Fiji Airways has taken delivery of their first of two Airbus A350-900s during a delivery ceremony held at Airbus’ Toulouse, France delivery centre.
The aircraft, registered DQ-FAI and with serial number 299, is the first of two Airbus A350-900s set to be delivered to the airline, making them the first to operate the type in the South Pacific.
Instead of being purchased outright, Fiji Airways has opted to lease the aircraft from Dubai’s DAE Capital. These aircraft are the first Airbus aircraft directly purchased by DAE Capital.
Fiji Airways will fly the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB powered aircraft to Los Angeles and Sydney from its Nadi base, boosting the airline’s position as a leading carrier from the South Pacific region.
Additionally, the new, larger aircraft will contribute to the ongoing growth of Fiji’s tourism sector and wider economy throughout the year.
Pilots and cabin crew will operate the A350 as a common type rating, with their existing fleet of Airbus A330s, reducing training costs significantly.
Cabin Layout
Fiji Airways has elected to configure their Airbus A350-900s in a two-class layout with a total of 334 seats:
| Cabin | Number of Seats |
| Economy | 301 (39 extra legroom) |
| Business Class | 33 |
Thanks to the advanced cabin features of the A350, passengers will feel increased levels of comfort compared to previous generation aircraft.
For entertainment Fiji Airways has installed Thales AVANT high-definition entertainment screens across the entire cabin, with screen size proportionate to the chosen seating class.
Passengers will also have access to in-flight Wi-Fi, however the payment or operational access system is currently unknown.
Business Class
It has already been discussed that Fiji Airways would be installing reverse herringbone Collins Aerospace “Super Diamond” model seats in their Airbus A350s, photos of the cabin have finally been published by the airline.
Featuring full-flat reclining across the 2-2-2 direct aisle access layout, this means that passengers will see a significant improvement over Fiji Airways’ existing A330 Business Class.
The chosen colour pallet complements the orange accents presented on the entertainment home screens, this provides for a refreshed feeling upon boarding.
Despite this, some may argue this it looks fairly bland and, after some ageing, dirt and wear build up on the upholstery and plastic fittings may be noticeable.
Economy Class
Configured in a 3-3-3 layout to hold 301 passengers, Economy Class features the Recaro CL3710 seat model, which is ranked among the highest for long-haul Economy seats.
39 of the seats in Economy are of the BULA SPACE type, offering slightly greater legroom compared to standard Economy.
Route Schedule
Fiji Airways will begin operating their Airbus A350-900 as of December 1st between Nadi and Sydney daily at the following times:
- FJ911 Nadi to Sydney departing 09:35 arriving 12:05
- FJ910 Sydney to Nadi departing 13:20 arriving 19:05
Then, on the 22nd of December, the airline will add Nadi to Los Angeles to their A350 operations:
- FJ810 Nadi to Los Angeles departing 21:40 arriving 11:25
- FJ811 Los Angeles to Nadi departing 21:30 arriving 06:00 (+2 days)
January 17th, 2020 will see Fiji Airways operate Los Angles flights with the A350 six times weekly.
If you’re interested in seeing this aircraft put together, check out Airbus’ “In the Making” video:
Are you excited to see the FIji Airways Airbus A350 in service?