Qatar Airways takes delivery of the world’s first Airbus A350-1000 plane

Qatar Airways became the first customer for the Airbus A350-1000 after taking delivery of the plane at the Airbus Delivery Centre in Toulouse, France, yesterday.

It is the first Airbus aircraft to be fitted with Qatar Airways’ revolutionary Qsuite business class seat, reported Gulf Times.

Qatar’s Minister of Finance and Qatar Airways Group Chairman Ali Shareef Al Emadi said it was a proud moment for the country.

“This is a very proud day for Qatar, as Qatar Airways becomes the global launch customer for the world’s most technologically advanced aircraft. It’ll be a wonderful addition to our national carrier’s fleet, allowing Qatar Airways to continue to set the highest standards of excellence and quality in the industry,” he was quoted as saying.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, along with Airbus President and Chief Operating Officer FabriceBregier and Defense Aerospace Rolls-Royce President Chris Chorleton attended the ceremony.

“Qatar Airways always demands the very best for its customers, so it’s right that we’re the first airline in the world to take delivery of the very first Airbus A350-1000. This remarkable state-of-the-art aircraft will be the first of 42 to be flown on our expanding global route network. It’ll become a firm part of the Qatar Airways fleet, making us the biggest operator in the world of this aircraft type and maintain our status as flying one of the youngest fleets in the sky, with an average age of just five years,” Al Baker was quoted as saying by Qatar Tribune.

“The Qatar Airways A350-1000 will keep us ahead of the curve. At 23 feet longer than the A350-900, it’ll also enable us to substantially increase our capacity on the routes on which we operate it, offering 46 Business Class seats in our award-winning Qsuite, and 281 extra-wide 18-inch seats in Economy Class,” he added.

Qatar Airways will be the first airline to fly the A350-1000, which will go into service on the Doha-London route this month. The airline had also been the global launch customer for the A350-900 in 2014, and now operates 21 of them in its fleet.