Qatar Airways welcomed the second A350 XWB into its fleet as it commenced flights to Frankfurt on Saturday.
The introduction of the second A350 means the airline is now flying to Frankfurt twice daily exclusively with the A350 XWB.
Qatar Airways is the global launch customer of the A350 XWB. Its launch of the first commercial A350 XWB flight took place in January when it began inaugural A350 services to Frankfurt. Following the introduction of the second A350 XWB, the airline is now scheduled to accept delivery of three more A350 XWB aircraft in June, July and August, all of which will be deployed on the Doha-Singapore route.
Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar al-Baker said: “We are thrilled to have taken delivery of our second A350 XWB less than two months after the historic delivery of our first aircraft. The A350 XWB has proven to be a wonderful aircraft, both technologically and from a passenger perspective, and we are confident that this will continue as we introduce more and more A350 XWBs into our fleet.
“As the A350 is setting new benchmarks in terms of both comfort and passenger experience, we look forward to welcoming our passengers on board our A350 XWBs to enjoy our renowned five-star service.”
The A350 XWB service between Doha and Frankfurt, a major traffic hub in Europe, has provided a substantial capacity increase on the route. The aircraft comprises a two-class configuration with 36 business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, featuring an 80” fully-flat bed and 17” HD in-flight entertainment screen. Economy class has 247 18” wide seats in a 3-3-3 configuration, with up to a 32” pitch.
Qatar Airways, which is the only airline in the world to operate every family of Airbus’ modern airline portfolio, has been serving Frankfurt since 2002.
In addition to the 80 A350s it has on order, the airline has a current Airbus fleet comprising the A320, A330 Freighter, A319LR, A321, A330, A340 and A380 families.