Aircraft

South Korea’s Asiana Airlines has become the third customer to order the largest member of the A350 XWB family, the A350-1000, as part of its recent agreement for 30 widebodies.

Asiana signed an order for 10 A350-1000s, plus 10 each of the smaller A350-800 and -900 twin-jets, on 16 July.

It is the first airline this year to commit to the -1000 variant. Asiana’s agreement brings the number of -1000s on order to 50 following 20-aircraft deals from both Emirates and Qatar Airways.

Airbus has recorded, in its July backlog update, only 73 of the 98 firm orders for A350s disclosed during the Farnborough air show. The 25 A350s for Etihad Airways have not yet been included.

Neither has Airbus formally removed five A350s, thought to be Kingfisher Airlines’, which it is no longer counting among its firm order total for the type.

As a result the airframer’s books to the end of July show gross firm orders for 754 aircraft so far this year. These comprise 460 narrowbodies, 291 mid-range widebodies, and three A380s. Cancellations of 43 aircraft give the net firm total as 711.

Source: flightglobal.com's sister premium news site Air Transport Intelligence news