Cathay Pacific 'pleased' with A350-1000 performance

Cathay Pacific Airways has been "pleased" with the performance of the Airbus A350-1000 during its first three months in service, said CE Rupert Hogg. "Overall, it's been a very smooth introduction into service for the A350[-1000]," he said. "We’re pleased with that." Cathay followed Qatar Airways as the second operator of the stretched A350, first taking delivery of the aircraft in June and debuting it on flights to Taipei on 1 July, FlightGlobal schedules data shows. The aircraft, which Cathay configures with 334 seats, is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines and has an 8,000nm range. It is 7m longer than the baseline A350-900, which the airline introduced in 2016. Asked about dispatch reliability of the A350-1000, Hogg said it was "up where we would expect" but declined to provide a number. "There are always things you talk about with the manufacturer when you launch a new aircraft," he said when asked specifically if dispatch reliability was above or below 99%. "That bit at the margin is important." Cathay operates five A350-1000s and plans to have eight in its fleet by the end of the year, says Hogg. <br/>