Qatar Airways Will Take Boeing 737 MAX 8s Ordered By Russia's S7

Qatar Airways Will Take Boeing 737 MAX 8s Ordered By Russia's S7

With Qatar Airways set to deploy the Boeing 737 MAX 8 for its short-haul operations, the carrier's new Boeing narrowbodies will apparently be coming indirectly from an order placed by Russian airline S7. Fleet data reveals that at least nine MAX 8s destined for the Oneworld Alliance member were initially ordered by S7 but have now been made undeliverable due to sanctions prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Ordered by S7

According to Planespotters.net, at least nine Boeing 737 MAX 8s are due to go to Qatar Airways. The registrations (and former registrations) for these aircraft are as follows:

• A7-BSA (ex VP-BXE)
• A7-BSB (ex VP-BXI)
• A7-BSC (ex VP-BXJ)
• A7-BSD (ex VP-BXK)
• A7-BSE (ex registration unknown)
• A7-BSF (ex VP-BXF)
• A7-BSG (ex VP-BXM)
• A7-BSH (ex VP-BXG)
• A7-BSI (ex VP-BXH)

Examining data from ch-aviation.com, S7's 737 MAX jets came from a 2012 order placed by Air Lease Corporation. The Russian carrier's first 737 MAX was delivered in 2018, although the 737 MAX crisis put an end to 737 MAX operations and deliveries to Russia. Throughout the pandemic, the country's regulators dragged their heels in re-certifying the type for service after the global grounding, even though other major regulators had cleared the MAX to resume passenger operations. The FAA was among the first, clearing the type in November 2020.

The “mysterious” Qatar MAX -8 has been confirmed to be LN 8209 S7-NTU. Filed for Portland for full repaint today following a functional check flight. Test reg N1780B. https://t.co/uRZXXM3MsY https://t.co/GoKpKArjgD pic.twitter.com/5CyfCfYTFD

— BFI Watch (@bfi_watch_ca350) February 4, 2023

While Russian New Agency TASS would report that MAX recertification was "in progress" as of early February 2022, the government's decision to invade Ukraine, and the sanctions that followed, would kill any hope of the type returning to Russian skies.

Qatar's back-and-forth with the 737 MAX

Qatar Airways has had an interesting and unconventional relationship when it comes to the Boeing 737 MAX. The airline placed an order for the type years ago, with the jets destined to serve with Air Italy - an airline that Qatar Airways had a 49% stake in. The Italian carrier would ultimately cease operations but Qatar Airways stated that the 737s from the airline would not make their way into its own Doha-based flights.

Amid an increasingly tense legal battle with Airbus and the cancelation of its A321neo order, Qatar Airways would turn to Boeing to fulfill its fleet modernization goals. The airline placed a massive order for 737 MAX 10s, while also going public as the launch customer for the 777X freighter. While the airline has since settled its dispute with Airbus and had all orders with the European planemaker restored, it has held on to its commitments with Boeing.

If we go with data from ch-aviation.com, the airline is still listed as expecting 25 737 MAX 10s from Boeing as well as its full, original A321neo order from Airbus. It's quite possible, however, that the airline has since adjusted its commitment with Boeing and swapped some 737 MAX 10s for some orphaned MAX 8s. With many of the airline's A320-200s now over a decade old, it would make sense that the MAX 8 is Qatar Airways' choice to replace the Airbus jets. Indeed, Airways Magazine reported that the airline had announced plans to introduce the Boeing jet on short-haul sectors.