Qatar Airways takes delivery of third Boeing 777 Qatar Airways has just taken delivery of its third Boeing 777-300ER (Extended Range), as the airline continues with its plan of adding one aircraft a month to its fleet. The latest Boeing, flown in by Qatar Airways flight crew from the manufacturer's base in Seattle (Washington), is currently being deployed on regional routes and to Mumbai. At a later stage, the new aircraft will be flying long-haul routes. An airline official said: "Right now we are using them on regional routes as it allows passengers in the region as well become familiar with the aircraft. After all, the Boeing 777 is huge – both impressive outside and inside." From October 26, the airline will be operating flights daily to New York, using the 777ERs, which will mean a massive three hours flying will be saved from the earlier 17 hours. The airline right now actually operates to New York using Newark in New Jersey as its gateway airport. The flight now operates via Geneva and that halt will be dispensed with. Due to passenger demand, the airline will now be flying into JFK, the Big Apple's premier airport, allowing passengers to arrive in the city proper itself. However, Geneva is not being neglected as now Qatar Airways will turn Doha-Geneva into a dedicated route utilising Airbus A330 aircraft. Next year, as more aircraft come on board, frequencies to Geneva will be increased from the present four-times-a-week as will also be the case with Zurich. There is a possibility of the airline flying into Tokyo's Narita Airport, for which the 777s could be used or even the Airbus A340. Officials, however, refuse to confirm or deny any plans of flying to Tokyo for the time being. The 777-300ERs offer a 78-inch Business Class seat pitch in a 2-2-2 configuration and up to a 34-inch pitch in the Economy section. The airline is also highlighting the next generation in-flight entertainment system - the Panasonic eX2 - with more than 700 individual and video entertainment options, enough to keep even the most jaded flyer occupied. The eX2 allows passengers to choose their entertainment options either through touch screen seat back monitors or browse channels using handsets installed in each seat. The system has a unique onscreen user interface allowing passengers to navigate in any one of eight languages. The Pen

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