A Boeing 737 Max 8 with tail painted in Qatar Airways colors was sighted by observant spotters at King County International Airport, which is used by Boeing as a factory airport. This is surprising because the golf carrier has not yet announced any orders for this Max variant.

The rudder of the affected Boeing 737-Max-8 is partially masked, but the characteristic design of Qatar Airways is clearly visible. Meanwhile, the inclusion of an observant spotter has led to extensive discussions in aviation circles. The Gulf carrier signed a letter of intent to purchase 25 Boeing 737 Max-10s in January last year, but later claimed in a court case it is facing with Airbus that the option has already expired.

Shortly thereafter, Qatar Airways announced at the Farnborourg Air Show that they had ordered 25 aircraft. At that time the talk was of the B737-Max-10 and not of the smaller Max-8 variant. So far, the golf carrier has not officially commented on the machine in question, because the official communication is "no comment". It is possible that orders have been taken over from airlines that have canceled their orders, or that Max-8 will be purchased from lessors. It is also noteworthy that according to Boeing there should be no direct order for this type of machine.