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.
Vietnam Airlines announced at the 2009 Paris Air Show a new memorandum of understanding for two additional A350 XWBs, building on an existing firm order for 10 of these aircraft (16 June 2009)
(Right to left) Airbus President and CEO Tom Enders, AirAsia X Director and Founder Tony Fernandes and Airbus COO – Customers John Leahy mark the operator’s firm order for 10 A350 XWBs (16 June 2009)
Right to left: Airbus President and CEO Tom Enders, Vietnam Airlines President and CEO Pham Ngoc Minh and Airbus COO- Customers John Leahy commemorate the contract signing for 16 A321s (16 June 2009)
Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker and Airbus President & CEO Tom Enders mark the signing of a firm contract for 24 A320 Family aircraft at the 2009 Paris Air Show (15 June 2009)
Qatar Airways signed a firm contract for 24 A320 Family aircraft at the 2009 Paris Air Show to enhance and expand services on its regional, Eastern European and southwest Asia routes (15 June 2009)
Emirates’ A380 is welcomed on its first arrival at Bangkok, Thailand. Emirates performed a double A380 route inauguration on 1 June 2009, opening new service to both Bangkok and Toronto, Canada.
Two Emirates A380s are shown before their departure from Dubai for the airline's 1 June 2009 double inauguration of routes with the 21st century flagship to Toronto, Canada and Bangkok, Thailand.
