Air-France
Air France’s first A350 XWB was delivered from Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France. Credit: Airbus.

Airbus has delivered the first of 28 A350 Xtra WideBody (XWB) aircraft to Air France during a ceremony in Toulouse, France.

Air France will deploy the A350-900 version on its first commercial flight from Paris to Abidjan. The aircraft will be used for transatlantic and Asia routes.

The A350-900 aircraft features three classes with seating capacity for 324 passengers. It includes 34 full-flat business, 24 premium economy and 266 economy class seats.

The new fleet will enable Air France to remain committed to its environmental goals by providing a 25% reduction in fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions.

The aircraft will conduct its delivery flight from Toulouse to Paris using a blend of conventional and synthetic biofuel.

Air France has 143 aircraft in its Airbus fleet, including 114 single-aisle and 29 wide-body planes.

The A350 XWB features Airspace by Airbus cabin, a carbon fibre fuselage and wings, as well as advanced aerodynamic design.

It is powered by the new Rolls-Royce Trent XWB fuel-efficient engines.

The incorporated new technology reduces the operating cost by 25%, according to Airbus.

Airbus received 913 firm orders for A350 XWB from 51 customers across the globe as of last month.

In July, Air France–KLM Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Airbus for 60 A220-300 aircraft.

Earlier this month, flag carrier airline Fiji Airways’ first Airbus A350 XWB jet entered the final assembly process phase after being rolled out of the Airbus paint shop in Toulouse, France.