Review Of Qatar Airways Airbus A350 Delivery Ceremony

Review Of Qatar Airways Airbus A350 Delivery Ceremony

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On Monday I had the amazing opportunity to visit the Airbus Delivery Center in Toulouse, France.

The occasion was to celebrate the delivery of the first Airbus A350 to Qatar Airways, which is the plane’s launch customer. There were about 150 media people invited from all over the world.

A350-Delivery-Ceremony

They really went over the top with the event, as I’ll cover in more detail below. There were two press dinners (neither of which I attended), an amazing ceremony, and a 45 minute media flight on the Airbus A350.

To start, here’s a short clip that Airbus made, with the highlights of the ceremony:

Or if you want to see the entire two hour press conference, here it is:

In the interest of full disclosure, Airbus covered the cost of my one night stay at the Radisson Blu Toulouse Airport. I paid for all my own transportation. Furthermore, to clarify, the invitation was from Airbus and not Qatar Airways (just so no one thinks I have an airline bias). Qatar Airways was the ultimate “guest” here. 😉

With that in mind, I figured I’d share my thoughts. One thing I love about blogging as opposed to “traditional” media is that I can share my unfiltered thoughts. I’m not here to rewrite any press releases, but rather to share my “fly on the wall” style impressions.

Well done, Airbus!

Airbus did an absolutely amazing job organizing this event. The day started with an hour press briefing, followed by an hour press conference, followed by an hour delivery ceremony, followed by a media flight on the A350.

Qatar-Airways-A350-05

Then there were several meals, coffee breaks, etc. The only one I partook in was the Arabic coffee and dates, courtesy of Qatar Airways. 😉

Qatar-Airways-Arabic-Coffee

How over the top was the event? Well, during the delivery ceremony we had an Arabic opera singer, orchestra, and calligraphist, all “performing” at once.

Qatar-Airways-A350-09

Upon the conclusion of the last “performance” the curtains of the delivery center opened to reveal the gorgeous Qatar Airways A350 in the background. The setup was just brilliant — it was quite possibly the finest transition into airplane porn I’ve ever see.

Qatar-Airways-A350-10

Here’s the video of the musical performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D7sX1HNBV8?t=1h25m10s

So, what’s special about the Airbus A350?

While I’m passionate about commercial airplanes, a majority of my knowledge is specific to airlines and frequent flyer programs.

So for all intents and purposes, what makes the Airbus A350 unique? Well, obviously it’s intended to compete with the Boeing 787. What makes both of these planes so great are how low their operating costs are.

Qatar-Airways-A350-02

The Airbus A350 burns 25% less fuel than comparable previous generation planes. Fuel makes up roughly half of variable airline operating costs, so that’s basically like reducing variable operating costs by 12.5%. That’s huge.

Up until now I didn’t actually get the difference between the 787 and A350 from the airlines’ perspectives. What’s the difference, really, and why would airlines take delivery of both types of planes?

I didn’t realize that the sizes are substantially different. Boeing created the 787-8 and 787-9, while Airbus is creating the A350-900 and A350-1000.

The A350-900 is roughly comparable in size to the 787-9, while the A350-1000 is more of a 777 replacement.

I was surprised by how big the A350-900 was, and that’s the smaller of the two models that will be in production.

Qatar-Airways-A350-123

They also tout how it’s a much better ride from a passenger’s perspective, though I’ll share my thoughts on that below.

His Excellency Akbar Al Baker

Y’all know I kind of fanboy over His Excellency. I figured the guy was totally ridiculous, but I don’t think I was doing him justice.

The guy is quite possibly the most arrogant, opinionated, and unapproachable guy I’ve ever seen in my life.

It’s hilarious, the executives from Airbus were walking around and talking to people, and you wouldn’t even know who they were.

His Excellency always had at least a 20 person entourage. When they were setting up the press conference one of his handlers went to the stage to make sure that His Excellency’s table setup was acceptable.

Qatar-Airways-His-Excellency

Qatar-Airways-A350-07

During the photo op, someone from the press said “Mr. Al Baker, smile.” His response? “Not now.” ROFL!

I’ll share more about what he actually said below, but his demeanor was just off-the-charts.

All that being said, people loved it. The fact that he made himself so unapproachable made him all the more desirable. People barely snapped a picture of the Airbus CEO, while His Excellency had more pictures taken of him than One Direction at a concert.

