Emirates defers planned A350 services to Middle East and Europe amid jet delivery delays

Emirates Airline, the world's biggest long-haul carrier, has said that it is postponing its deployment of new Airbus A350 aircraft because of delivery delays from the European plane maker, forcing schedule changes in the routes. The delay pushes back the A350's debut by nearly two months: Edinburgh will now become the first route to be served with the aircraft from November 4, unchanged from the original announcement, replacing Bahrain, which was supposed to start on September 15, Emirates said. “Once we begin receiving our A350s, we will expedite their entry into service as quickly as possible and will work hard to minimise the impact of the delays,” an Emirates representative told The National on Saturday. Aside from Bahrain and Edinburgh – one of nine destinations Emirates said in May that the A350s will initially serve – Kuwait, Muscat, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lyon and Bologna have been deferred because of delivery delays, it said. “There are no changes to flight frequencies to these destinations, only a change in the type of aircraft operating on the route,” the representative said. Toulouse-based Airbus revised its aircraft delivery downwards with plans for about 770 commercial aircraft handovers, down from a projection of 800. The Airbus A350 jets are central to Emirates' long-term strategy. With them, the airline aims to serve ultra-long-haul destinations in the US, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand – all up to 15 hours of flying time from Dubai – following the initial launch of the wide-body jets on mainly regional routes. Emirates has 65 Airbus A350-900 aircraft on order, deliveries of which were supposed to start in August and through to the next three and half years.<br/>