Qatar Air to launch 787 to Heathrow on 13 Dec.

Qatar Airways on Tuesday announced its first long-haul Boeing 787 commercial service from Doha to London Heathrow will launch on December 13.

The 787 Dreamliner will debut on the Heathrow route as Doha-based Qatar Airways becomes the first airline to operate regular scheduled flights to the UK with Boeing’s next generation aircraft.

Initially, one of the airline’s five daily flights will be operated with the Boeing 787 – Flight QR 075, the airline said in a statement.

Seats on the 787 Doha – London flights are now available to book, it added.

Qatar Airways took delivery of the first of 60 Dreamliners earlier this month with the second arriving over the weekend.

Both aircraft are currently operating commercial flights on intra-Gulf routes to familiarise operating crew with the aeroplane before entering the long-haul market.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said the maiden long-haul 787 service to London had been in the pipeline for some time.

“We are delighted at last with today’s announcement that in just over two weeks’ time, the UK market will see its first 787 on a regular full commercial service when it flies into London Heathrow,” he said.

“Inaugurating our 787 on the London Heathrow route puts Qatar Airways firmly on the global aviation map as a carrier with a determination to continue its expansion drive and improve an already superior in-flight product.

“We have already received our second 787 with a further three to join our fleet by the end of the year. And we won’t stop there. With more 787s being inducted into the fleet next year, further route launches and our move to a brand new international airport in Doha during 2013, we continue to look forward to another year of exciting developments.”

Qatar Airways has 254 custom-made seats across its 787 Business and Economy Class cabins.

Since the beginning of 2012, Qatar Airways has launched flights to 11 new destinations – Baku (Azerbaijan); Tbilisi (Georgia); Kigali (Rwanda); Zagreb (Croatia), Erbil (Iraq), Baghdad (Iraq), Perth (Australia), Kilimanjaro (Tanzania); Yangon (Myanmar), Maputo (Mozambique) and Belgrade (Serbia).

Over the next few weeks and months, Qatar Airways will launch services to a diverse portfolio of new routes, including Warsaw, Poland (December 5), Gassim, Saudi Arabia (January 7); Najaf, Iraq (January 23); Phnom Penh, Cambodia (February 20); Chicago, USA (April 10); and Salalah, Oman (May 22).