China Airlines (CAL) has taken delivery of its first A350-900, becoming the ninth airline to operate the twin-engine widebody airliner. Delivery had initially been planned for July, but delays in the cabin equipment supply chain pushed the handover back to 30th September.
CAL’s A350-900 is configured with a premium three-class layout with a total of 306 seats, comprising 32 in Premium Business class, convertible to fully lie-flat beds, 31 in Premium Economy and 243 in the main cabin.
Altogether CAL has ordered 14 A350-900s. It expects to receive three more by the end of the year, followed by six in 2017 and the remaining four in 2018.
After an initial period flying on regional services between Taipei and Hong-Kong, the aircraft will be deployed on long-haul flights, starting with Amsterdam, followed by Vienna and Rome.
To date, Airbus has recorded a total of 810 firm orders for the A350 XWB from 43 customers worldwide.