Emirates’ new A350 has landed in Australia for the first time, with Adelaide the first lucky city in the nation to be served by the new aircraft.
In fact, it is the first city in the world to get the Dubai-based carrier’s new Airbus A350-900ULR aircraft, one of two versions of the new A350 aircraft the airline ordered. (The standard A350 has been used on short and medium-haul routes since January.)
The ultra-long-range A350 can stay in the air for up to 15 hours non-stop, with a range exceeding 14,000km.
The plane arrived in Adelaide from Dubai at about 9pm on Monday to a traditional water cannon salute and departed the country for the first time just before 11pm.
Emirates’ Australasia vice president Barry Brown said it was a “landmark moment” for the airline.
“While Emirates has been accepting the delivery of A350s for the past year, this is the first delivery of our long-range variant with the range and capability to fly from Dubai to Adelaide,” he said.
“These milestones are a powerful statement of our ongoing investment and commitment to bringing our latest generation product to Australia and will provide South Australians with direct access to our most advanced, comfortable seats and an elevated flying experience, offering seamless connections to Europe and beyond for both business and leisure.”
All five Australian cities with Emirates flights – Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth – now have access to the popular premium economy cabin.
“Premium economy has proven incredibly popular, consistently achieving strong load factors to and from Australia, and we anticipate a similar strong demand in Adelaide for the cabin’s quiet luxury and customised experience,” Mr Brown said.
The A350 flying to Australia accommodates 298 passengers in 32 next-generation business class lie-flat seats, 28 premium economy seats and 238 “generously pitched” economy seats.
Passengers can expect lush details, including Mercedes S-Class-inspired leather seats in business class, a six-way adjustable headrest on seats in economy, and quieter and spacious cabins.
The A350 is the first new aircraft type to join Emirates’ fleet since 2008.
It is high ceilings and wider aisles, with improved storage (compartmentalised pockets and larger overhead storage bins). And it is “the quietest twin aisle cabin of any aircraft”.
Each daily flight between Adelaide and Dubai will also offer 16 tonnes of cargo space. That’s 224 tonnes weekly, which will allow more local exports of wine, fish, mussels, chilled meat, fruits and vegetables, flowers, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and fashion garments.
The freight exports are estimated to be valued at $98 million per year. The total estimated expenditure, including tourism expenditure, generated by Emirates’ flights to Adelaide is $160 million.
This is what passengers can expect …
Economy class
Economy class customers will notice two distinct improvements to their seats on the Emirates A350.
Similar to the newest Emirates 777 and A380 aircraft, the A350 economy seat has a new fabric in an “uplifting and elegant light blue, with luxurious bronze-coloured armrests”.
The brand new six-way adjustable headrest in economy also allows customers the option of sleeping with full neck support. The airline has said this feature will eliminate the need for neck pillows.
The seat pitch is 31-32 inches, the seat width is 18.4 inches, and the entertainment screens are 13.3 inches.
Premium economy
The airline is known for its premium economy cabin, and now Adelaide has the option too.
The cabin boasts spacious leather seats with a 40-inch recline, full leg and footrests, and six-way adjustable headrests. The seat pitch is 39 inches, and the seat width is 19.5 inches.
It features in-seat charging points, a side cocktail table, a 13.3-inch TV screen, a “generously sized” blanket and pillow, and complimentary amenity kits.
Just like in business, meals are served on Royal Doulton chinaware, accompanied by Robert Welch cutlery wrapped in a linen napkin.
Business class
Business class will have a 1-2-1 seat configuration and features 32 leather ‘S-Lounge seats’, inspired by the Mercedes S-Class. The seat pitch is 44 inches, and the seat width is 21 inches.
There will also be “cutting-edge tech touches” like wireless charging on the side cocktail table and in-seat lighting controls with five streams of light.
Each seat will feature a 20-inch 4K entertainment screen, multiple charging ports, and there is a minibar for in-flight snacks.
New details
It’s all about the little details – like pressing a button to adjust your window blind.
The aerBlade dual blind system will feature in business and premium economy classes, offering two shaded options.
The aerBlade single blind system debuts in economy, with all blinds showing the Emirates Ghaf tree motif when closed.
Customers can now call the cabin crew by pressing a new touchscreen button.
Other features include pulling up your menu on screen, five aircraft camera views, an ‘eye comfort mode’ to reduce blue light exposure, the ability to pair two Bluetooth connections for personal headphones, and 60-watt USB-C charging in every seat (sufficient to charge laptops).
To top it off, there’s also faster wi-fi – “up to ten times the current total aircraft bandwidth on average”.
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