Tel Aviv is set to be the second long-haul destination to see Cathay Pacific’s newest aircraft, the Airbus A350-1000, when the Hong Kong carrier temporarily deploys the aircraft on flights to the Israeli city this October.
Starting October 3, the A350-1000 will fly the 11-hour-55-minute route on all days except Tuesday, replacing the aircraft’s smaller variant, the A350-900. Unfortunately for regular passengers on this route, the new aircraft is only due to fly to Tel Aviv until October 27, when the A350-900 will once again take over.
This will, however, give travellers eager to try out Cathay Pacific’s newest aircraft a temporary alternative to the airline’s upcoming Washington DC route, which is set to take off on September 15 this year as the A350-1000’s first permanent international long-haul service.
Cathay Pacific is expected to take delivery of its first A350-1000 this spring, out of a total order of 20 aircraft.
The A350-1000 notably has a higher overall seating capacity, with Cathay Pacific outfitting it with 334 seats in total compared with the A350-900’s 280. This translates as 46 in business class, 32 in premium economy and 256 in economy – an increase across all three classes.
Another notable difference with the newer aircraft is that all 46 business class seats are in a single cabin at the front of the plane, as opposed to the A350-900, which has eight seats in a second cabin in front of the premium economy seats. Both aircraft have the same seat product in the same layout – a 1-2-1 herringbone configuration.
Business Traveller has previously reviewed Cathay Pacific’s A350-900 business class on its London Gatwick service.
[embed]https://www.businesstraveller.com/tried-and-tested/cathay-pacific-a350-900-business-class-2/[/embed]As previously reported by Business Traveller, Cathay Pacific also will be expanding frequency on its Tel Aviv route to six weekly flights starting March 25, with this going up to a daily service in October and November.
