Air Mauritius has taken delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 aircraft, opening a new chapter for the Indian Ocean carrier.
The aircraft, leased from AerCap, was delivered during a ceremony held in Mauritius today.
The Mauritian airline based airline has chosen a very comfortable two class layout with a total of 326 seats comprising 28 in Business Class and 298 in Economy Class.
This A350-900 is the first of six to be delivered to Air Mauritius. Four will be purchased directly from Airbus and two leased from AerCap. The carrier will deploy the aircraft on its expanding route network connecting Mauritius with Asia, Africa and Europe.
Air Mauritius already operates a fleet of 10 Airbus aircraft including six A340-300s, two A330-200s and two A319s on its regional and long haul services.
The A350 XWB features the latest aerodynamic design, carbon fibre fuselage and wings, plus new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce engines. Together, these latest-generation technologies translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency, with a 25 per cent reduction in fuel burn and CO2 emissions, in addition to significantly lower maintenance costs.
To date, Airbus has booked a total of 858 firm orders for the A350 XWB from 45 customers worldwide, making it one of the most successful widebody aircraft ever.