His-Excellency

Lastly, he has quite possibly the greatest smirk in the history of the world. When he gives an answer and thinks he’s funny/right, he has this absolutely brilliant smirk he lets off, which just can’t be described. Amazing.

Fascinating press conference/Q&A

The CEOs of Airbus, Rolls Royce, and Qatar Airways were on stage to share their excitement over the event and then answer questions. His Excellency struggled with reading his script, which is sort of incredulous given that he never actually looked up from his page.

Qatar-Airways-A350-06

Most fascinating had to be the dynamic between the Airbus CEO and His Excellency. They both threw some fabulous shade.

The Airbus CEO said “Akbar, you’re a difficult man to work with,” and said he likes having Qatar Airways as a launch customer, because if Qatar Airways is happy then all subsequent customers will be happy. Akbar had his own shade to throw.

His Excellency said they planned to fly the A350 basically everywhere, given that they have 80 of them on order. In the US, the immediate plans seem to be to fly them to the “eastern seaboard.”

He mentioned flying them to Europe. Someone asked about London specifically. His Excellency responded “is London not in Europe?”

As most of you probably remember, His Excellency’s fight with Airbus was the most exciting drama in the airline industry in 2014. Someone asked how the A380 is performing for Qatar Airways. His Excellency said the plane is performing better than expected, with 100% dispatch reliability (which isn’t really surprising, given how few they have).

Qatar-Airways-A380-First-Class-113

He said they would consider ordering more after they’ve been flying them for at least 12 month.

One of the oddest things His Excellency said while basically talking how he runs the greatest freaking airline on earth is how Qatar Airways gets “more” out of their employees than other airlines. Um, yeah, so we’ve heard…

Flying the Airbus A350

As I said above, I was surprised by how big the A350 is. It’s huge, and feels much more like a 777 than an A330, for example.

Qatar-Airways-A350-03

The Qatar Airways A350 features the same business class product as they have on their A380s and 787s, which is a lovely reverse herringbone seat.

Qatar-Airways-A350-124

Economy is in a 3-3-3 configuration, with seats being 18” wide. Airbus explained that the plane was specifically designed so that it wouldn’t allow for 10 across seating, which should make it more comfortable from a passenger’s perspective.

Qatar-Airways-A350-04

Qatar-Airways-A350-11

Qatar-Airways-A350-12

Qatar-Airways-A350-14

I was seated in economy for the media flight, and I’ll be the first to admit I don’t have much to compare the seat to. 😉

Economy-Face

But it was actually reasonably comfortable. Legroom was okay and the seats reclined a lot, which is a double edged sword – everyone likes reclining, but doesn’t like when the person in front of them reclines.

Qatar-Airways-A350-13

The entertainment screens were large, and there was nothing protruding legroom, which is great news.

Qatar-Airways-A350-16

The seatbelt sign screens are pretty cool, as they’re digital, so they show quite a bit of information.

Qatar-Airways-A350-17

The safety video was pleasant.

Qatar-Airways-Safety-Video

And the tail camera was awesome as well.

Qatar-Airways-A350-18

Qatar-Airways-A350-19

But there was nothing revolutionary about the product, in my opinion. And I wasn’t expecting anything revolutionary, though they tried to market it as such during the product briefing.

The plane is quiet, but then again so is the A380. And I don’t really see much difference between nine abreast seating on the A350 vs. 10 abreast seating on the A380. You still have sets of three seats by the windows, and what’s the difference between three and four seats in the middle section?

The media flight itself was pretty cool, though. They served Krug, finger sandwiches, and macarons.

Qatar-Airways-A350-125

Bottom line

From a passenger comfort standpoint I don’t really see the benefits of the A350 over the A380, 787, etc. There’s no denying that there’s a general trend towards quieter planes with better technology, but the A350 specifically isn’t revolutionary in that regard.

That being said, the reasons consumers (and airlines) should be excited about planes like the A350 is because of the lower operating costs.

Lower operating costs mean the possibilities for more frequencies and more new nonstop routes, which is great news for consumers. It also makes it easier for competitors to enter markets, which long term lowers airfare.

So we should all be excited about the A350. But not because it’s somehow going to feature flat beds in economy and showers and swimming pools in business class.

