight on the first day of the Farnborough International Airshow 2018 by displaying six of its most advanced aircrafts — including the Airbus A350-1000 and the Boeing 777-300ER — both of which feature the airline’s award-winning Business Class seat, Qsuite. 

The airshow kicked off with Qatar Airways committing to purchase five new CAE 7000XR Series full-flight simulators and two CAE 500XR Series flight training devices for the Boeing 777X and the 737 MAX from the global leader in training  CAE, reported Gulf Times. 

A purchase agreement signing ceremony between Boeing and Qatar Airways, finalising the airline’s order for five 777 Freighters, also took place. The deal, valued at $1.7bn at current list prices, was announced as a commitment in April. 

The announcement was attended by Qatar's Minister of Finance and Qatar Airways Chairman, HE Ali Shareef Al Emadi.  

“I’m delighted to be further enhancing our cargo fleet and adding five Boeing 777 Freighter aircraft,” said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker.

“In the past 15 years, Qatar Airways Cargo has grown steadily and globally, becoming the third largest in the world. We couldn’t have achieved this success without our resilient relationship with Boeing,” he was quoted as saying by The Peninsula.

Meanwhile, Qatar Executive, the private jet charter division of Qatar Airways Group, proudly unveiled its brand-new executive jet — the Gulfstream G500, reported Qatar Tribune.

The G500 jet will be one of the fastest and most technologically advanced aircraft in the Qatar Executive fleet when it enters service later this year.

The all-new G500 aircraft will officially join Qatar Executive's fleet by the end of this year, and will mark the beginning of an agreement that was initiated in October 2014, between Qatar Airways and Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.

The G500 is powered by the next generation Pratt & Whitney Canada PW800 engines, optimised for high-altitude, fast and long-range jets. 

In addition to being one of the quietest and most efficient jets in the industry, the aircraft's remarkable range makes it capable of travelling non-stop from Istanbul to Cape Town; Los Angeles to London; and San Francisco to Tokyo.