The first Airbus A350-900 for Emirates emerged from the final assembly line in Toulouse, France. The aircraft was spotted with its fuselage assembled and the tail adorned with the colors of the UAE airline.
This was the initial delivery of 65 A350-900 aircraft that Emirates had commissioned from Airbus. The airline will exclusively operate the 900 series of the A350, completely disregarding the larger variant in the Airbus wide-body aircraft family.
The rationale behind choosing the A350-900 over the A350-1000 stemmed from the latter’s engines only offering a quarter of the maintenance check interval compared to what Emirates requires.
President of Emirates, Tim Clark stated that the airline could order between 35 and 50 A350-1000s if Rolls-Royce improved both durability and maintenance costs.
The relationship between Emirates and Airbus dates back to the early days of the Emirati carrier, specifically from the mid-1980s when the airline received its first Airbus A300.
Since then, both companies have maintained a close relationship, enabling Emirates to incorporate all families of wide-body aircraft from the European manufacturer into its fleet.
Throughout its history, Emirates has operated the following models:
- Airbus A300B4
- Airbus A300-600
- Airbus A310-300
- Airbus A330-200
- Airbus A340-300
- Airbus A340-500
Currently, the only model from the European manufacturer that the Emirati airline operates is the Airbus A380, making it the largest operator of this aircraft in the world. The upcoming arrival of the Airbus A350-900 will mark a new chapter in the history of both companies.
