The long-awaited debut of Emirates’ Airbus A350-900 was completed on January 3rd when the aircraft, registration A6-EXA, touched down at Edinburgh Airport, Scotland, after departing from Dubai almost eight hours earlier.
The next-generation widebody is the first addition to Emirates’ fleet in many years. Until now, the Middle Eastern carrier had relied solely on the Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 to serve its many destinations around the world.
Configured with 312 seats (32 in Business Class, 21 in Premium Economy and 259 in Economy), the A350 now offers passengers a more comfortable and technologically advanced cabin.
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The debut, however, was supposed to take place last August, but delays in the production of the first A350 caused Airbus to postpone its delivery.
Emirates has 65 A350-900s on order and has so far received only two of them. The second jet, registration A6-EXB, was delivered by Airbus on December 31 and was operating local flights in Dubai in preparation for taking over revenue routes.
In addition to being more comfortable, the A350s burn less fuel than the Boeing 777s, which they will replace on several routes. Emirates plans to introduce the new Airbus on flights to Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kuwait, Bahrain, Colombo, Lyon, Muscat, and Bologna in the coming months.
“This marks a pivotal moment in Emirates’ journey as we introduce the A350 into service. Our first Airbus A350 making its maiden journey to Edinburgh also underscores the strategic importance of the UK within our global network,” said Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer.
