First Qatar A350 flight to Frankfurt

Qatar Airways performed the inaugural flight with the Airbus A350 XWB from Doha to Frankfurt on 15 January. The Qatar Airways A350 will be flying daily on the DOH-FRA route with 283 seats (36 business and 247 economy class) on board.

Air Europa orders Boeing 787-9

Air Europa has placed an order for 14 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The order was already booked in December 2014 and was previously attributed to an unidentified customer on the Boeing Orders & Deliveries website.

First 242 tonne A330 flies

Airbus has flown the first 242 tonne Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) variant of the A330-300 for the first time on Monday 12 January. The maiden flight, departing from Toulouse Blagnac Airport, lasted 3 hours and 30 minutes.

Qatar finalises repeat-order for 777F

Qatar Airways has finalised a firm order for four Boeing 777F Freighters. The airline also has purchase rights for four additional airplanes.

Qatar Airways announced the intent to order the four 777s at the 2014 Farnborough Airshow. Qatar already operates seven 777 Freighters.

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Air New Zealand orders extra 787s

Air New Zealand has ordered two additional Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The order, booked in 2014, comes six months after Air New Zealand celebrated the first 787-9 delivery in July.

The order will increase the airline's fleet to a total of 12 787-9s, which will operate alongside 15 777-200ERs (Extended Range) and 777-300ERs. Air New Zealand is the launch customer of the 787-9 and currently operates three of the aircraft in its fleet.

To date, 58 customers around the world have ordered 1,071 787s.

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First Boeing 787 for Royal Air Maroc

Boeing has delivered the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Royal Air Maroc. The airline will be the first carrier in the Mediterranean region to operate the 787.

The airplane, a 787-8, was deliverd to the airline on 31 December and arrived in Casablanca during the last weekend. Royal Air Maroc's current fleet comprises nearly 50 Boeing airplanes, including 767-300 and 747-400 widebodies.

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Etihad receives first Boeing 787-9

Boeing has delivered Etihad Airways' first 787-9 Dreamliner sporting the airline's new "Facets of Abu Dhabi" livery which was revealed earlier this year.

The airplane is the first of the 71 Dreamliners that the national airline of the United Arab Emirates has on order which includes 41 787-9s and 30 787-10s. Etihad Airways will also be the first airline in the Middle East to operate the 787-9.

The aircraft will be first used on routes to cities such as Dusseldorf, Washington D.C., Mumbai, Brisbane and Moscow.

The colours are reminiscent of the desert landscape, inspired by the culture, Islamic design and architecture motifs of the United Arab Emirates.

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