Story ID: GPfinnairA35009212015
Finnair Sets A350 Delivery, EIS Dates
By: Gregory Polek
Caption: Crew familiarization flights to start October 9
Word Count: 306
Finnair expects to take delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 from Airbus during a ceremony scheduled to take place on October 7. Finnair has placed an order for 19 Airbus A350 XWBs, scheduled for delivery from the European airframer until 2023.

Finnair plans to place its first Airbus A350 into long-haul revenue service on November 21, when the aircraft flies from Helsinki to Shanghai. The next A350 long-haul destinations include Beijing, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Singapore. Finnair also plans to take the big twinjet  to New York later this year, becoming the first airline in the world to fly to the U.S. with the new aircraft type.

“We are excited about welcoming the first A350 aircraft into our fleet, and look forward to introducing it to our customers,” said Finair COO Ville Iho. “For the first few weeks, the new aircraft will serve crew familiarization flights in Europe, with the first commercial flights taking place on October 9 to Amsterdam and Oslo.”

Finnair has slightly adjusted its Airbus A350 long-haul launch schedule, due to a delay in first delivery, the need for the crew familiarization program and other unnamed operational factors. “The company wants to offer the best possible customer experience…and has therefore adopted a slightly more conservative launch schedule than previously indicated,” the airline said in a statement.

“Introducing 19 new aircraft into our fleet over a period of eight years is a major program for Finnair,” said Iho. “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.”

Finnair plans to replace all seven of its A340-300s with A350-900s by 2017.