Iraqi Airways has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787-8 aircraft, with the manufacturer sharing a video of the aircraft being painted prior to delivery.
The aircraft, registered as YI-ATC, departed Charleston International Airport (CHS), South Carolina, United States, on June 22, 2023, at 5:48 PM local time (UTC -4). It is scheduled to arrive at Baghdad International Airport (BGW), Iraq at 1:36 PM local time (UTC +3), according to flightradar24.com data.
Boeing has stated that the Iraqi airline is set to take delivery of nine more 787s, including one 787-9, the larger variant of the aircraft family.
Iraqi Airways initially showcased the aircraft and its livery in March 2023. At that time, the airline said that all technical aspects were completed, with the next step being “to send Boeing a notification to Iraqi Airways to schedule the official pick-up flight”.
The orders for the 10 Boeing 787s date as far back as December 2009, the manufacturer’s Orders & Deliveries data shows. Iraqi Airways also ordered 16 737 MAXs in October 2017, with Boeing already having delivered four aircraft of the type to the airline, according to ch-aviation.com data. However, out of the 12 remaining 737 MAX aircraft, 10 are the 737 MAX-10, which is not yet certified by the United States (US) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Boeing is hopeful that the 737 MAX-10 will be certified in 2024.
In addition to the freshly delivered 787-8 and four 737 MAXs, Iraqi Airways has one Boeing 737-700, 14 737-800, two 747-400s, and one 777-200LR. It also operates Airbus aircraft, namely four A220s, three A320s, two A321s, and one A330-200, as well as six Mitsubishi CRJ900LR regional jets.
However, the four Airbus A220 aircraft are currently inactive, as issues with the aircraft‘s PW1500G engines resulted in Iraqi authorities, namely the Iraq Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA), handing out an order to the airline to halt operating the narrow-body jet in May 2023.