Thai Airways’ first Airbus A350 to serve Bangkok-Melbourne route starting September

Passengers of Thai Airways’ Bangkok-Melbourne flights scheduled next month will be the first jetsetters who will enjoy the amenities of the airline’s maiden Airbus A350 aircraft.

Thai Airways took delivery of its first Airbus A350 XWB aircraft, which touched down on Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok Wednesday. The airline company earlier said it ordered four Airbus A350 XWB aircraft and leased eight units.

“THAI will operate the Airbus A350 XWB on the route Bangkok-Melbourne beginning September 2016,” Thai Airways said in a statement following the aircraft delivery.

The first Airbus XWB aircraft left the Airbus Delivery Center in Toulouse, France on Aug. 31.

Airbus A350 aircraft specs

As part of its royal tradition, Thailand’s flag carrier named the new aircraft “Wichian Buri.” Equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, the Airbus A350 aircraft can seat 32 Royal Silk Class passengers and 289 Economy Class passengers.

Inside the mid-sized long-range commercial aircraft, Royal Silk passengers are given Business Class comfort with 41 to 46-inch leg room. The 21-inch wide Business Class seats can recline 180 degrees. On the other hand, the Economy Class seats are 18-inch wide with 32-inch seat pitch.

The Airbus A350 XWB is considerably lightweight since, according to Thai Airways, “70 percent of the aircraft is made of weight-efficient airframe consisting of advanced composite materials such as titanium and advance aluminum and all-new carbon filter reinforced plastic fuselage.”

As of press time, Thai Airways operate 23 Airbus aircrafts, including the newest addition to its fleet. Once all the Airbus A350 XWB aircrafts are delivered, they will be operated on intercontinental flights to improve Thai Airways’ fleet efficiency.