Qatar Air to launch first 787 to Perth in February

Qatar Airways said on Wednesday it will become the first airline to operate Boeing 787 flights to and from Australia early next year.

Just months after commencing flights to Perth, Qatar Airways, the first long-haul Boeing 787 Australian commercial service will begin operations on February 1, the airline said in a statement.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said: "Our Perth route was launched in July with three flights a week, but we stepped up capacity at the beginning of this month to daily and soon we will deploy our new 787 on the route which demonstrates the confidence we have in this relatively new market for us.

"From Perth, passengers are able to easily connect via Doha to more 80 destinations worldwide, including over 30 in Europe such as London Heathrow which from will this week will see Qatar Airways flying a 787 on one of its five daily flights.

"From February, we will be able to offer the UK and western Australian markets a single 787 product all the way giving our passengers a whole new long-haul experience on the world's newest aircraft.

He added that the 787 will be inaugurated on the London Heathrow route on Thursday.

Qatar Airways took delivery of the first of 60 Dreamliners last month with the third 787 joining Qatar Airways' fleet just days ago.

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

The airline has seen rapid growth in 15 years of operations, currently flying a fleet of 115 aircraft to 122 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas.

Over the next few weeks and months, Qatar Airways will launch services to a diverse portfolio of new routes, including Gassim, Saudi Arabia (January 7); Najaf, Iraq (January 23); Phnom Penh, Cambodia (February 20); Chengdu, China (March 19); Chicago, USA (April 10); and Salalah, Oman (May 22).