Aircalin Airbus A350-900 Joins Fleet Soon, With New Business Class Suites

In late 2024, Aircalin, the international airline of the South Pacific French territory of New Caledonia, disclosed a fascinating (and somewhat surprising) aircraft order. There’s now an update, as the airline is just weeks from taking delivery of its first of these planes, and we now also have a sense of what the interiors will be like.

Aircalin taking delivery of two Airbus A350-900s

A couple of years back, Aircalin disclosed an order for two Airbus A350-900 aircraft (meaning the order was placed at some point prior to that, but Airbus didn’t reveal the customer). The expectation is that the first of these planes will be delivered in December 2026, with entry into service as of January 2027. Meanwhile the second A350 is expected to be delivered around the middle of 2028.

More from OMAAT Aircalin’s Intriguing Noumea To Paris A330neo Flights, Via Bangkok Read more

For context, Aircalin’s fleet currently consists of just four modern aircraft, including two Airbus A330-900neos and two Airbus A320neos. While Aircalin is on the surface doubling its number of long haul planes, it’s not quite that straightforward — when the second A350 joins the fleet, the airline plans to sell one A330neo, meaning it’ll have five planes, including two A350s, one A330neo, and two A320neos.

As it’s described, this is intended to enable Aircalin to support fleet adaptation, and the carrier’s long haul network expansion. Historically, Aircalin has operated its wide body aircraft primarily between Noumea (NOU) and Japan, including Osaka (KIX) and Tokyo Narita (NRT), as well as to Singapore (SIN). However, in 2024, New Caledonia saw a sharp drop in tourism due to civil unrest.

As a result, the airline canceled its flights to Japan, and instead launched a route to Paris (CDG) via Bangkok (BKK). While that was initially a temporary measure, it seems that this is now sticking around as the long term plan. The idea is that there’s also consistent demand between the South Pacific French territory and Metropolitan France.

Last year I had the chance to fly Aircalin business class from Paris to Bangkok (which I booked using Flying Blue miles), and it was a pleasant and unique experience.

Aircalin’s plan is to commence A350 service as of early January 2027. The plane will initially fly from Noumea to Auckland (AKL), Brisbane (BNE), and Sydney (SYD), before taking over the route to Bangkok and Paris as of early April 2027.

Aircalin Airbus A350 cabin layout & seats revealed

Ahead of the Airbus A350-900’s launch, Aircalin has now revealed the details of what we can expect onboard. Aircalin A350s are expected to feature three cabins, including business class, premium economy, and economy. In total, the plane will boast 325 seats, broken down as follows:

• 32 business class seats in 1-2-1 configuration, marketed as the Business Hibiscus Suite; four of those seats will be Extra Comfort Business Hibiscus Suites, located in the first row
• 24 premium economy seats in a 2-4-2 configuration
• 269 economy seats in a 3-3-3 configuration, with 27 of those being Preferential seats, eight being Comfort seats, and six being Extra Comfort seats

Below is a video with highlights of the plane and cabin interior. If I’m not mistaken, the business class looks like the STELIA Opera seat, the same you’ll find on the latest generation Air France A350s. This is a reverse herringbone seat with a door, and it’s an excellent product.

What’s Aircalin’s logic for acquiring Airbus A350s?

Aircalin is owned by the government of New Caledonia, and on the surface, it seems bizarre to order two A350s, especially when the long term plan is to then retire one of the A330neos. Like, does it really make sense to have three wide body aircraft split between two plane types?

Interestingly, it sounds like Aircalin has actually found success with its Paris service, and it has helped the carrier stabilize its finances, as the company isn’t hemorrhaging money for the first time in a long time (in terms of operating results).

Here’s what I can’t really make sense of, though. Aircalin claims the A350 is “essential” to operating the Paris via Bangkok route in the long run. Why, though?

Winds are obviously stronger going west, so the longest sector here is from Bangkok to Paris, which covers 5,878 miles. Even with airspace closures, the average distance flown on that sector is under 6,200 miles. The A330neo has a range of over 8,000 miles. Admittedly you need reserves, and Aircalin probably has a pretty “heavy” version of the plane, in terms of the layout.

But are there really range issues for the A330neo on that sector? Or is the idea simply that the airline can’t carry that much cargo on that flight, and the A350 will allow the plane to travel with a fuller “belly?” Quite honestly, though, you’d think that most of the cargo demand would be going eastbound rather than westbound.

Anyway, I don’t fully understand the logic here, so if anyone has any insights, I’d be curious to know!

Bottom line

Aircalin will soon take delivery of its first of two Airbus A350-900s. The airline currently has two A330-900neos, though the long term plan is for one of those A330s to be retired in 2028, when the second A350 is delivered.

Aircalin is introducing a new passenger experience on the A350, which looks great. The carrier’s plan is to fly this plane between Noumea and Paris via Bangkok, and the claim from management is that this plane is “essential” to making this route work. I’m not sure why, exactly, since I don’t see why there would be range issues, so my only guess is that the additional cargo capacity is important to the airline.

What do you make of Aircalin’s Airbus A350 plans?