Less than three years after its industrial launch, Airbus' A350 XWB surpassed the 500-order milestone with Ethiopian Airlines' firm order for 12 of these next-generation aircraft, which was announced at the 2009 Dubai Airshow. This new Airbus customer will operate the A350-900 version from its hub in the capital city of Addis Ababa on routes to Europe, the U.S. and Asia - bringing a new level of passenger comfort and fuel efficiency to its expanding operations. Firm orders for the A350 XWB now stand at 505 aircraft from 32 customers worldwide.
A gala ceremony marks delivery of the first Chinese-built A320 to Dragon Aviation Leasing for operation by Sichuan Airlines - a milestone for Airbus' newest final assembly line (23 June 2009)
UK-based Virgin Atlantic Airways is renewing its fleet with a new firm contract for six efficient A330-300 long-range aircraft and a lease agreement for four more from AerCap (22 June 2009)
National carrier Turkish Airlines has signed a memorandum of understanding for seven Airbus A330 widebody aircraft, with deliveries scheduled to begin in August 2010 (19 June 2009)
Paramount Airways – a leading domestic premium airline in India – concluded a memorandum of understanding for 10 A321s, with an option for 10 more, at the Paris Air Show (19 June 2009)
The University of Queensland team won the “Fly Your Ideas” student challenge with a proposal to use bio-composite materials made from castor plant fibres in aircraft passenger cabins (19 June 2009)
Wizz Air, the largest Central and Eastern European low-cost carrier, signed a memorandum of understanding for 50 more A320s to reinforce and expand its extensive network (18 June 2009)
French private airline Aigle Azur will increase its all-Airbus fleet with a firm order for one new A319 – its first aircraft purchased directly from Airbus (17 June 2009)
Long-haul, low-cost carrier AirAsia X has signed a firm contract for 10 A350 XWB aircraft, to be used on a network linking its Asian hub in Kuala Lumpur with destinations worldwide (16 June 2009)
National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines announced at the 2009 Paris Air Show that it signed a firm contract for 16 more A321s, increasing its total orders for this aircraft to 41 (16 June 2009)
