Air Caraïbes takes delivery of its first A350-900
Air Caraïbes has taken delivery of its first A350-900, to become the first French airline to operate the A350 XWB.
Above:
(left to right) Marc Rochet, President du Directoire Air Caraïbes, Jean-Paul Dubreuil, President du Conseil de Surveillance Air Caraïbes, Didier Evrard, Executive Vice President Programmes Airbus, Eric Schulz, Rolls-Royce, President - Civil Aerospace, Philip Scruggs, President & Chief Commercial Officer, AerCap.
The aircraft, leased from AerCap, was delivered during a ceremony held at the Airbus Delivery Centre in Toulouse on 28 February. It will take off at 14:00 heading for Paris Orly Sud before embarking on its first commercial flight to Pointe-à-Pitre and Fort-de-France on 2 March.
This A350-900 can accommodate 389 passengers in a three-class configuration, (18 in Business, 45 in Premium Economy and 326 in Economy).
Air Caraïbes plans to operate its A350 XWB alongside the A330s it already has in service on its Paris <> French Caribbean routes.
The A350 XWB benefits from technological and aerodynamic innovations to increase operational efficiency while cutting its environmental footprint. Its fuselage and wings are made of carbon fibre and it is powered by the new-generation Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines.
To date, orders for 821 A350 XWBs have been placed with Airbus by 44 customers around the world, making this one of the most successful programmes ever in the long-range aircraft segment.