Ethiopian Airlines takes delivery of its first A350 XWB wide body airplane

A350 XWB arrives in Addis Ababa

Ethiopian Airlines has become the first Airline in Africa to take delivery of Airbus A350XWB -the world's most modern long-haul wide body jetliner on 28th June, 2016, in Toulouse, France with the intention of exceling in offering its passengers the ultimate travel experience on-board this new aircraft ahead of other carriers. ET welcomed the Airbus A350 XWB dubbed "Semien Mountains" today, June 29th 2016 in Ethiopia. 

The multinational aircraft consists of parts fabricated in England, Germany and South Africa and assembled in France. It received canon salute upon its arrival at the Bole International Airport from its assembly city, Toulouse. Ethiopia's minister of defense, March Band also added colour to the welcoming ceremony which was attended by several Ethiopian dignitories as well as journalists.

 

ET is the first A350 XWB operator to fly the ultra-modern airplane in the African skies.  It has got a total of 343 wide seats comprising 30 in Business Class and 313 in Economy Class. This spacious and "quiet" plane produces the lowest twin engine noise and is equipped with the latest state of the art technology. Advanced air conditioning and full LED mood lighting enhance passengers comfort while reducing fatigue.

All seats are fitted with the latest high-definition touchscreen personal monitors and a higher selection of movies, television series and audio channels. Inflight Wi-Fi connection will be made available on this aircraft in the future. Passengers with smart devices can connect to the world while others can use the smart individual touch screens on their seats when the Internet is operational.

 

The A350 XWB’s Xtra wide fuselage contributes to higher levels of efficiency. The new “Airspace by Airbus” cabin concept – which is being incorporated on the A350 XWB Family – creates the perfect space for maximizing passenger well-being.

The A350 XWB features the latest aerodynamic design, carbon-fibre fuselage and wings, plus new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines.  These latest innovative technologies translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency, with a twenty five percent reduction in fuel burn and emissions that can save the airline up to two million dollars of fuel.

Its revolutionary airframe and simplified systems have optimized maintenance costs and reliability, and its engines have the lowest carbon dioxide CO2 emissions of any in the wide body category, thus transforming it into a game changer eco-friendly airplane. 

Altogether, Ethiopian Airlines has ordered fourteen of the eco-friendly Airbus A350 XWBs. This first aircraft which just landed in Addis today is intended to fly the Lagos-Dubai route. The carrier will deploy the fourteen A350 aircrafts on its expanding route networks. To date, Airbus has recorded a total of 802 firm orders for the A350 XWB from 42 customers worldwide.