After months and months of delays with their certification to operate in mainland China the very auspicious 8/8 saw two airlines take delivery of the type. Air China went first, departing the Airbus Delivery Center in Toulouse this morning with the first of ten A350-900s the carrier has on order.
Congratulations to @AirChina on becoming China mainland's first operator of the #A350 XWB. We are delighted that passengers are now able to experience the state of the art #AirspaceByAirbus cabin in the world's most modern widebody aircraft. https://t.co/VOnPsrv1mz pic.twitter.com/ZEphrPQXLk
— Airbus Newsroom (@AirbusPRESS) August 8, 2018
Powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, Air China’s A350-900 aircraft features a comfortable three-class cabin layout of 312 seats: 32 business, 24 premium economy and 256 economy.
Details of Air China first A350 interior. Three classes: biz, premium economy and economy. An upgrade from current fleet configuration. pic.twitter.com/H0z3tsUbaG
— ChinaAviationReview (@ChinaAvReview) August 8, 2018
The airline will initially operate the new aircraft on its domestic routes, followed by flights to international destinations.
Sichuan Airlines also took delivery of its first A350-900 today, just a few hours after Air China’s ceremony. Sichuan is an all-Airbus airline with a fleet 135 strong. It was the first A320 operator in Mainland China and the first to take an A320 delivery from the Tianjin final assembly line. The carrier agreed to lease four A350-900s from AerCap in 2016 (this is one of those aircraft) and earlier this year placed an order directly with Airbus for ten more.
Ready to fly the Panda Routes with #SichuanAirlines first #A350 XWB! We're very proud to be delivering this latest generation, fuel efficient widebody aircraft to the airline's all-Airbus fleet. https://t.co/fQ2qlz7M9U pic.twitter.com/hM87M2T1jc
— Airbus Newsroom (@AirbusPRESS) August 8, 2018
Sichuan Airlines’ A350-900 aircraft features a comfortable two-class cabin layout of 331 seats: 28 business, and 303 economy. The airline will initially operate the new aircraft on its domestic routes, followed by its international “Panda Routes”.
Also, the special livery that Sichuan Airways chose for its first A350 is spectacular and is shown off nicely in this “making of” video.
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On the political front the approval by the CAAC of the A350 is a long awaited milestone for Airbus and the airlines. Delays in the that certification were long considered to be more political than technical and eventually State meetings in China with French President Emanuel Macron helped clear some of the challenges away. Brief additional delivery delays were marketing-related, allowing the carriers to take delivery on the double eight date; the number 8 is considered lucky in China owing to its similarity in pronunciation to the word for prosperity.
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