Vietnam Airlines receives its first Airbus A350 XWB jet

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Vietnam Airlines receives its first Airbus A350 XWB jet

By Craig Platt
Updated
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The newest aircraft from Airbus, the A350 XWB, has been delivered to its second customer, with Vietnam Airlines receiving its first A350-900 jet on Tuesday.

Vietnam Airlines joins Qatar Airways in operating the new plane. The plane is being leased to the airline through global lessor Aer Cap.

Vietnam will fly the aircraft on long-haul routes and has 14 A350s ordered in total. The planes will be configured in a three-class layout, with 29 business class seats, 45 seats in premium economy and 231 in economy.

Taking wing: Vietnam Airlines new Airbus A350 XWB is the first of 14 ordered by the airline.

Taking wing: Vietnam Airlines new Airbus A350 XWB is the first of 14 ordered by the airline.

The first A350 will initially fly the domestic Hanoi-Ho Chin Minh route before switching to non-stop Hanoi to Paris flights.

Trinh Ngoc Thanh​, executive vice president for Vietnam Airlines said the A350 delivery formed part of the airline's plan to refresh its long-haul fleet. The airline also has orders for 19 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners​.

The airline wants to boost international traffic after the country's government began offering more visa exemptions to support tourism. Travellers from France, Italy, Spain, the UK and Germany can now fly into the country without visas.

Tourism contributes about 6 per cent of Vietnam's gross domestic product, according to the government, which is trying to spur economic growth to above 6 per cent this year.

The Airbus A350 is the European aircraft manufacturer's response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner​. The A350 features carbon fibre fuselage and wings and promises a 25 per cent reduction in fuel burn and emissions. Airbus has received 781 orders for the A350 from 40 customers worldwide. Five have been delivered so far.

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The A350 is the third – and final – major new aircraft in a decade. First there was the double-decker Airbus A380, which debuted in October 2007. The A380 is the world's largest passenger jet, designed to carry up to 525 passengers between some of the largest cities on the planet.

Then came the lightweight Boeing 787, which carried its first passengers in October 2011. Thanks to its lower operating costs, the 787, marketed by Boeing as the Dreamliner​, has led to new nonstop flights between cities that previously didn't have enough passengers to merit such service.

A little more than half of the A350's structure is made of composite materials such as plastic reinforced by carbon fibres. Add in titanium and advanced aluminum alloys and more than 70 per cent of the plane is made up of lightweight materials.

A larger version of the jet, which is scheduled to start flying in 2017, aims to compete with Boeing's long-range 777-300.

with Bloomberg, AP

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