Cathay Pacific Airways today announced that it intends to add the Airbus A350-1000 to its future A350 XWB fleet, with an agreement to place a new order for 10 aircraft. In addition, the Hong Kong-based airline will convert 16 of its existing orders for the A350-900 to the larger A350-1000. The acquisition of the A350-1000, which is subject to the approval of the Board of the airline, will bring the total number of A350 XWB aircraft ordered by Cathay Pacific to 48. The airline also has separate lease agreements to acquire two more aircraft.
The A350-1000 is the largest version of the Airbus A350 XWB family and typically seats 350 passengers in a three class layout. The aircraft is capable of flying 8,400 nautical miles non-stop and will be operated by Cathay Pacific on higher density routes, including its longest non-stop flights to Europe and North America. The aircraft will be powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines delivering 97,000lbs of thrust – the most powerful engines ever developed for an Airbus aircraft.
The Airbus A350 XWB (Xtra Wide-Body) Family is an all-new mid-size long range product line comprising three versions seating between 270 and 350 passengers in typical three-class layouts. Scheduled for entry-into-service in 2014, the A350 XWB has already received a total of 548 firm orders from 34 customers worldwide.
Image: (c) Airbus S.A.S. 2012
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The order is Swire’s way of helping keep Airbus wing production in the UK.