On November 25th 2024, Emirates took delivery of its first A350-900 aircraft. This is the first of 65 A350-900 aircraft for the Middle East carrier and its first new aircraft type since 2008. In this blog post, I'll take a look at what Emirates plans to do with the type.
Emirates is a well know airline, operating from its base at Dubai airport. Emirates flies all over the world and is known for its massive A380 aircraft, of which it has 121 of them. The delivery of the A350 will help the airline diversify its fleet. On November 25th 2024, Emirates took delivery of its first A350-900 aircraft. The aircraft has registration A6-EXA and took is first flight on September 25th 2024. This is the first new aircraft type for Emirates since it took delivery of its first A380 in 2008.
According to FlightRadar24 Emirates has a total of 265 aircraft at the time of writing. This includes, 1 A350-900, 121 A380s and 143 Boeing 777 aircraft (the 143 Boeing 777 aircraft can be broken into 2 variants, 21 B77L aircraft and 122 B77W aircraft)
The aircraft took off from Toulouse on the evening of the 25th November 2024 and arrived in Dubai in the early hours of November 26th. The delivery flight was powered by a blend of regular jet fuel and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The flight path of the aircraft took it through UK airspace before it turned for Dubai. This unusual routing is likely due to legal requirements. In fact, in 2020 an EgyptAir A220 flew through UK airspace because a UK based leasing company owned the aircraft and unless the aircraft flew through UK airspace the delivery had not taken place. It is likely that this is the same reason for the unusual route on the Emirates delivery flight.
The A350-900 is the first of 65 A350-900 aircraft that Emirates has on order. This aircraft is scheduled to enter service on January 3rd 2025 with the first destination being Edinburgh and other destinations will follow.
Emirates is know for the luxury of its planes and the A350 will be no exception. The aircraft is configured with 3 classes. Business class has 32 flatbed seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. Premium economy has 21 seats in a 2-3-2 layout while economy has 259 seats in a 3-3-3 layout. It is interesting to note that there are no overhead bins in the middle of the cabin in business class. Additionally, there will be electronic window shades in all cabins of this A350.
With the delivery of the A350, Emirates now operates a fleet of 3 aircraft types. The Airbus A380, the Boeing 777 and now the Airbus A350. However, Emirates has the Boeing 777X and 787 aircraft on order which will be delivered soon (hopefully).
Have you ever flown with Emirates? How soon will it be until the airline gets another aircraft type in its fleet? Feel free to share your thoughts by leaving a comment below or on the Av Geek Blog Instagram or X.
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