Iberia has taken delivery of the first A350 aircraft to feature the carrier’s new business class seat with a sliding privacy door and longer bed.
The aircraft is also the first A350 to feature redesigned sidewalls, which have widened the usable interior by four inches at armrest level.
As reported earlier this year, Airbus carried out the cabin redesign in order to make it possible to fit ten seats across in economy, although Iberia has taken the decision to stick with a nine across layout, meaning that economy passengers on the aircraft will benefit from 1cm extra width per seat.
In business class all seats have direct aisle access and new sliding privacy doors, while the central or “honeymoon” seats also feature an electronically controlled divider which can be raised or lowered.
Iberia has also managed to make the fully flat business class bed 5cm longer than the current version on the carrier’s older A350s, and there is additional storage space for personal belongings.
In premium economy “wings” have been added to the seat headrests, and there is a new IFE remote control with touchscreen navigation panel.
Finally in economy seats now feature articulated headrests and a new stand below the IFE screen to hold and charge personal electronic devices.
The aircraft also features Panasonic’s IFE Next system, with 4K resolution screens incorporating night lighting “to avoid disturbing nearby customers”, and the ability to connect headphones via bluetooth.
The screens in economy have been increased from ten to 12 inches, and in premium economy from 12 to 13 inches.
Other aircraft-wide enhancements include six lighting environments for different stages of flights – wake up, meal, relax, sleep, boarding, take-off and landing – and bathrooms feature contactless taps and surfaces made using antibacterial materials.
Iberia is set to take delivery of a total of eight A350s with the new cabins by 2024.
For our recent guide to business class seats offered across European carriers, see:
