Thai Airways International took delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 at the end of August. Its objective is to operate its Australian routes from Bangkok. However, the Australian civil aviation authorities have still not given the go-ahead for the A350 to enter service on the daily Bangkok-Melbourne flight. As a result, the route will continue to be operated by Boeing 777s, while the Airbus A350 will be used on European routes. In principle, Thai Airways International intends to deploy the aircraft on its three flagship routes to Frankfurt, London and/or Paris. In the meantime, the airline is continuing to test its new aircraft on routes to Singapore, Chiang Mai and Dubai. A revised schedule is expected in December.
Singapore Airlines is launching a daily non-stop flight to San Francisco with its Airbus A350-900. The service began this week, replacing the Singapore-Seoul-San Francisco route. But major changes will come with the entry into service of the Airbus A350-900ULR, the super long-haul version of the European aircraft manufacturer, specially adapted to the specific needs of Singapore Airlines. SIA is in fact the launch airline for this aircraft, which by 2018 will once again be offering non-stop flights to the United States, in particular to Los Angeles and New York, as well as to a possible other North American destination.
SIA has signed an order for seven aircraft, which should be able to cover more than 16,100 km non-stop, equivalent to a flight time of 19 hours. Which also raises questions about the future configuration of this aircraft. In an interview with an Australian magazine, the airline's management mentioned a two-class aircraft, but without specifying whether it would be a First/Business or Business/Premium Economy configuration. On Singapore Airlines' previous flights to the United States with the Airbus A350LR, the airline offered a single business class, but this was far from profitable. The future ultra-long-haul version is expected to have just 170 seats, compared with 250 to 300 on a traditional version.
Finally, changes are to be expected for Malaysia Airlines' Airbus A380s. The Malaysian airline, which wanted to get rid of its aircraft - which had become too big and too difficult to operate following the carrier's restructuring - has clearly not found any takers. As a result, MAS now wants to increase the density of its six Airbus A380s with a unique 700-seat configuration, which would be put into service for on-demand routes, for pilgrimages to Mecca. During off-peak periods, the aircraft could be converted to a more "airy" 610-seat configuration with a traditional business class.
