Finnair will take delivery of its first Airbus A350 XWB aircraft from Airbus on 7 October 2015. It has 19 of such aircraft on order to be received by 2023.
For the first few weeks of receiving its first A350 XWB aircraft, Finnair will fly the aircraft in Europe in crew familiarisation flights, with the first commercial flights taking place on 9 October 2015 to Amsterdam and Oslo.
The first Airbus A350XWB for Finnair will go into long-haul service on 21 November 2015 from Helsinki to Shanghai. Other long haul destinations include Beijing, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Singapore. Later this year the A350 XWB will fly to New York making Finnair the first airline to fly to the US with this new aircraft type.
Due to changes in expected delivery schedules of its first A350, crew familiarisation and other operational factors, Finnair has slightly adjusted its Airbus A350 long-haul launch schedule.
”Introducing 19 new aircraft into our fleet over a period of eight years is a major program for Finnair. We have built the necessary flexibility into our preparedness plans and our A340 exit plan to adjust to any changes that may arise over the course of this massive program, ensuring a smooth introduction of the new aircraft into our fleet,” says Ville Iho, Finnair’s Chief Operating Officer
