Emirates Unveils New Airbus A350 That Will Fly to Edinburgh on January 3

Updated: November 27, 2024, 12:29pm CST

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Inside Emirates’ New Airbus A350
Where Will Emirates’ New Airbus A350 Fly?
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It’s finally here!

Emirates has taken delivery of its first Airbus A350, which will take flight for the first time in January.

The Dubai-based carrier revealed the interiors of the jet for the first time at a high-profile event on Wednesday.

“Today is an exciting milestone for Emirates as we showcase our first A350 and usher in a new era for our fleet and network growth,” said His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive at Emirates.

Here’s what we know about Emirates’ shiny new aircraft and when we might be able to fly it for ourselves.

Inside Emirates’ New Airbus A350

Just a day after the aircraft touched down at its new home in Dubai, Emirates held a special event to showcase its long-awaited Airbus A350.

Notably, and much to the dismay of those who love luxury flying, Emirates’ Game Changer first-class suites won’t feature on the A350.

The business class cabin, which will be the most premium cabin on the jets, features 32 lie-flat S Lounge seats in a 1-2-1 configuration.

Emirates Airbus A350 business class — Inside the business class cabin on Emirates New Airbus A350. Image Credit: Emirates

Their design and finish are almost identical to the seats you’ll find on Emirates’ retrofitted Boeing 777s, which also don’t feature privacy doors.

Emirates new business class on the retrofitted Boeing 777 — Business class seats on Emirates’ retrofitted Boeing 777s don’t have privacy doors either. Image Credit: Daniel Ross

Emirates’ new A350 also boasts the airline’s recently introduced premium economy cabin and seats, which are often described as the best in the world in terms of comfort, catering, and luxury design.

The cabin features 21 seats in a 2-3-2 configuration.

Emirates Airbus A350 premium economy — There are 3 rows of premium economy on Emirates’ new Airbus A350. Image Credit: Emirates

Finally, in the 259-seat economy cabin, we can expect a “generous pitch” for the best comfort possible on long-haul flights. Frequent Emirates flyers will also notice a new light blue hue to the seats.

Emirates Airbus A350 economy — A new plane means a new design for Emirates’ economy cabin. Image Credit: Emirates

Technological enhancements were a priority for Emirates when designing the A350, including some nifty features that are unique to its new aircraft.

In fact, the airline is promising “uninterrupted global connectivity across all destinations, including the North Pole,” thanks to a combination of the world’s first next-generation antennae and ViaSat’s Global Xpress (GX) satellite network.

Elsewhere onboard, window shades in all cabins can be adjusted electronically, thanks to aerBlade’s blind systems.

Emirates took delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 (registered A6-EXA) on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, after a 7-hour, 17-minute flight from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France (TLS).

A6-EXA is the first of a huge order of 65 Airbus A350-900 aircraft for Emirates. This is a significant change in the Emirates fleet, which has consisted of Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft since 2008.

Hot Tip:

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Where Will Emirates’ New Airbus A350 Fly?

After several delays, the jet’s first flight to Edinburgh, Scotland (EDI) has been confirmed for January 3, 2025. Now that the aircraft is officially with its new owner, this is the most confident we have been about the inaugural date going ahead.

Flight EK23, operated by Emirates’ first Airbus A350, will leave Dubai at 2:50 p.m. on January 3, 2025, bound for Edinburgh, where it will arrive at 7:05 p.m. the same day.

The jet will return to Dubai as EK24 at 8:40 p.m. and arrive in the U.A.E. at 8:05 a.m. the following morning, January 4.

While the exact dates for the aircraft’s next destinations are yet to be revealed, Emirates has confirmed the cities of Ahmedabad (AMD), Bologna (BLQ), Colombo (CMB), Kuwait City (KWI), Lyon (LYS), Manama (BAH), and Mumbai (BOM) for A350 flights.

Emirates also hinted that the aircraft will be deployed to new destinations for the airline, which will be announced in 2025. Hopefully, it won’t be too long before the aircraft makes an appearance on one of Emirates’ routes to the U.S.!