Airlines Japan Airlines takes delivery of first Airbus A350

A delivery ceremony was held at Airbus´ delivery centre in Toulouse, France. It is the first aircraft produced for Japan Airlines and therefore a huge milestone both for the carrier, but also for Airbus. The event was attended by JAL Representative Director and Chairman Yoshiharu Ueki and Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer.

In total, Japan Airlines has ordered 31 A350 XWB aircraft. The order consists of 18 A350-900s and 13 A350-1000s. At first, major Japanese carrier will use the aircraft on high frequency routes in Japan. In the long term, the A350 will be implemented in JAL´s international long-haul network.

The aircraft is being configured in a premium three-class layout. 12 passengers can be accommodated in First Class, 94 in Class J and 263 in Comfort Economy.

At the beginning of 2019, JAL announced that it has signed a service agreement for its A350 fleet with Lufthansa Technik. Back then, Atsushi Maeda, Executive Officer of Procurement at Japan Airlines, said: "The Airbus A350 constitutes a key element of the future Japan Airlines fleet. We believe this agreement will bring us even more stable and smooth component operations and the highest performance for our customers. Furthermore, it provides us additional benefits such as maintenance cost optimization and cost control, while enhancing the long-term partnership with Lufthansa Technik."

Airbus´ A350 XWB aircraft family offers operational flexibility and efficiency for all market segments. For example, Singapore Airlines is using the aircraft on ultra-long-haul flights between Singapore and New York. Other airlines are using the aircraft for normal long-haul operations.

Latest aerodynamical designs and a carbon fibre fuselage have been incorporated in the A350 XWB. New fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce engines round off the product. To date, Airbus has received 893 firm orders from 51 worldwide customers. It is one of the most successful wide-body aircraft in the history.

At Paris Air Show 2019, Airbus hopes to gain new orders for its A350-900 and A350-1000 variants. Moreover, the manufacturer seeks to use Boeing´s 737 MAX disaster to secure new A320neo-orders.

JAL is the flag carrier airline of Japan and was established in 1951. The carrier has two main operational hubs at Tokyo-Haneda and Tokyo-Narita. It is member of the Oneworld alliance and operates subsidiary airlines like J-Air, Japan Air Commuter or Japan Transocean Air. Currently, the fleet consists of 50 Boeing 737s, 35 Boeing 767s, 40 Boeing 777s and 40 Boeing 787s.