Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad International) has taken delivery of its first B747 freighter - a B747-400BCF - subsequently deploying the aircraft on flights to Hong Kong International and Beijing Capital as of this month.

“A dedicated charter aircraft will enable Qatar Airways Cargo to satisfy growing demand from our customers for capacity in the ad-hoc charter market," Qatar Airways Chief Officer Cargo, Ulrich Ogiermann said. "The addition of the B747 freighter will enable further flexibility by supplementing our existing scheduled services as and when required.”

It is to be recalled that the aircraft - TC-ACH (msn 24998) wet-leased from myCargo Airlines (Istanbul Atatürk) - will be replaced with a nose-loading B747-400(F) in October this year.

The Qatari carrier also operates six A330-200Fs and eight B777-Fs on flights across the globe.