A350-1000 has best fuel consumption per seat mile of any aircraft: Al-Baker

The Airbus A350-1000 has the “best fuel consumption per seat mile of any aircraft”, said Akbar al-Baker, group chief executive of Qatar Airways, the global launch customer of the European plane maker’s newest wide-body aeroplane. “This is one of the most sophisticated and latest in the line of the evolution of Airbus aeroplanes,” al-Baker told Gulf Times in Doha on Saturday.Besides having a modified fuselage to accommodate between 40 and 50 more passengers than the A350-900 (in a typical three-class configuration), the A350-1000, he said, also features a modified wing trailing-edge and a three-bogie landing-gear that Airbus has created for the first time.The latest version of the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB, the most efficient large aero engine flying in the world today, is powering the Airbus A350-1000 aircraft.It also provides enhanced levels of passenger comfort, thanks to its advanced light-weight carbon composite design and high-quality interior finish.Being ultra-long-range, Qatar Airways would be looking at the United States as one of the most probable destinations for the Airbus A350-1000.“We will attempt to fly it to the US after doing long range flights to Europe,” al-Baker said. “Initially, we plan to fly our first A350-1000 on long haul routes before deploying it on ultra-long-haul routes in a few months’ time.“Since ours will be the first commercial A350-1000 aircraft, we will make sure we will only operate to long haul and not ultra-long-haul (routes) until we shake up the aircraft. This is because every new aircraft can have some technical issues. When it really flies with passengers, it will be a completely different story. To protect our interests, we will first fly long-haul before we start flying ultra-long haul after a few months.”Qatar Airways has ordered 37 of the world’s most advanced passenger aircraft, which has been tailor-made with “superior-quality” cabins to meet its exacting specifications for its huge passenger base.The mid-sized long-haul aircraft is assembled by Airbus at its facility in Toulouse, France. The A350-1000 is 23 feet longer than its sister aircraft, the Airbus A350-900, for which Qatar Airways was also the global launch customer.Qatar Airways is set to take delivery of the first Airbus A350-1000 aircraft between February 15 and 20, al-Baker revealed.“We are waiting for the final delivery date after the ongoing installation of our state-of-the-art Qsuite in the front cabin of the aircraft,” al-Baker said. Qsuite, a patented Qatar Airways product, is already fast collecting awards for bringing a first class experience to the business class cabin. Qsuite features the industry’s first-ever double bed in Business Class, as well as privacy panels that stow away, allowing passengers in adjoining seats to create their own private room, a first of its kind in the industry.