Japan Airlines (JAL) held an event at Haneda Airport on September 25 to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Airbus A350-900’s service. The event was held on ‘Nikkoh no Hi’, a day each month when JAL holds events at various airports and branches to express gratitude to passengers. About 70 JAL Group employees, including pilots, cabin attendants, and ground staff, participated in the celebration.
In October 2013, JAL announced the introduction of the A350-900 as a new aircraft for domestic flights. The first aircraft (registration: JA01XJ) was received in Toulouse, France, on June 11, 2019, and started operations on the Tokyo/Haneda-Fukuoka route on September 1 of the same year. Currently, it operates on a total of five routes including Tokyo/Haneda to Osaka/Itami, Sapporo/Chitose, and Okinawa/Naha, as well as Osaka/Itami to Okinawa/Naha.
The anniversary event was held for the Fukuoka-bound JL321 flight operated by the second aircraft (JA02XJ). Souvenirs were handed out to 307 passengers (including 3 infants), and the departure was seen off with a panel celebrating the ‘5th Anniversary AIRBUS A350-900’.
Co-pilot Mami Toyofuku, who participated in the event, commented, ‘It’s a state-of-the-art aircraft that’s fun to fly. Enjoy the pilot’s view through the external cameras in the cabin.’ Saya Yamamoto, a cabin attendant who introduced the unique features of the JAL A350-900, such as its chic red and black interior and quiet cabin, obtained her qualification for the A350-900 in her second year with the company. She reflected, ‘I feel deeply moved, having grown alongside the A350.’
JAL has received 16 out of the 18 A350-900 aircraft it ordered in 2013. However, the 13th aircraft (JA13XJ) was written off after a collision at Haneda Airport in January this year, and currently, 15 aircraft are in operation. There are plans to introduce one more aircraft as a replacement for JA13XJ in the second half of fiscal 2025, and from fiscal 2027, there are plans to introduce them on international routes, incorporating a total of 20 aircraft over approximately six years.
Besides, JAL’s domestic A350-900 aircraft come in two cabin configurations, ‘X11’ and ‘X12’, allowing for seat number adjustments at major maintenance times depending on demand. The X11 configuration includes 12 First Class, 94 Class J, and 263 Economy seats (total 369 seats), while the X12 configuration consists of 12 First Class, 56 Class J, and 323 Economy seats (total 391 seats). As of September, 9 aircraft are X11 (JA02XJ, JA04XJ〜JA09XJ, JA12XJ) and 6 are X12 (JA01XJ, JA03XJ, JA11XJ, JA14〜16XJ).
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