Cathay Pacific Welcomes First Airbus A350-1000

Cathay Pacific has taken delivery of its first Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. The "technologically-advanced aircraft" flew into Hong Kong on Wednesday from the Airbus Headquarters in Toulouse, France.

The first of 20 Airbus A350-1000s on order from Airbus, Cathay Pacific's new addition will take off on its first commercial flight on 1 July 2018 to Taipei. The A350-1000 will later launch the airline’s new service to Washington DC on 15 September 2018, which is set to be Cathay's longest route.

The A350-1000 will also serve Madrid, Tel Aviv, Amsterdam, Manchester and Zurich from the coming winter. Cathay Pacific Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Paul Loo said: “The -1000 is very similar to the -900 in terms of its operational excellence. It has an incredible range, is remarkably fuel efficient and quiet, provides customers with an unsurpassed cabin environment and has extremely attractive operating economics.”

Over the last two years, Cathay Pacific has opened non-stop routes to a slew of destinations served by the A350 fleet, including Barcelona, Brussels, Christchurch, Copenhagen, London Gatwick, Tel Aviv, and, most recently, Dublin. A new A350-900 service to Cape Town will be launched in November. The largest variant in the A350 family, Cathay Pacific’s A350-1000s will carry a total of 334 passengers across its Business, Premium Economy and Economy Class cabins, 54 more passengers more than the airline’s A350-900s. The aircraft’s cabins feature a brand-new Economy Class seat with Wi-Fi, a larger, higher definition personal television, and an advanced in-flight entertainment system and LED mood lighting. They are also 50% quieter in perceived levels of external noise.