Air China takes delivery of its first A350-900
Above:
Air China takes delivery of its first Airbus A350-900.
The A350 took off from Airbus’ headquarters in Toulouse, France, and will land in Beijing, China, prior to entry into service later this month. The national flag carrier is the first Chinese mainland customer to order and take ownership of the world’s newest twin-engine widebody aircraft.
Powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, Air China’s A350-900 aircraft features a three-class cabin layout of 312 seats: 32 business, 24 premium economy and 256 economy. The airline will initially operate the new aircraft on its domestic routes, followed by flights to international destinations.
As of July 2018, Air China operates an Airbus fleet of 201 aircraft, including 142 A320 Family aircraft and 59 A330 Family aircraft.
To date, A350 Family firm orders from carriers in the Asia-Pacific region represent over a third of total sales for the type. Up to the end of July 2018, Airbus has recorded a total of 890 firm orders for the A350 XWB from 46 customers worldwide.
Paul Freestone, Rolls-Royce Senior Vice President – Customers, Civil Aerospace, who attended the ceremony, said: “We warmly congratulate both Air China and Airbus on the first A350 delivery to mainland China, which marks another new chapter in the A350 global success story. We are proud to deliver engines with industry-leading reliability, excellent fuel efficiency and environmental performance to a highly valued customer serving one of the world’s largest civil aviation markets.”
The Trent XWB is the fastest selling wide body jet engine ever, with over 1,700 ordered by 46 customers worldwide. It recently achieved two million flying hours and the 500th engine was delivered to Airbus.
