Japan Airlines (JAL) initiated operations of its new international flagship, the Airbus A350-1000, on January 24th, marking its first such launch in nearly 20 years. At Haneda Airport, JAL’s CEO Yuji Akasaka, along with about 90 group employees, saw the aircraft off with a banner.
JAL had announced plans back in 2013 to bring in the A350-1000 as a successor to the Boeing 777-300ER, which had been in service since 2004. Originally scheduled to start service in late November 2023, the debut was delayed by approximately two months due to supply chain disruptions causing delays in parts delivery. The A350-1000 is initially being deployed on the Tokyo/Haneda to New York route on alternate days, with plans to move to a daily service with two aircraft from February 1st.
The inaugural flight was the JL6 from Tokyo/Haneda to New York, departing at 11:05 AM with 209 passengers (including 2 infants). The plane left from gate 112 of the third terminal at 11:12 AM and took off at 11:41 AM. The aircraft used was the first of the series, sporting the “AIRBUS A350-1000” logo (registration number: JA01WJ).
At a commemorative ceremony held at Haneda Airport, President Akasaka said, “We were able to create a cabin layout that takes advantage of the characteristics of a large aircraft, with plenty of space. It’s quite different from our previous planes,” as he introduced the aircraft. He also encouraged passengers, “It’s a long journey to New York, but I hope you will enjoy it to the fullest.”
Captain Tsuyoshi Minami, an investigator pilot with JAL’s Operations Division, who was in charge of the ferry flight for the maiden aircraft, commented, “After landing at Haneda Airport, I could see people waving vigorously from the observation decks and parking lots while taxiing to the runway. In the hangar, we were greeted by more than 100 staff members, and I could physically feel the high expectations for this aircraft.” He celebrated the launch, saying, “The passionate aspirations of our colleagues, who have been preparing for this introduction for a long time, have taken shape and can now be presented to everyone.”
As of January 24th, JAL has received two of the 13 A350-1000 aircraft ordered, and expects to take delivery of the third aircraft within the fiscal year. With the start of the third aircraft’s service, there are plans to deploy it on the Tokyo/Haneda to Dallas/Fort Worth route as well.
The A350-1000 is the longer-fuselage variant in the A350 series, measuring 73.79 meters in length, approximately 7 meters longer than the A350-900, which has been operating on domestic routes since September 2019.
The cabin is divided into four classes, with 6 First Class seats, 54 Business Class seats, 24 Premium Economy seats, and 155 Economy Class seats, totaling 239 seats. Compared to the current flagship Boeing 777-300ER, the A350-1000 features 5 more Business Class seats and 8 more Economy Class seats, while First Class has 2 fewer seats and Premium Economy has 16 fewer seats.
The seat configurations for each class are as follows: First Class is arranged in a ‘1-1-1’ layout, Business Class in a ‘1-2-1’ layout, Premium Economy in a ‘2-4-2’, and Economy Class in a ‘3-3-3’. Both First Class and Business Class boast JAL’s first-ever private enclosed suites with doors. In addition, the In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) system offers 4K resolution monitors for all classes and allows for Bluetooth connection with wireless headphones.
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This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
