Cathay Pacific first A350-1000 delivered

The Hong Kong based airline Cathay Pacific has taken delivery of its first Airbus A350-1000. It is the second airline to take delivery of the A350-1000 after Qatar Airways, which received its initial example in February.

Cathay has ordered 20 A350-1000s and already operates 22 A350-900s, Airbus says. The airline has another six -900s on order and holds four options.

Airbus says Cathay Pacific will from September deploy the A350-1000 on nonstop services to Washington DC, which the airframer describes as the "longest flight performed by any airline out of Hong Kong". Flight time will be approximately 17h.

Cathay Pacific chief customer and commercial officer Paul Loo states that the A350-900's introduction to the airline in 2016 "enabled us to expand our long-haul network at a near unprecedented rate".