Mongolian flag-carrier MIAT is to deploy its first Boeing 787 initially on services to Asia and Europe, as it prepares to put the twinjet on US routes. The airline is expecting shortly to take delivery of a 787-9, one of a pair being leased from AerCap under an agreement reached in May. MIAT says the aircraft will be configured with 292 seats in a three-class cabin.

This will include 30 business-class seats, 36 premium-economy seats, and 226 in the economy section. MIAT states that it will start flying the 787 to Frankfurt, Istanbul and Seoul before introducing it to US services. Mongolia’s government recently signed an ‘open skies’ air transport pact with the USA, during a state visit, after details were finalised at the beginning of the year.

MIAT is to take a second 787-9 in the first quarter of 2024.