Photo: Christoph Schmidt, EPA)
Philadelphia will be the first city in the United States to land regular passenger service on the new Airbus A350.
Qatar Airways, the world's first airline to begin flying the A350, will put the the A350 on its Philadelphia flights starting Jan. 1. The carrier currently flies one daily round-trip between Philadelphia and its hub in Doha on Boeing 777 jets.
TODAY IN THE SKY: Now flying: The Airbus A350, the world's newest jetliner
"We are very pleased to announce the launch of our first A350 service to the United States," Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker says in a statement.
"Philadelphia is the sixth largest metropolitan area in the USA and is an important international business hub that is home to seven Fortune 1000 companies," he adds. "With the launch of the new A350 service from January 1st next year, Qatar Airways will be further strengthening its position in Philadelphia and the U.S. overall as an airline offering passengers a world-class travel experience."
Qatar Airways also revealed plans to put its new A350s on other U.S. routes. Beginning March 1, Qatar Airways will begin using the jet on one of its flights to New York. And on March 16, the carrier will begin using the jet on its service between Boston and Doha.
The A350 is the latest brand-new aircraft type to be introduced by either Airbus or Boeing, the world's two biggest aircraft manufacturers.
Qatar Airways became the first carrier in the world to take delivery of the jet late last year. And, in January, Qatar Airways was the first to put the A350 into regular revenue service when it debuted the jet on a route between Doha and Frankfurt.
The A350 also will likely be the last completely new aircraft from the world's two big jetmakers for the foreseeable future. Neither Boeing nor Airbus currently have any all-new models under way, meaning it could be a decade or longer until passengers see another all-new aircraft type produced by either of them.
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