State-owned national flag carrier South African Airways (SAA) has confirmed that it will soon be operating four latest- generation widebody Airbus A350-900 airliners.

This announcement coincided with the delivery to the airline of the first of these advanced aircraft (53% of the A350-900 airframe is made of composites and 17% of other advanced materials, including titanium).

All four are being leased for three years and all four should be in commercial operation by the middle of December. The first two are each nine months old and have already been operated by another operator, while the second two will be brand new and delivered to SAA directly from the Airbus Final Assembly Line, in Toulouse, France. The first two were reportedly previously operated by Hainan Airlines, of China, on lease from Avolon. The second two are being subleased from Air Mauritius.

“We welcome the first A350 home on South African soil,” said SAA acting CEO Zuks Ramasia. “The introduction of the A350s offers a new beginning for the airline and will contribute to the airline’s operational efficiencies, and get SAA back on track. It is an important step change as we continue to make progress to transform our business and return the airline to financial sustainability in the shortest time possible.”

Each of the A350s is powered by two Rolls- Royce Trent XWB engines. These were specifically designed for the A350 XWB airliner family (the A350-900 and the A350-1000). “With this, we extend our relationship with Rolls-Royce and the Trent family of engines by adding the Trent XWB to a fleet that already includes the Trent 700, powering the Airbus A330s,” he stated.

The wider Trent family is composed of seven engines. These have so far racked up a combined total of 140-million flying hours since the first Trent entered service in 1995. Rolls-Royce describes the Trent XWB as the most efficient large aero engine in the world. To date, 1 800 Trent XWBs have been sold, and the engine powers more than 300 aircraft flown by 29 operators. It has accumulated more than five-million engine-flying hours.

“We warmly welcome the arrival of South African Airways’ first Airbus A350, powered by our Trent XWB engines,” affirmed Rolls-Royce VP: customers Ryan Goodnight. “Rolls-Royce has a long and proud history of working with South African Airways and we deeply value our close relationship. The decision to bring A350s to the South African Airways’ fleet ensures our partnership will remain strong for many years to come.”

The new aircraft will initially replace four- engined Airbus A340s on the nonstop Johannesburg–New York route. Substituting the A350s for the A340s will cut the airline’s fuel burn on this route by about 20% and will also reduce its carbon emissions. Maintaining the A350-900 airframe will also cost some 40% less to maintain (over five years) than the airframe of the A340. The result will be significant cost savings for SAA and so help improve its operating costs and financial situation. As the SAA A350 fleet builds up, they will also be used on other routes. They are fitted with 30 business-class seats (all lie-flat) and 309 economy-class seats. The first six rows of economy class have extra leg- room.

During takeoff, the ten-foot- (just over 3 m) diameter fan at the front of a Trent XWB engine can suck in as much as 1.3 t of air per second. Also at full power, the air leaves the engine’s rear nozzle at speeds of almost 1 609 km/h. Each of its 68 high-pressure turbine blades generates power equivalent to that produced by a Formula 1 racing car.