Qatar Airways has taken delivery of the world’s first Airbus A350-1000 as the aircraft’s global launch customer before an audience of international media at the Airbus Delivery Centre in Toulouse, France. It is the first Airbus aircraft to be fitted with Qatar Airways’ new Business Class Qsuite.
Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive, Qatar Airways Group, said: “Qatar Airways always demands the very best for its customers, so it is right that we are the first airline in the world to take delivery of the very first Airbus A350-1000. This remarkable state-of-the-art aircraft will be the first of 42 to be flown on our expanding global route network. It will become a firm part of the Qatar Airways fleet, making us the biggest operator in the world of this aircraft type and maintain our status as flying one of the youngest fleets in the sky, with an average age of just five years.
“The Qatar Airways A350-1000 will keep us ahead of the curve and allows us to continue to offer our passengers the outstanding levels of comfort and style that they expect from Qatar Airways. At 23 feet longer than the A350-900, it will also enable us to increase substantially our capacity on the routes on which we operate it, offering 46 Business Class seats in our award-winning and revolutionary Qsuite, and 281 extra-wide 18-inch seats in Economy Class.
“Combine this with its cutting-edge lightweight carbon composite design, incredibly fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines, the additional revenue benefits generated by the A350’s lowest seat mile cost in its class, and its excellent reliability record, and you have an unbeatable aircraft on which we will offer our world-famous award-winning 5-star service.”
The A350-1000 will go into service on the Doha-London route this month. Qatar Airways operates six daily flights between Doha and London Heathrow Airport. The airline was also the global launch customer for the A350-900 in 2014, and now operates 21 in its fleet.
Compared to the A350-900, the A350-1000 features 44 extra seats, with a two-class cabin of 46 award-winning Qsuite Business Class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, featuring 80” fully flat beds and 22” HD in-flight entertainment screens. This will include 46 suites, with the middle suites able to convert to six double beds, and six quad suites. Economy Class will contain 281 seats, each 18” wide in a 3-3-3 configuration, with up to a 32” pitch. Each individual seat will feature an 11.6” in-flight entertainment screen, and extra space at shoulder level for passengers in window seats, thanks to the near vertical side wall panels.
The A350-1000 offers enhanced levels of passenger comfort, thanks to the lowest twin-engine noise level of any aircraft, advanced air conditioning technology, and full LED mood lighting.
