Airlines China Southern takes delivery of first Airbus A350-900

Airbus has announced, that China Southern has taken delivery of its very first A350-900 XWB widebody aircraft.

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Ex-Skyteam member China Southern Airlines has taken delivery of its first A350-900 XWB aircraft. The carrier ferried the first of 20 airplanes from Airbus´ plant at Toulouse to China. The twin-engine aircraft is likely to replace aging widebody aircraft in the carrier’s fleet.

With this latest delivery, the Guangzhou-based carrier flies with an Airbus fleet of over 330 aircraft, including smaller aircraft for short and medium-haul flights and larger aircraft for international services.

China Southern´s A350 is being configured in a three-class cabin layout that accommodates up to 314 passengers. 28 seats are available in business class, 24 in premium economy and 262 in economy. The first routes with the new aircraft will be from Guangzhou to Shanghai and Beijing. Later on, the carrier will use the aircraft to fly to international destinations around the world.

This latest delivery underlines the airlines´ ambition to offer its passengers a better flying experience. Airbus stated, that the A350 XWB offers unmatched levels of efficiency and comfort that is particularly suited for the needs of Asia-Pacific carriers. Over a third of all A350 customers are from this region as well.

As state-of-the-art aircraft, the A350-900 features latest fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce Trent engines, new aerodynamical advantages like winglets and a carbon fibre fuselage and wings. Together, these innovations lead to a 25% reduce in fuel burn and emissions.

Airbus was able to log more than 890 orders from 51 customers worldwide for its XWB program, which consists of the A350-900 and A350-1000. The manufacturer said that the aircraft would belong to one of the most successful wide-body aircraft ever. On the Paris Air Show 2019 however, the European company wasn´t able to announce a single order. Only a few days later, South African Airlines announced an order for two aircraft.

China Southern was initially founded in 1988 and is the largest airline in Asia. The headquarters are being located in Guangzhou and the main operational hub is at the cities´ airport as well. China Southern left the Skyteam alliance in January 2019. The current fleet consists of over 600 aircraft, including Airbus A319, A320neo, A321neo, A330, A350 and A380 aircraft, as well as of Boeing 737, 747F, 777, 787 and Embraer 190.

Source © Airbus.com

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