Japan Airlines’ first Airbus A350-1000 aircraft successfully completed its maiden flight on January 24, 2024.
The inaugural flight departed Tokyo-Haneda Airport (HND) at 11.40am local time and landed at for New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) at 9.30am local time.
The flagship aircraft’s entry into service was marked at Haneda airport by airline and airport staff, who lined up on the apron to wave goodbye to the airline’s first A350-1000 as it taxied towards the runway.
JAL took delivery of the aircraft, registered JA01WJ, from Airbus’ delivery centre in Toulouse, France on December 14, 2023, during a ceremony where AeroTime was present.
Ahead of the delivery flight to Tokyo, AeroTime was offered the chance to preview the brand-new cabin interiors devised by Japan Airlines and British design studio Tangerine for the airline’s new flagship aircraft, including the groundbreaking first class suites.
JAL’s A350-1000 is the first of the type to feature the ‘New Cabin Standard’. Through the optimization of the width of its fuselage walls, Airbus has made the cabin four inches wider, and 35 inches longer.
It has been fitted with a relatively low-density four-class cabin with a total of 239 seats (six seats in first class, 54 in business, 24 in premium economy, and 155 in economy class).
Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) is slated to be the next long-haul destination for JAL’s A350-1000.