Qatar Airways Operates Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Heathrow

London, December 13 (QNA) -The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the world's most advanced airliner, touched down in London on Thursday on its first maiden long-haul commercial flight to the capital. Qatar Airways used one of its three 787s to make the seven-hour journey from Doha, Qatar s capital, to Heathrow. Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker led an official delegation aboard the maiden flight from Doha and which included key figures including HE the UK ambassador to Qatar Michael Angus O Neill. Al Baker said with launching of the first Boeing 787 flights on the London Heathrow, Qatar Airways strengthens its national position on the world map as an airline committed to expand and develop its services, stressing meantime that this line represents one of the most important lines within the global network. Earlier Wednesday, Qatar Airways on Wednesday announced it is set to be the world's first airline to operate scheduled Boeing 787 daily flights to and from Australia early next year, on first of February. Qatar Airways' first long-haul Boeing 787 Australian commercial service will begin operations on 1 February 2013, connecting passengers from Berth to Doha and onwards to many destinations including London Heathrow which this week will have a 787 on the route. Qatar Airways has now three Dreamliners out of the 60 Dreamliners on order in its fleet. It has firm orders for 30 and options on a further 30. In doing so it gave passengers their first chance to test the biggest claims Boeing makes for the way it has improved passenger comfort. Undoubtedly the cabin atmosphere was a major factor, but the general airiness also helped. A high ceiling despite appreciably larger overhead stowage bins subtle lighting and windows 30 per cent larger than on the 767 make the Dreamliner feel positively cavernous. All this is made possible by Boeing s use of composite materials. Fifty per cent of the airframe, including the wings, is made of what has been patronizingly and inaccurately called plastic. Lighter and stronger, it is cheaper to maintain and, thanks in large measure to a new generation of engines developed by Rolls-Royce and General Electric, contributes to 20 per cent better fuel consumption and less CO2 emissions than older aircraft of similar size. (QNA)