Hong Kong Airlines has taken delivery of its first A350-900, on lease from AerCap, making the carrier the 15th airline to operate the airliner. Altogether Hong Kong Airlines will acquire 21 Airbus A350 XWBs, including 15 purchased directly from Airbus and six on lease from third party lessors.

Hong Kong Airlines has configured its A350-900s with a premium three-class layout with a total of 334 seats, comprising 33 in Business Class, convertible to fully lie-flat beds, 108 in the new cabin class “Economy Comfort” and 193 in Economy Class.

The aircraft features the airline’s latest cabin products, including an all-new entertainment system and full in-flight connectivity. After an initial period flying on regional routes, Hong Kong Airlines’ A350-900 will begin long-haul operations in December this year, flying on the carrier’s non-stop service to Los Angeles.

Established in 2006, Hong Kong Airlines operates an all-Airbus fleet of 33 aircraft: nine A330-300s (with nine more on order), nine A330-200s, 11 A320s and four A330-200Fs.

With 287 firm orders for the A350 from carriers in Asia-Pacific, the region represents over a third of total sales for the type to date.