Scandinavian Airlines, also known as SAS, has taken delivery of their first Airbus A350-900, making them the latest customer for the widebody aircraft.
The aircraft, MSN 358 and registration SE-RSA, is the first of eight Rolls-Royce Trent XWB powered aircraft the airline has on order.
Opting to call the first aircraft Ingegerd Viking, SAS has chosen to go with a three-class layout of 300 seats; consisting of Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy.
| Cabin Class | Number of Seats |
| Business | 40 |
| Premium Economy | 32 |
| Economy | 228 |
Although SAS operates a strong fleet of 68 Airbus aircraft, including the A320, A330 and A340 families that all share commonality with the A350, SAS will be conducting training flights during December and January to ensure appropriate training is obtained.
SAS will begin operating the aircraft on their Copenhagen to Chicago route on the 28th of January 2020, before launching other routes to North America and Asia with the type.
In a press release published by the airline in June 2019, it was noted, during the first year of operating the A350, that the airline would be flying to Beijing, New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and San Francisco.
Over the next few years, SAS will receive an additional 54 A320neo aircraft and the remaining A350s on order through direct purchase and lease contracts. These will not only be used for network expansion, but also to reach environmental targets.
Powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines paired with the latest aerodynamics and design optimisations, the A350 offers a 25 percent reduction in fuel burn and emissions.
In SASs configuration with a selected maximum takeoff weight of 268 tonnes, the aircraft will burn 0.028 litres/seat kilometre at 910 kilometres an hour.