Emirates takes delivery of its first Airbus A350 aircraft

Emirates has taken delivery of its first Airbus A350 aircraft. It is after 16 years that the airline has taken delivery of a new aircraft type, the last one being Airbus A380 in 2008.

Emirates’ first A350 delivered

Emirates’ first A350, registered A6-EXA, has officially been delivered to the airline. The airline officially unveiled the aircraft at an event in Dubai.

The event, led by Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline in the presence of His Excellency Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy,  was attended by VIP guests, aerospace partners, government officials and dignitaries, members of the media, as well as aviation enthusiasts.

A6-EXA is the first of 65 A350s the airline has ordered.

Today is an exciting milestone for Emirates as we showcase our first A350 and usher in a new era for our fleet and network growth. This aircraft sets the stage for Emirates to spread its wings farther by offering added range, efficiency and flexibility to our network, enabling us to meet customer demand in new markets and unlock new opportunities in the cities that we serve. Onboard, our updated interiors and seating configurations will help us deliver a more elevated and comfortable experience to travellers across every cabin class. The 65 Emirates A350s joining our fleet in the coming years fit into the airline’s broader plans to support our visionary leadership’s Dubai’s D33 Strategy, which will transform the city into a pivotal hub in the global economy by expanding its connectivity and reach.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group said.

Details

Emirates A350 features a total of 312 seats – 32 lie-flat seats in Business Class, 21 Premium Economy seats and 259 standard Economy Class seats. All the seats are similar to what Emirates has been offering on its recently retrofitted aircraft.

Business Class on the Emirates A350 features 32 luxurious leather ‘S Lounge seats’, inspired by the Mercedes S Class, in a 1-2-1 configuration. The A350 aircraft will feature brand new additions of wireless charging on the side cocktail table in Business Class, and in-seat lighting controls with 5 streams of light.

All 65 incoming Emirates A350s will feature Premium Economy Class. It features in-seat charging points, a side cocktail table, a 13.3-inch TV screen, a generously sized pillow and blanket, complimentary amenity kits on select flights and a globally exclusive sparkling wine – Chandon Vintage Brut 2017. Onboard the A350, Premium Economy Class will have a maximum of 28 seats (it will be either 21 or 28, varying from aircraft to aircraft).

Economy Class passengers will notice two distinct improvements to their seats on the Emirates A350. Firstly, similar to the newest Emirates B777 and A380 aircraft, the Emirates A350 Economy Class seat has a new fabric in an uplifting and elegant light blue, with bronze-coloured armrests creating a very sophisticated look. Secondly, Emirates will soon introduce a brand new 6-way adjustable headrest to Economy Class on the A350. Expected in early 2025, this new headrest is set to significantly improve customer experience in Economy Class and eliminate the need for neck pillows.

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Business Class customers will have their own minibar on the Emirates A350, which includes still and sparkling water, and 2 snack packs – one sweet and one savoury, as well as a new snack display area at the back of the cabin, where customers can come and grab fresh fruit, sandwiches and sweet treats anytime they like. Premium Economy customers will have a snack service on long haul flights and Economy Class customers will also be able to access complimentary snacks on long haul flights on a newly designed island in the galley area.

The Emirates A350 will feature the latest sophisticated and luxurious design by Emirates, including key motifs like the illuminated Ghaf Tree – the symbolic tree of the UAE, and the signature bronze and gold of the Emirates brand, combined with crisp cream leather and elegant wood grain for a soothing and sleek neutral palette.

The washrooms are a luxurious and pristine white with bronze accents, offering a spacious feel as they are the same size as the current washrooms on the larger Emirates A380 aircraft.

Technological advancements

The A350 features some technological advancement over others. Passengers can now adjust their electric window blinds at the touch of a button. The aerBlade dual blind system will feature in Business and Premium Economy Class offering two shaded options, and the aerBlade single blind systems will make a debut in Economy Class, with all blinds showing the Emirates Ghaf tree motif when closed.

Passengers will also enjoy new touchscreen call bell buttons for cabin crew service, on the ice inflight entertainment screens. Other features include the ability to instantly view your inflight menu on your screen, digital newspapers and magazines from around the world, 5 aircraft camera views and improved inflight live map experience, and 60-watt USB-C charging in every seat, with the ability to pair two Bluetooth connections for personal headphones.

The Emirates A350 will introduce an impressive, next-generation version of the ice inflight entertainment system with a suite of new features. Offering a cinematic display to passengers, this includes the best picture quality on any aircraft with stunning 4K and 4K HDR, ultra-responsive touchscreens for seamless navigation and a vast media selection – up to triple the current content capacity. Passengers will also enjoy handy new features like ‘eye comfort mode’ to reduce blue light exposure, the ability to skip credits and intros on videos, enhanced live TV, and simplified volume and brightness controls. An improved search function is complemented by iceMoments, a revolutionary way to explore content on ice in a short form video format.  Kids will enjoy a new pictorially driven interface, while parents will appreciate the seat side parental controls for family-friendly settings.

Marking a first in aviation history, the Emirates A350 will feature a high performance, new generation antennae which will significantly improve inflight connectivity taking full advantage of ViaSat’s Global Xpress (GX) satellite network. Passengers will enjoy uninterrupted global connectivity across all destinations, including over the North Pole for flights going to the Americas. At an investment of more than USD 2 million per aircraft, customers will notice an improved user portal with a faster sign in for new users and a swifter log in for Skywards members. Improved Wireless Access Points (WAPs) onboard will mean more customers can connect at the same time with the potential to enjoy up to 10 times the current total aircraft bandwidth on average.

A new user interface on ice has been designed in partnership with Thales and advocacy groups for visually impaired passengers. This imparts best practice experiences for visually impaired passengers including audio-cue navigation assistance, voice metadata feedback, touch and swipe gesturing support and presents the large selection of audio-descriptive (AD) content available on ice.

From 2025 onwards, customers on the Emirates A350 will be able to enjoy Duty Free shopping from their seat in a few taps. EmiratesRED will offer an extensive catalogue of luxury gifts on ice, where customers can shop online, create a basket and conveniently transition to their personal device to complete the checkout and payment process, including payment via ApplePay and G-Pay.

First routes

The airline plans to make its first scheduled commercial A350 flight to Edinburgh on 3rd January 2025. In the months to follow, passengers can look forward to experiencing the Emirates A350 in existing GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) points like Bahrain, Muscat and Kuwait, Lyon and Bologna in Europe, and Colombo, Mumbai and Ahmedabad in West Asia.

The airline says that it will unveil new routes in 2025, up to 15 hours long, where its A350s will be deployed. The A350’s introduction will enable Emirates to expand into new destinations globally, including mid-sized airports unsuited for larger aircraft. The Emirates A350 will be delivered in two versions – one for regional routes and one for ultra long-haul routes.

Featured image by Emirates

All the other images by Emirates

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