Saudi Arabian aviation experts have been given their first opportunity to discover the world’s newest, most modern and energy efficient aircraft – the Airbus A350 XWB – on its maiden visit to Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) and Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport (KKIA).

The Airbus A350 XWB MSN 2 aircraft visiting Saudi Arabia is fitted with a two class cabin layout with 42 lie-flat business class seats in a four abreast configuration and 210 economy-class 18 inch wide seats set at nine abreast. The aircraft is also fitted with special on-board flight test equipment.

The world’s latest generation airliner, the A350 XWB, is the newest member of Airbus’ modern, comfortable & efficient wide-body product family. Offering customers a game-changing reduction in fuel-burn, the long-range A350 XWB features the most modern aerodynamic design, carbon fibre fuselage and wings, plus new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines.

Together, these cutting-edge technologies translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency, with a 25 per cent reduction in fuel burn and emissions, and significantly lower maintenance costs. For passengers, it brings new levels of in-flight comfort, with an extra-wide cabin offering more personal space in all classes, including 18 inch wide seats as standard in economy class.

Introducing the new aircraft, Fouad Attar, Managing Director, Airbus Middle East, said: “Airbus has had a long relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which started with our first delivery to Saudia as the launch customer of the A300-600 back in 1983. Since then, over the years we have served the air transport needs of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with our A320 and A330 aircraft. We reinforced our commitment to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by opening a local Branch in Jeddah and recently launching our latest A330 Regional aircraft with the help of Saudi airlines.”

At the end of October, Airbus had recorded a total of 783 firm orders for the A350 XWB from 41 customers worldwide, already making it one of the most successful widebody aircraft ever.

“We feel very much honoured to bring to Saudi Arabia Airbus’s latest product, the A350XWB, the world’s newest aircraft. This aircraft stands out in its class thanks to its combination of passenger comfort and state of the art technological innovation. What you will experience today is a new dimension of air travel experience,” Mr Attar said.