Ethiopian Airlines has confirmed an order to acquire 12 A350 XWB aircraft from Airbus.

The A350 XWB is a medium-capacity long-range wide-body aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines that can fly a distance of 8,300nm at Mach 0.89.

Ethiopian Airlines CEO Girma Wake said the A350-900 uses new technology to bring superior passenger comfort and a step change in fuel efficiency to our rapidly expanding operations.

The airlines will operate the aircraft from their hub in Addis Ababa on routes to Europe, the US and Asia.

The two firms signed a memorandum of understanding for the deal in July 2009.