Qatar Airways to receive first A350 from Airbus

(MENAFN) Qatar Airways announced that it is set to receive its first A350XWB wide body aircraft from Airbus this week, adding that the new plane will be launched on its Frankfurt service in January, Gulf Business reported.

The airline said that the A350XWB, which Airbus claims it offers 25 per cent lower fuel consumption than comparable aircraft, will provide it with another long haul jet that can further reach new destinations with a slightly higher capacity than its B787s.

The Doha-based carrier said that the delivery of this plane is the first from 80 A350s on order, the biggest order from any carrier to Airbus, comprising 42 A350-900s and 37 A350-1000s.

"The long development process of the A350-900 has yielded Airbus a degree of success"but now that the A350-900 is in Qatar Airways' hands, Airbus will be vying to garner more orders as airlines look to take advantage of this new generation of jets that aim to revolutionize air travel," Airbus said in a statement commenting on the delivery.