Thanks again to Airbus for the invite. This is a heck of a plane, and hopefully it doesn’t have the same “growing pains” that Boeing had with the 787.

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  1. farhan Guest

    Good airplan a350 but my top liked aircraft is b747400 b747_8 intercontinental i wish qatar order b747_8 super jumbo

  2. Terence Gold

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg2ANf7EK3I

    7:09

    Someone is watching over you lol

  3. Gwayrav Guest

    I spit out my water LOLing @ "The safety video was pleasant".

  4. jeremy i Guest

    Happy xmas Lucky - great to see a post with a selfie of you in it.

    I hate to sound shallow but I think you're really cute.

    Jez x

  5. Ben Member

    @Lucky - I have not been to the middle east yet, the closest I have come from a cultural perspective would be Morocco. Even as a 'liberal' Islamic country, I felt fairly uncomfortable there (although I did love the country outside of that).

    Having spent the first 18 years of my life in the closet in a modern, progressive household (I'm 28 now), thinking about experiencing closeted life again, this time threatened with prison, makes...

    @Lucky - I have not been to the middle east yet, the closest I have come from a cultural perspective would be Morocco. Even as a 'liberal' Islamic country, I felt fairly uncomfortable there (although I did love the country outside of that).

    Having spent the first 18 years of my life in the closet in a modern, progressive household (I'm 28 now), thinking about experiencing closeted life again, this time threatened with prison, makes me put the Middle East fairly low on my list of places to see.

  6. Robert Guest

    Can I just ask a quick question, is Lucky gay? I am just asking out of curiosity.

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ Robert -- Yes I am.

  7. Kyle Guest

    I still can't stand the black trim around the cockpit windows... It just looks odd. The 787 looks way better in my opinion! The 787 is more revolutionary too, being composed of far more carbon fiber than the A350.

    On another noted I find it odd/interesting that Airbuschose to include Hawaiian as a A350 customer. It was a while ago that Airbus cancelled the -800 version they ordered. Not to mention Hawaiian already converted their order to the A330neo 800

  8. Good service Guest

    @Lucky - thanks. I was hoping for a quieter plane, like the A380. Although still a huge improvement from the 777!

  9. Ben Member

    Not to be 'that guy' because I can't remember saying something like this at all in recent memory, but I have to ask: As a gay guy myself, what would His Excellency say to you identifying as a gay man? I can't find myself fawning over someone like that personally, especially someone from this era.

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ Ben -- Not that I disagree, but out of curiosity, have you been to the Middle East? There's a HUGE disparity between "traditional" teachings and the reality of everyday life in some of the more progressive parts of the Middle East.

      My orientation has nothing to do with my fanboying over His Excellency...

  10. Good service Guest

    Is it quieter than the 787?

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ Good service -- I thought it was roughly comparable in terms of noise level.

  11. Abe Guest

    Was invited to QRs ORD launch gala at the Field Museum in Chicago. There was a cocktail reception around the T-rex with splashes of the destinations served by QR between the arcs of the museums high walls all while a violinist sawed away. Then, dinner was announced with "Ladies and Gentlemen, please join us in the forward cabin for first class dining and entertainment". Several investment bankers and capital venturists (who I assume frequent these...

    Was invited to QRs ORD launch gala at the Field Museum in Chicago. There was a cocktail reception around the T-rex with splashes of the destinations served by QR between the arcs of the museums high walls all while a violinist sawed away. Then, dinner was announced with "Ladies and Gentlemen, please join us in the forward cabin for first class dining and entertainment". Several investment bankers and capital venturists (who I assume frequent these all time) said Qatar, "went all out" for the gala.
    Then came the entertainment.. Chicago orchestra and Jennifer Hudson.

  12. John Guest

    Jody,

    The CEO of Emirates disagrees with you.

    “The 787-10 didn’t exist when we signed for the A350. Now it does,” says Clark. “So we will launch a campaign that will look at both the 787-9/10 and the A350-900/1000. And we’ll see who comes up with the best deal, not just at the front-end price but also the operating economics. And then we’ll decide how many and when.”

    Care to comment?

  13. Jody Guest

    Jody,

    To quote Saturday Night Live - "You ignorant...."

