On November 15, Fiji Airways (FJ / FJI), Fiji’s flag carrier and largest airline, received its first Airbus A350-900 at the Airbus Factory in Toulouse. With the delivery, Fiji Airways has become the Airbus A350 operator in the South Pacific
The airline placed its order for two A350s in May. The order is part of the airline’s wide-body expansion plan. Its second A350 will be delivered by the end of 2019. Fiji Airways will use the new A350 on its popular Nadi-Los Angeles and Nadi-Sydney routes, which are currently operated by the smaller Airbus A330. Surplus A330s will be used to exand the airline’s route network.
Currently, the carrier operates six A330s and five Boeing 737 aircraft. By adding the two A350 aircraft, the total fleet size will increase to 13 aircraft. The two new A350-900s in the fleet will carry 334 passengers in a two-class layout, with 33 business class seats, and 301 economy seats. The new seats will be an upgrade from the current seats onboard the A330 with an improved business class product and newer in-flight entertainment systems on-board.
An Airbus graphic describing the new aircraft delivery. Photo credit: Airbus
Currently, Airbus has received nearly 1000 orders for its A350 family from 50 customers worldwide. The Fiji Airways aircraft were originally intended for the Chinese HNA Group, which transferred its orders to Fiji Airways due to financial trouble.
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