The following photo on the Boeing 747 Wikipedia article reads:
Qatar Airways 747SR-81 landing at London Gatwick Airport in 1996.
How did the 747SR manage this flight [on a regular basis]? The only range information I can find for the SR (short range) is from ANA's fleet history, which puts it at 2,590 km. The -SR also had "a 20 percent reduction in fuel capacity."
(gcmap.com) Range of the 747SR plotted from Doha and Cairo.
Out of the ~520 seats, how many seats were empty to make the trip, or were there stops on the way? I thought maybe a Doha-Cairo-London route, but that falls short as well.
This airplane was also seen as far as Bangkok. These probably are not rare trips, i.e., the destinations are likely to have been regularly served.