SIA's 1st long-haul A350 flight lands in Amsterdam

AMSTERDAM has become the first Singapore Airlines (SIA) long-haul destination to receive the A350-900, with flight SQ324 from the Republic arriving in the Dutch city yesterday morning.

The plane departed from Changi Airport on Monday at 11.55pm and touched down at Schiphol Airport at 6.45am local time yesterday, after a flight of nearly 13 hours.

Customers departing from Singapore were treated to food and drinks at a special boarding gate event held to commemorate the inaugural flight.

They also received goodie bags. On board, they were treated to champagne and a welcome ceremony marked the arrival of the aircraft at Schiphol.

SIA took delivery of its first A350-900 on March 2 from the Airbus Delivery Centre in Toulouse, France.

It now has two in its fleet, with another 65 on firm order.

Before the launch of long-haul A350 services to Amsterdam, SIA had been operating the aircraft on select Jakarta, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur flights for crew training.

The initial batch of A350s will be fitted with 253 seats in three classes, accommodating 42 customers in business class, 24 in premium economy and 187 in economy.

The A350s feature higher ceilings, larger windows, an extra wide body and lighting designed to reduce jetlag.

"The A350 will form a key part of the airline's fleet in the years ahead, allowing for the introduction of new destinations, such as Dusseldorf from July, and helping to boost connectivity to and through the Singapore hub," SIA said.

This article was first published on May 11, 2016.
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