MD-83 Autopilot Failure Leads To Qatar Airways Airbus A350 Distancing
3 minute read Update: 25/04/21 @ 12:21 UTC – A statement from a Qatar Airways spokesperson has been added; details below.
On April 12th, Iran’s Caspian Airlines was flying one of its McDonnell Douglas MD-83 jets on a domestic route from Tehran to Kish when its autopilot malfunctioned. Meanwhile, a Qatar Airways Airbus A350-1000 was nearby its fellow Middle Eastern carrier’s aircraft and had to distance itself as a result of the conditions.
The Qatar Airways Airbus A350-1000 was heading to California when the incident occurred. Photo: Getty Images
Climbing aircraft
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In February 2020, Air Italy announced its liquidation and suspension of operations. At this time, it had amassed a sizeable enough fleet to become Italy’s second-largest airline behind flag carrier Alitalia. But what became of its aircraft after the airline folded?
Air Italy’s largest aircraft were its Airbus A330s. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
The fate of Air Italy’s A330s
In the aftermath of Air Italy’s liquidation announcement, Simple Flying considered what might happen to its planes. Now, more than a year on, and with the benefit of hindsight, we can answer this question conclusively. Let’s start with its largest aircraft, the Airbus A330.
Qatar Airways Operates First-ever Fully-vaccinated Flight msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Qatar Airways is one of the few major hub-and-spoke airlines with a diverse fleet, featuring both narrowbodies and widebodies. But did you know the carrier also operated two A319LRs in an all-business class configuration? These planes were used on popular routes for the carrier from its home in Doha. So what happened to these aircraft?
The A319 is one of the smallest aircraft in Airbus’ fleet, only larger than the A318 ‘baby bus’. Photo: Aldo Bidini via Wikimedia Commons
First customer
Qatar Airways was the launch customer for the Airbus A319LR, a long-range version of the popular A319 family. The carrier took delivery of two of these in February 2003 and December 2004, according to Planespotters.net. With a range of 4,500 nautical miles, this small aircraft could fly from Doha all the way to Singapore or London with ease.
MIAMI – Qatar Airways (QR) is set to drop its operational costs by around US$1.2bn, following the history Gulf reconciliation agreement. The airline’s flights have been reopened to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain airspace.
During the state television interview on Tuesday, Akbar al-Baker, the airline’s executive chairman said the reopening of airspace following the Gulf reconciliation, will have a positive impact on the company’s financial performance.
According to Akbar, Qatari flights will now take shorter routes. The national carrier will also need more time to return to the level of operations of 2019, before the pandemic.
Qatar Airways Cargo Boeing 777-FDZ.