Order Book For The Type Grows By 27 Airplanes

Two carriers have announced commitments for 27 A350 XWB airplanes at the opening of the Farnborough International Airshow.

Starlux Airlines of Taiwan has selected the all-new A350 XWB for its future long haul fleet, following the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding for the purchase of 17 aircraft, comprising 12 A350-1000s and five A350-900s. The agreement was announced at the Farnborough Airshow in the UK by Chang Kuo-wei, founder and Chairman of Starlux Airlines and Eric Schulz, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer.

The news follows a decision by the airline earlier this year also to select Airbus for its regional single aisle fleet, with a plan to finalise leases for 10 A321neo aircraft from third party lessors by the end of the year.

Starlux Airlines is a new full-service airline based in Taipei and founded by Taiwanese aviation veteran Chang Kuo-wei, former Chairman of EVA Air. The carrier will develop a network spanning destinations across Asia and long haul services to North America. The carrier will launch regional operations in early 2020, followed by long haul services early in 2022.

Airbus also confirmed at the Farnborough Airshow a deal agreed earlier in 2018 that Sichuan Airlines, based in the Southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu, has selected the A350 XWB to become the latest aircraft in its fleet.
Sichuan Airlines operates the largest all-Airbus fleet in China with over 130 Airbus family aircraft. In addition to its domestic network, Sichuan Airlines now operates on over 30 international routes, including routes from Chengdu to Moscow, Sidney, Dubai and Vancouver. The airline also leased four A350 XWBs, with the first one to be delivered by this year.

The newly introduced A350 XWBs, which is a strong supplement to Sichuan Airlines’ Airbus fleet, will be deployed on its non-stop long haul international routes, such as Chengdu to North America and Europe.

(Source: Airbus news release. Image from file)

FMI: www.airbus.com