British Airways will add the Airbus A350 to its fleet, with the airline ordering 18 of the next-gen jetliners as part of a continuing upgrade which also includes the Airbus A380 and Boeing787 Dreamliner.
BA has agreed to buy 18 of the largest A350-1000 model, which carries a list price of A$308m per plane, in a deal worth a potential A$5.5bn.
Although Airbus expects to debut the A350-900 in the middle of next year, with the smaller A350-800 in mid-2016 and the stretched A350-1000 following in mid-2017.
Like the Boeing 787, the A350 uses mainly composite carbon-fibre rather than metal in an attempt to reduce weight, increase fuel efficiency and also boost passenger-experience attributes such as providing lower cabin pressure, higher humidity and larger windows.
Read: Why business travellers will love the Airbus A350
However, the supersized A350-1000 is a closer match to the Boeing 777-300ER which BA already operated and recently introduced on its Sydney-London route.
Other airlines backing the Airbus A350 include launch customer Qatar Airways, which has signed up for 80 aircraft; Emirates Airline, which has inked a deal for 70 planes; and Cathay Pacific's pledge to buy 36 A350s.
BA also has 40 of Boeing's 787 on order, making it one of relatively few airlines in the world to adopt a mixed fleet of both 787s and A350s.
Read: Virgin Australia’s big call for 2013 – Boeing 787 or Airbus A350?
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David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
24 Aug 2011
Total posts 19
Good article David, just one thing the a350-900 is 2014 not the -800 which is 2016.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
15 Aug 2012
Total posts 171
Interesting times for the Airline industry. With new aircraft coming out with cheaper running costs, the pressure to keep renewing fleets has never been so strong.
The added pressure on Airlines is that Boeing and Airbus have order books so full that it will take years to receive the hard product.
Thats why Airlines will mix fleets more, when they didn't as much in the past, as decisions are being made based more on availability. Hence BA incorporating the A350.
On top of this, 'in-house' maintenance will be contracted out more to cut costs.
Times are a changing.
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