Boeing’s gigantic 787 Dreamliner to launch service in Prague

Boeing 787 Dreamliner, photo: ČTK/PR/Qatar Airways

Boeing’s gigantic 787 Dreamliner is set to launch regular service from Václav Havel Airport Prague. The Dreamliner, which has a capacity for 254 passengers, will be deployed by Qatari Airways on the route from Prague to Doha as of October 28, Prague’s Václav Havel Airport informed in a press release on Monday.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner,  photo: ČTK/PR/Qatar Airways
The introduction of the giant 737 Dreamliner on the daily afternoon flight to the Qatari capital Doha is expected increase the overall capacity by about 46 percent. The morning flight from Prague will continue with an Airbus A320 with a capacity for 132 passengers. Both aircraft will offer passengers economy and business class.

“Qatar Airways will become the first operator of this type of aircraft on regular daily routes from Prague. The larger aircraft will also increase the capacity on the route by almost half, which means that even more Czech passengers will be able to use the convenient air link not just in the Middle East but also to further destinations in Asia and Australia,” Václav Řehoř, chairman of the board of directors of Prague Airport, said in a press release.

A direct link between Prague and Doha was launched in August last year and the operation was increased to two daily flights in December. After the introduction of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, both lines together are expected to carry about 75,000 passengers a year in both directions. According to the spokesman of Prague Airport, Roman Pacvoň, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is one of the most state-of-the-art airplanes in the world.

Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner was introduced in 2009 and first came into service in 2011. Manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, it is the first airliner with an airframe constructed primarily of lightweight composite materials and was deigned to cut fuel costs by 20 percent.

In the first half of 2018, Václav Havel Airport Prague has cleared a total of 7,463,975 passengers, which represents a ten percent increase in annual terms. The total number of passengers handled by the airport in 2018 should approach a new record high of 17 million.