Libya’s flag carrier Afriqiyah Airways has placed a firm order with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus for four wide-body A350-900 jets as part of its efforts to expand its fleet of A350 XWBs.
The new order is valued at €1.1bn at list prices. Afriqiyah Airways has also converted its previous order for six A350-800s to the larger A350-900 variant, bringing its total orders for A350-900s to ten.
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These aeroplanes will be operated by the carrier to new destinations in the US, Middle East and Asia.
The A350 XWB jetliner configuration for Afriqiyah Airways will feature 314 seats.
Airbus COO Customers John Leahy said that having Afriqiyah come back with this new order for the A350 XWB was an encouraging sign.
"We are convinced that the A350’s unbeatable economics and superior passenger comfort will be key contributors to Afriqiyah’s continued success," Leahy added.
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By GlobalDataScheduled to enter into service in 2014, the three variants of the A350 – A350-800, A350-900 and A350-1000 – will accommodate between 270 and 350 passengers.
A350 XWB airplanes use 25% less fuel and provide an equivalent reduction in CO2 emissions, according Airbus.
To date, the aircraft manufacturer has received 562 firm orders for A350 XWB aircraft from 34 customers worldwide.
Meanwhile, Airbus is extending the radio-frequency-identification (RFID) part-marking to components on all its aircraft in order to enable value-chain visibility, error-proof identification and efficiency savings in the lifecycle management of components.
Complementing the current RFID part-marking initiative on the A350 XWB aeroplane, the annual volume of this extension is likely to be around 160,000 RFID tags, of which 120,000 will be for life vests and the remainder for seats.
Image: Afriqiyah Airways will operate A350-900 aircraft to new destinations in the US, Middle East and Asia. Photo: courtesy of Airbus SAS.