    “The 787-10 didn’t exist when we signed for the A350. Now it does,” says Clark. “So we will launch a campaign that will look at both the 787-9/10 and the A350-900/1000. And we’ll see who comes up with the best deal, not just at the front-end price but also the operating economics. And then we’ll decide how many and when.”

    http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/routes-emirates-to-re-evaluate-a350-alongside-787-next-404005/

    Jody,

    To quote Saturday Night Live - "You ignorant...."

    “The 787-10 didn’t exist when we signed for the A350. Now it does,” says Clark. “So we will launch a campaign that will look at both the 787-9/10 and the A350-900/1000. And we’ll see who comes up with the best deal, not just at the front-end price but also the operating economics. And then we’ll decide how many and when.”

    http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/routes-emirates-to-re-evaluate-a350-alongside-787-next-404005/

  14. pavel Guest

    Jody, you have no clue.

  15. Jody Guest

    You've obviously lost your touch on informative articles as the a350 is NOT a direct competitor to the 787. Stick to tumblr gifs, pictures of pretty things and trips with your dad.

  16. Robert Guest

    "His Excellency said they planned to fly the A350 basically everywhere, given that they have 80 of them on order. In the US, the immediate plans seem to be to fly them to the “eastern seaboard.”

    I think the most logical destinations on the east coast not served by Qatar already are:

    -BOSTON, because it's Boston and BOS seems to be getting a lot of love recently
    -CHARLOTTE, massive oneworld hub, granted little...

    "His Excellency said they planned to fly the A350 basically everywhere, given that they have 80 of them on order. In the US, the immediate plans seem to be to fly them to the “eastern seaboard.”

    I think the most logical destinations on the east coast not served by Qatar already are:

    -BOSTON, because it's Boston and BOS seems to be getting a lot of love recently
    -CHARLOTTE, massive oneworld hub, granted little O&D to Doha but Philadelphia has little O&D as well. Many connecting passengers could do NC (CLT)-DOH- India Subcontinent, where there is many O&D passengers from Charlotte and NC.
    -ATLANTA, massive city, could compete with Delta's ATL-DXB service

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ Robert -- Well that, or they could just replace a 777 on an existing route with an A350. I didn't necessarily interpret him saying that as suggesting they would add new destinations in the US in the short term (though I'm sure it's inevitable).

  17. John Guest

    So Ben did you shake his excellency's hand?

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ John -- Couldn't even get close enough to him to do that, heh.

  18. Lack Guest

    Also, 10 vs 9 relates to the seat width. Something has to give when they squeeze an extra seat in a 777 rów.

  19. Ed Diamond

    I know you are not much of an economy flier but the 9 abreast configuration on the a350 should be much more comfortable than the equivalent 9 abreast on the 787. The reson being much wider seats. It really does make a difference, you may recall that the 787 was originally designed with a 2-4-2 configuration in economy. Airbus cunningly makes the cabin width such that adding an extra seat is pretty unattractive, (although t...

    I know you are not much of an economy flier but the 9 abreast configuration on the a350 should be much more comfortable than the equivalent 9 abreast on the 787. The reson being much wider seats. It really does make a difference, you may recall that the 787 was originally designed with a 2-4-2 configuration in economy. Airbus cunningly makes the cabin width such that adding an extra seat is pretty unattractive, (although t can be done cf. AirAsiaX's a330).

    Also in direct comparison I find that the stock Airbus a330 seat is much softer than the equivalent 787 seat.

    Flying economy long haul I would always pick an Airbus over a Boeing for this reason. That said my new contract specifies business class for long haul so I might not be needing to make that choice.

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ Ed -- Totally agree. To clarify, not sure I get how nine across on the A350 is more comfortable than 10 across on the A380, for example.

  20. John Guest

    Am I mistaken or are there 9 pitot probes around the nose?

    After Air France 447 are they being extra super careful?

  21. RDP Member

    With regards to the size of the plane, the A350-900 is more like the 787-10/777-200, and not the 787-9. Furthermore, the A350-1000 is part of many Airlines, including United's, plans to replace the 747-400, so it is closer in size to the 777-9x.

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farhan Guest

Good airplan a350 but my top liked aircraft is b747400 b747_8 intercontinental i wish qatar order b747_8 super jumbo

0
Terence Gold

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg2ANf7EK3I 7:09 Someone is watching over you lol

0
Gwayrav Guest

I spit out my water LOLing @ "The safety video was pleasant".

0
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