Qatar Airways was established on November 22, 1993. The airline started its operations on January 20, 1994, using a wet-leased Boeing 767-200ERfrom Kuwait Airways. It was originally owned privately by members of the royal family of Qatar. Then it was re-launched in 1997, under a new management team. Currently, the government of Qatar holds 50% stake in the airline with the rest held by private investors.
On March 24, 1997, Qatar Airways took possession of its first Airbus A300-600 aircraft on lease from AWAS in new Qatar Airways livery. On February 1, 1999, it took delivery of its first new Airbus A320 aircraft (A7-ABR) on lease from Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE).
In May 2002, the Government of Qatar withdrew from Gulf Air. At that time, fast-growing Qatar Airways had 21 aircraft.[5]
On May 10, 2003, Qatar Airways took delivery of its first Airbus A330-200 aircraft (A7-ACA). On January 11, 2004, at the Dubai Airshow, Qatar Airways placed orders for Airbus A380s and A340-600s.[6] Its first A340 was delivered on September 8, 2006.
On June 18, 2007, Qatar Airways became the launch customer for the Airbus A350 when it ordered 80 aircraft worth US$16 billion, at the Paris Air Show.[7] On June 27, 2007, Qatar Airways made its first flight to the United States when it began service to New York.[8]
On November 11, 2007, Qatar Airways ordered 60 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners and 32 Boeing 777s.[9] On November 29, 2007, the airline's first Boeing 777-300ER arrived at Doha.[10]
On February 3, 2009, the airline took delivery of its first Boeing 777-200LR.[11]
On June 15, 2009, at the Paris Air Show, Qatar Airways ordered 20 Airbus A320 and 4 Airbus A321 aircraft worth $1.9bn.[12]
On October 12, 2009, the company completed the world’s first commercial passenger flight powered by a fuel made from natural gas,[13] and on December 1, 2009, Qatar Airways' first scheduled flight to Australia arrived in Melbourne.
On May 18, 2010, the airline put its first Boeing 777F (A7-BFA) into service, with a flight from Doha to Amsterdam. The aircraft had been delivered on May 14, 2010.[14]
Qatar Airways is expanding. The airline has launched 22 new destinations since 2010, with nine more destinations announced: Ankara, Aleppo,Bangalore, Barcelona, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Hanoi, Montreal, Nice, Phuket, São Paulo, Shiraz, Kolkata, Medina, Oslo, Sofia, Stuttgart, Venice and Tokyo. Qatar Airways also expected to launch Baku, Tblisi, and Entebbe during 2011.[dated info] These new routes will bring the number of destinations Qatar Airways serves from 85 to 110 worldwide.[dated info]
In November 2011 at the Dubai Airshow, the airline announced an order of 55 Airbus planes: 50 A320neo and 5 A380, in addition to two Boeing 777 freighters.[15]
In October 2012, Qatar Airways revealed its new route destination to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.[16]
On October 8, 2012, Qatar Airways and Oneworld announced its intention the join the alliance.
On December 13, 2012, Qatar Airways began Boeing 787 Dreamliner service from Doha to London Heathrow.[17]
In February 2013, Qatar Airways launched its European Customer Service, which is located in Wrocław, Poland.
On November 17, 2013, the first day of the Dubai Airshow, Qatar Airways announced its intention to purchase 50 Boeing 777-9X.[18]