Emirates airline takes delivery of first Airbus A350

Handover marks the first new aircraft type to join the company's fleet since 2008

Emirates' first Airbus A350 will be deployed on its debut route in January. Photo: Emirates

Emirates airline took delivery on Monday of its first long-delayed Airbus A350-900 wide-body jet in Toulouse, marking the first new aircraft model to join its fleet of Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s since 2008.

The plane is embarking on its ferry flight from Toulouse to Dubai on Monday at 4pm UAE time, the airline said. The delivery flight was powered by a blend of jet fuel and sustainable aviation fuel. The A350 will enter commercial service in January when it makes its debut flight to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, followed by eight other destinations across the Middle East, West Asia and Europe.

"Once the Emirates A350 lands in Dubai, the aircraft will receive its finishing touches at Emirates Engineering before being officially unveiled at a special event later this week," the airline said. The Emirates' A350-900, registered as A6-EXA, is the first from an order of 65 A350 aircraft, deliveries which were supposed to start in August and continue for the next three and half years.

However, the handover of its first A350 model was postponed several times this year. The delays stemmed from a combination of supply chain issues for parts including seats and the in-flight entertainment, as well as technical testing of items on board the aircraft while on the ground and in the air, Adnan Kazim, deputy president and chief commercial officer of Emirates, told The National in October.

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Emirates expects to receive eight A350s by the end of its financial year, which runs from April 1 to March 31, he said last month. In October, the airline said it had invested about $48 million in advanced equipment and systems to train pilots and cabin crew on the Airbus A350 aircraft.

The Dubai-based airline has ordered three full-flight simulators, with the training device replicating the A350's flight deck and using visual and audio systems to make training sessions as realistic as possible, Emirates said last month.

The airline said it has trained about 30 pilots and 820 cabin crew members for its new aircraft model. By the end of November, more than 50 pilots will have completed their training on the A350 full-flight simulators, before the aircraft’s entry into service.