YEMENIA Airways, Yemen's national carrier, has announced plans to buy six Airbus A350 aircraft with options for another four.
Deliveries of the aircraft will commence in 2012. The type of engine for the aircraft has yet to be finalised, according to a report on tradearabia.com.
“We are delighted to have secured the future of our long-range fleet with the Airbus A350 in the next decade,” says Captain Abdulkhalek Al Khadi, chairman of Yemenia Airways. “We are looking forward to introducing the aircraft type on the intercontinental routes to and from Yemen. Yemenia Airways is on the right track implementing it's fleet modernization programme, and is preparing for growth,” he said in a statement, according to the report.
The cost of the aircraft and how the purchase would be financed was not disclosed. The aircraft will be configured in a comfortable two-class configuration with seating for 18 passengers in First Class and 265 in Economy.
Yemenia currently has four A310s and two A330-200s in its long haul fleet, operating from its base in Sanaa and Aden to destinations in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, as well as possible further expansions of the network in Africa in the future.