On 11 August, MIAT Mongolian Airlines, the flag carrier of Mongolia, has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787, a 787-9.

The aircraft, registered as EI-MGL, flew from Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK), China to Ulaanbaatar New International Airport (UBN), where it landed at 10:00 AM local time (UTC +8).  UBN is also known as Chinggis Khan International Airport.

This is the airline’s first Boeing 787, which joined its narrow-body fleet, consisting of a single Boeing 767-300ER.

Previously, the aircraft was registered as B-20AF and was operated by Suparna Airlines, which withdrew it from use in August 2022, storing it at Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), according to planespotters.net data. It was moved to HAK in May 2023, before it finally landed at UBN and was transferred to MIAT Mongolian Airlines.

Boeing delivered the aircraft to Suparna Airlines in July 2019.

On August 7, 2023, the airline announced that it and AerCap, an Ireland-based aircraft lessor, has signed an agreement for a long-term lease of two Boeing 787-9s. The second aircraft of the type should be delivered in Q1 2023.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines said that its initial routes using the 787-9 would be to Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Germany, Istanbul Airport (IST), Turkey, and Seoul Incheon International Airport (ICN), South Korea. There are also plans to use the aircraft to operate flights to the United States (US).

In early August 2023, Mongolia and the US signed an Open Skies agreement, which could open the doors to direct flights happening between the two countries starting 2024.