Japan Airlines takes delivery of its first A350

Japan Airlines (JAL) has taken delivery of its first A350 aircraft at Airbus’ headquarters in Toulouse, France.

The delivery will be seen as a significant win by Airbus, as the other aircraft types that JAL operates are all from ATR, Boeing, Bombardier and Embraer. Besides this A350, the airline has no other Airbus aircraft types in its fleet.

The carrier has ordered 31 A350s from Airbus, including 18 A350-900s and 13 A350-1000s. The A350-900s will fly on Japan Airlines’ high frequency domestic routes, while the larger A350-1000s will be deployed on its long-haul international routes.

The first three aircraft will feature special liveries, with logos saying  “Airbus A350” painted in red (first aircraft), silver (second aircraft) and green (third aircraft), symbolising “challenge”, “innovation” and “eco”, respectively.

This new 369-seater aircraft will be equipped in a three-class configuration with 12 seats in the first class cabin, 94 seats in Class J (domestic business class) cabin, and 263 economy class seats. All the seats will be equipped with power outlets, USB ports, and personal monitors for in-flight entertainment. In-flight wifi service will also be available.

However, the press release about the June 13 delivery ceremony did not include an unveiling of the cabin interior and seat products. Business Traveller Asia-Pacific previously reported that the aircraft will feature all new, specifically domestic seat products. According to Centre for Aviation (CAPA), the airline will announce the seats on June 20.

The Japanese carrier will first operate this newly received aircraft on its domestic Tokyo (Haneda)-Fukuoka route starting September 1 this year. The proposed flight schedule in September is shown below:

(*According to the carrier’s website, a Boeing 777-200 will be used on the round trip flights JL303 and JL306 on September 1 instead.)

The A350 aircraft will further fly on the carrier’s domestic Sapporo and Naha flights in the future.

jal.co.jp