Qatar Airways Airbus A350-900XWB made a somewhat unexpected arrival at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Tuesday. An unannounced charter flight made the approximately 13 hour flight from Doha to New York, with Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker onboard. The flight marked the first visit by an airline-operated A350 to an airport in North America.
Tuesday’s arrival marked the first time that an A350 not operated by its manufacturer, Airbus, visited the United States. Previously, the A350 had been in North America for customer visits to American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines. The aircraft also completed portions of its certification, such as extreme temperature testing, in the United States. Last summer, the A350 Americas Demo Tour visited several airports, as well as the Airventure show in Oshkosh, WI.
At just over 6,700 miles, Tuesday’s flight was the longest commercial flight taken thus far for the type, at least as far as we can tell. On arrival, the aircraft was met with the traditional water cannon salute from a pair of Port Authority of New York and New Jersey firefighting units. Even the often subdued air traffic controllers in JFK Tower seemed excited for this moment.
Although this flight was a one time only charter, scheduled flights are beginning soon. Qatar Airways will be replacing the 777-200LR that currently flies the Doha-Philadelphia flight on January 1st. Other upcoming A350 flights include a new Doha-Boston flight beginning in mid March, as well as the addition of a second daily flight to JFK on April 1st.
Mr. Al Baker is visiting New York to hold a press conference on Wednesday. In addition, Qatar Airways will be showing off the interior of the A350 on Thursday. NYCAviation will be in attendance at both events, so be sure to follow our Twitter for live updates.
When you’re traveling to a new city with a new airplane, you better make sure that you have plenty of spare parts just in case.
Ben Granucci, Standards Editor, is an aviation enthusiast and plane spotter based in New York City. Growing up in Connecticut, he has had his eyes toward the sky for as long as he can remember. He can be reached on Twitter at @BLGranucci or through his blog at Landing-Lights.com.
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