SIA's A350 flies to Amsterdam

AMSTERDAM has become the first Singapore Airlines long-haul destination to receive the A350-900, with flight SQ324 from Singapore arriving in the Dutch capital on Tuesday morning.

The A350-900 departed Singapore Changi Airport on Monday at 11.55 pm local time and arrived at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport at 6.45 am local time on Tuesday, after a flight of nearly 13 hours.

Customers departing from Singapore were treated to food and drinks at a special boarding gate event held to commemorate the inaugural flight. They also received goodie bags. On board, they were treated to champagne, and a welcome ceremony marked the arrival of the aircraft at Schiphol Airport.

Singapore Airlines took delivery of its first A350-900 on March 2, 2016 from the Airbus Delivery Centre in Toulouse. It now has two in its fleet, with another 65 on firm order.

Before the launch of long-haul A350 services to Amsterdam, the airline had been operating the aircraft on select Jakarta, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur flights for crew training purposes.

The initial batch of A350s will be fitted with 253 seats in three classes, seating 42 customers in Business Class, 24 in Premium Economy Class and 187 in Economy Class.

The A350s also feature higher ceilings, larger windows, an extra wide body and lighting designed to reduce jetlag.

"The A350 will form a key part of the airline's fleet in the years ahead, allowing for the introduction of new destinations, such as Dusseldorf from July, and helping to boost connectivity to and through the Singapore hub," SIA said.