The biggest version of the Airbus A350 family — the A350-1000 — has made its commercial debut in Australia with Cathay Pacific flights to Melbourne and Perth.
Cathay is putting the bigger aircraft into the market despite weaker leisure demand in Australia and a traffic slump in its home hub of Hong Kong due to political unrest.
READ: Cathay expects tough times to continue.
It is also upgrading one of its Sydney flights from an A330 to an A350-900.
The A350-1000 is the contender put forward by Airbus for the Qantas Project Sunrise flights from Australia’s East Coast to New York and London.
Cathay’s configuration carries 334 passengers, 54 more than its A350-900 aircraft serving Sydney, with 46 lie-flat beds in business and 32 premium economy seats.
It is similar to its smaller sibling in that it brings together improved aerodynamics, engine technology and composite construction to boast a 25 percent change in fuel efficiency compared to older planes.
Like the Boeing 787, higher humidity and cabin pressure combine with lower ambient noise to give passengers a more comfortable ride.
One important advantage over its Boeing Dreamliner competitor, at least for economy passengers, is the wider cabin.
This allows Cathay to offer 18-inch wide seats with a 32-inch seat pitch as opposed to the more cramped seating in a nine-across 787 or Cathay’s more recent 10-across Boeing 777s.
Premium economy comes with a generous 40-inch seat pitch while business customers get a comfortable 70.5-inch bed.
The Hong Kong airline has recently boosted its inflight entertainment offering and all its A350s are equipped with inflight Wi-Fi.
READ: Cathay quadruples inflight entertainment offering.
“At Cathay Pacific, our passengers remain our top priority,’’ said Cathay South-West Pacific regional general manager Rakesh Raicar.
“The launch of this aircraft will allow us to deliver further enhanced features that improve the comfort and overall travel experience of our guests.”
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