Emirates has finally taken delivery of the first of 65 brand-new Airbus A350-900, forming part of a major fleet renewal program that will see the next-generation planes one day replace the Dubai-based carrier’s much-loved flagship aircraft, the A380 Superjumbo.
The airline had been hoping to have the keys to the aircraft (registration: A6-EXA) months ago, with the original plan for the A350 to start commercial scheduled services in September.
Supply chain issues and manufacturing snags have, however, delayed the first delivery several times. On Monday, Emirates was finally able to send a delegation to the Airbus delivery center in Toulouse, France, where the first plane was handed over in a formal ceremony ahead of a ferry flight to Dubai.
Once it arrives in Dubai, the aircraft is set to go straight to the Emirates engineering hangar, where it will get some finishing touches before it is officially unveiled to the media on Wednesday.
The aircraft will then start crew familiarization and certification flights before it enters commercial service in January 2025.
Emirates had originally intended to debut the aircraft on services to Kuwait City, as well as Mumbai and Ahmedabad, but the first destination served by the A350 will now be Edinburgh.
The airline has kept details of what the passenger experience will look like on the A350 under close wraps, although we do know that the aircraft will be a three-class configuration with Business, Premium Economy, and Economy.
For fleet commonality and passenger experience consistency reasons, the Business Class seats will likely be an updated version of the all-aisle access seats that feature on Emirates’ A380s and some upgraded Boeing 777s.
There is unlikely to be any change with the most recent iterations of Emirates’ Premium Economy and Economy seats, although the aircraft is set to feature a new and improved inflight entertainment system manufactured by Thales.
The aircraft will also have high-speed WiFi available delivered by Inmarsat’s Global Xpress satellite network, which promises “uninterrupted global connectivity” even over the North Pole.
The A350 also features the largest overhead bins in the industry, and mood lighting is designed to help reduce the effects of jet lag. Compared to Emirates’ fleet of Boeing 777s, customers should also notice that the A350’s humidity levels prevent their skin from drying out quite so quickly.
Emirates has a total of 65 A350-900s on order after Airbus won an additional order from the carrier during the Dubai Air Show last November. Airbus had been hoping to win an order for the larger A350-1000 model, but Emirates president Sir Tim Clark still has concerns over the plane’s Rolls-Royce XWB-97 jet engines.
