It’s an exciting week for Emirates Airline, as the carrier has taken delivery of its very first Airbus A350. This is a massive milestone for the Dubai-based carrier, as it’s the first new aircraft type that Emirates has added to its fleet since 2008, when it started flying the Airbus A380. For that matter, it’s the first new aircraft Emirates has taken delivery of in roughly three years (when A380 deliveries stopped).
While I wrote about the first A350 delivery a few days ago, I wanted to take an updated, consolidated look at what to expect from the jet, given all that has been revealed in recent days, including about the configuration, the routes the plane will fly, etc.
Emirates has 65 A350-900s on order
In 2019, Emirates placed a firm order for 50 Airbus A350-900s, and in 2023, the airline placed a firm order for an additional 15 of these jets, bringing the order book to 65 aircraft. Emirates’ fleet currently consists of just over 250 aircraft, including Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s. The airline then has over 300 aircraft on order, spread across three types of aircraft:
- Emirates has 65 Airbus A350s on order, all of which are for the A350-900 variant; these are now starting to be delivered
- Emirates has 35 Boeing 787s on order, with 20 being for the 787-8 variant and 15 being for the 787-10 variant; there’s no timeline for when these planes will be delivered, though
- Emirates has 205 Boeing 777Xs on order, with 35 being for the 777-8 variant and 170 being for the 777-9 variant; the 777-9s should be delivered starting in 2026, and the 777-8s should be delivered starting in 2030
Historically Emirates was all about fleet consistency, and was focused exclusively on the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777. However, with Airbus A380 production having ended in 2021 (and these planes eventually being retired), and with the Boeing 777X being delayed until at least 2026 (representing a six year delay, and counting), the airline knew it had to hedge its bets when it comes to fleet renewal.
Interestingly Emirates had initially ordered both the A350-900 and A330-900neo, but the airline eventually streamlined that order to exclusively include the A350.
Emirates A350-900s deliveries are now starting
Emirates was initially supposed to take delivery of its first Airbus A350 in May 2023. As seems to be the norm in the aviation industry nowadays, there were considerable delays (and Airbus is much better at delivering new planes than Boeing).
On November 25, 2024, Emirates took delivery of its first A350, with the registration code A6-EXA. The aircraft flew from Toulouse (TLS) to Dubai (DXB), and is currently being prepared for entry into service.
This will be the first of dozens of these jets to join Emirates’ fleet over the coming years. Emirates expects to take delivery of all A350s by 2028, so you can expect an average of over one aircraft delivery per month.
Emirates A350-900 interiors & passenger experience
All Emirates Airbus A350-900s will be in a three-cabin configuration, with business class, premium economy, and economy. There will be no first class on any A350s, which represents at least a mild strategy shift for the carrier.
The Emirates A350s will come in one of two configurations:
- Emirates’ first 15 A350s will feature 312 seats; these planes won’t have crew rest facilities, so won’t be used for long haul flights
- Emirates’ remaining 50 A350s will feature 298 seats; these planes will have crew rest facilities, so will be used for long haul flights (in addition to being used for some shorter hops)
All Emirates A350s will feature 32 business class seats and 21 premium economy seats. There will be 259 economy seats on the initial batch of A350s, and 245 economy seats on the remaining A350s.
In business class, Emirates is offering a familiar business class product, based on Emirates’ A380 business class seat, and it’s also what you’ll find on reconfigured 777s. The cabin is in a 1-2-1 configuration, with staggered seats from Safran. The seats do have improved tech compared to previous generation aircraft, including 20″ 4K TVs, wireless charging, and more.
Premium economy is the same as you’ll find on Emirates’ other aircraft, and is in a 2-3-2 configuration. I’ve heard great things about Emirates premium economy, and the cabin does look very nice.
Meanwhile economy is also what you’d expect, in a 3-3-3 configuration.
One other exciting thing about Emirates’ A350s is that the airline will finally offer high speed Wi-Fi for the first time. Emirates’ A350s are expected to feature Inmarsat’s GX Aviation Wi-Fi. This should represent a massive improvement to Wi-Fi speeds, compared to Emirates’ current OnAir product, which is among the worst in the industry.
Emirates A350-900 routes & destinations
As mentioned above, Emirates intends to use its first batch of A350s for short and medium haul flights, so don’t expect long haul A350 flights for at least a year or so. The A350 has incredible range and fuel economy, and is a bit smaller than the 777-300ER (and way smaller than the A380).
Long term, you can expect that the plane will primarily be used in lower demand or high frequency markets, especially ones with less premium demand (given that these planes won’t feature first class).
So, on which routes will Emirates fly the A350? Based on current schedule filings, the airline will fly the A350 between Dubai (DXB) and:
- Edinburgh (EDI) as of January 3, 2025
- Ahmedabad (AMD) as of February 1, 2025
- Bahrain (BAH) as of February 1, 2025
- Kuwait City (KWI) as of February 1, 2025
- Mumbai (BOM) as of February 1, 2025
- Colombo (CMB) as of March 1, 2025
- Lyon (LYS) as of March 1, 2025
- Bologna (BLQ) as of March 15, 2025
Bottom line
Emirates has taken delivery of its very first of 65 Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Emirates hasn’t otherwise taken delivery of any new jets in quite some time, so this is an exciting development for the airline.
We’ve now learned all the details about the interiors of these jets, and how they’ll feature an okay business class, but no first class. The planes should enter service in January 2025, with the first 15 planes not operating long haul flights.
What do you make of Emirates’ Airbus A350 plans?
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