The livery of the first Qatar Airways Boeing 737 MAX was observed on social media. when the aircraft was returning from the paint shop at Portland International Airport (PDX), in the United States. On April 2, 2023, the A7-BSC-registered aircraft, complete with Qatar Airways livery, made its way back from Portland to Everett Paine Field (PAE). The same 737 MAX had previously been observed at PDX wearing S7 Airlines livery, with the exception of the rudder and winglets, and was then temporarily registered as N5573K.
According to information from planespotters.net, the aircraft with the Manufacturer Serial Number (MSN) 43329 made its first flight on December 10, 2021. In total, nine S7 Airlines Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that were Not Taken Up (NTU) will soon join Qatar Airways’ fleet. One aircraft is shown to be owned by AerCap, and eight are shown to be owned by the aircraft lessor Air Leasing Corporation (ALC).
.@qatarairways 737-8 A7-BSC landing at KPAE after painting at Portland earlier today as BOE209. 43329/8134 S7-NTU. pic.twitter.com/OLWyGlFh61
— BFI Watch (@bfi_watch_ca350) April 2, 2023
Qatar Airways spokesperson confirmed that the Qatari airline will “add a small number of B737-8 MAX aircraft to its fleet in the coming months as it aims to add capacity to help drive future growth, especially in short-haul markets”. According to Boeing’s Orders & Deliveries data as of February 28, 2023, Qatar Airlines has placed two different 737 MAX orders. In December 2016, the carrier placed an order for six of the type, and in July 2022, it reached an agreement with the manufacturer for 25 737 MAXs.
Qatar Airlines bought 25 737 MAX-10 aircraft, according to a news release from Boeing from July 2022. The 737 MAX-10 has not yet received US aviation certification.