Singapore Airlines brings new Airbus to SA

SINGAPORE Airlines will be the first
airline to introduce the new Airbus
A350-900 on a South African route,
when it launches the aircraft on the
Johannesburg route from June 27.
“This aircraft is extremely efficient
to operate, is very quiet, and has lots
of room,” says Alvin Seah, Singapore
Airlines gm of Central and Southern
Africa. The cabins have been designed
to offer travellers more comfort and
features include higher ceilings, larger
windows, an extra-wide body and
lighting designed to reduce jetlag.
Singapore Airlines’ initial batch of
A350s are being fitted with 253 seats
in three classes – 42 in business
class, 24 in premium economy and
187 seats in economy.
Johannesburg will become the second
long-haul destination in Singapore
Airlines’ route network to be served by
the new aircraft. The A350 will initially
serve the route on Mondays, Thursdays
and Saturdays and progressively
increase to cover all seven weekly
Johannesburg flights, including four
flights that continue to Cape Town.
Alvin said most of the demand from
the SA market was for business class.
“The new aircraft will have a bigger
business-class capacity, increasing
from 26 seats to 42.”
The next-generation business-class
seat, which was showcased at a
special event in Sandton City last
month, is 71cm wide and reclines 132
degrees (previously 125 degrees). It
converts into a 198cm flat bed and
also has a height-adjustable table,
reading lights, in-seat laptop power
supply, and USB and HDMI ports.
The A350’s new premium economyclass
seat has a 97cm pitch and a
width of between 47cm and 50cm. The
new seats recline 20cm and each has
an in-seat power supply, two USB ports,
in-seat reading light, cocktail table and
additional stowage space.
LCD screens have increased in
size across all classes on the new
A350s and Boeing 777-300ERs.
Singapore Airlines also introduced
the SingaporeAir mobile app to allow
customers to browse video and audio
content available on board, stream
movie trailers and save preferred
content.