Japan Airlines (JAL) unveiled its first Airbus A350-1000 (aircraft registration: JA01WJ) at Haneda Airport on January 15, which will serve as the new flagship for international routes. It is set to replace the Boeing 777-300ER, which was introduced in July 2004, and will start operations on the Tokyo/Haneda to New York route from January 24.
The A350-1000 is the longest-fuselage version within the A350 series, measuring 73.8 meters in length, about 7 meters longer than the A350-900, which operates on domestic routes. A noticeable external difference is that the A350-1000 has a six-wheel main landing gear compared to the four-wheel gear on the A350-900.
The cabin configuration includes 6 First Class seats, 54 Business Class seats, 24 Premium Economy seats, and 155 Economy seats, totaling 239 seats in four classes. Compared to the current flagship, the Boeing 777-300ER, the A350-1000 has 5 more Business Class seats and 8 more Economy Class seats, but 2 fewer First Class and 16 fewer Premium Economy seats.
The seat arrangement for each class is: First Class in a ‘1-1-1’ configuration, Business Class in a ‘1-2-1’ layout, Premium Economy in ‘2-4-2’, and Economy in ‘3-3-3’. Both First and Business Class feature JAL’s first private suites with doors. Additionally, the In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) system offers 4K resolution monitors in all classes and supports Bluetooth connections to wireless headphones.
▲ JA01WJ taking off from Toulouse, France to Japan (Local Time December 14, 2023)
The aircraft was delivered on December 11, 2023, local time in Toulouse, France where Airbus’s factory is located and was flown to Japan on December 14. It arrived at Haneda Airport on the morning of December 15, Japan time. Initially, the paintwork was standard, but after arriving in Japan, a decal with the words ‘AIRBUS A350-1000’ was added to the rear of the aircraft, evoking the special ‘Challenge Red’ livery present on the first A350-900 (registration: JA01XJ).
▲ First A350-900 with the special ‘Challenge Red’ livery (registration: JA01XJ)
JAL has placed an order for 13 A350-1000 aircraft and plans to take delivery of the third one within this fiscal year. On January 14, the second A350-1000 (registration: JA02WJ) arrived at Haneda Airport from Toulouse and was seen lined up in front of the hangar with the first aircraft. After receiving the third aircraft, in addition to the Tokyo/Haneda to New York route, it will also be deployed on the Tokyo/Haneda to Dallas/Fort Worth route.
▲ JA01WJ and JA02WJ lined up in front of the hangar at Haneda Airport (January 14, 2024)
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This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
