Airbus has announced more orders for the A350, securing commitments from Air France-KLM and SriLankan Airlines.
The Air France-KLM Group has finalised a firm contract for 25 A350-900 aircraft and for a further 25 options.
“With the A350, Air France-KLM will continue to operate one of the most modern fleets in the world, and ensure the growth of its long-haul activity, while achieving significant cost savings.” said Alexandre de Juniac, newly-appointed Chairman and CEO of the Air France-KLM Group.
“We are honoured that our all new, extra efficient A350-900, which has just recently flown on its maiden flight, will become an essential cornerstone in the future fleet development of Air France-KLM,” said Fabrice Brégier, Airbus CEO.
The Air France-KLM Group currently operates a fleet of just over 190 Airbus aircraft, comprising eight A380s, 31 A330s, 13 A340s, 25 A321s, 54 A320s, 41 A319s and 18 A318s. With this new order Air France-KLM joins an exclusive group of airlines that are customers for every member of the Airbus product family
SriLankan Airlines has become a new A350-900 customer, with an order for four of the aircraft. The airline also committed to six A330-300s. The all-Airbus operator has selected the A330 and A350 as part of its longhaul fleet renewal.
The two aircraft share cockpit and operational commonality, allowing airlines to use the same pool of pilots, cabin crews and maintenance engineers, bringing operational flexibility and cost savings.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has increased its orders for the A350 with an additional 30 A350-900s, plus options for a further 20 aircraft. The agreement firms up a commitment announced last month. Under the terms of the agreement, Singapore Airlines will be able to select either the baseline A350-900 or the larger A350-1000 when exercising the options.
It is the third order from Singapore Airlines for the A350, which sees the carrier’s total firm orders for the all-new aircraft increase to 70, plus 20 options. Singapore Airlines will operate the A350 on longhaul and regional services.
