A-G to Receive Fiji Airways New A350 Aircraft in Toulouse
Attorney-General and Minister responsible for Civil Aviation Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is travelling to France to accept the new A350-900 XWB on behalf of Fiji Airways at the Airbus factory in Toulouse, tomorrow.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum will officiate at the delivery ceremony and deliver an address to key partners: Airbus, Rolls-Royce, DAE Capital and other suppliers, contractors, etc. He will take the first leg of the delivery flight from Toulouse to Dubai where the new A350 will be showcased at the Dubai Air Show.
Fiji Airways highlights:
Fiji Airways managing director and chief executive officer, Andre Viljoen had earlier highlighted:
■ The first A350-900 XWB aircraft, is coming home on Saturday, November 23.
■ The A350 is named ISLAND OF VITI LEVU, after our largest island. This is fitting, as the first A350 will be the largest aircraft in the fleet.
■ We want the November 23rd arrival to be a national event, enjoyed by everyone in the country.
■ We have no doubt that all Fijian hearts will swell with pride when they see their very own national airline’s colours on the most modern commercial aircraft in the world.
■ In fact, the Fiji Airways A350 is so spectacular, that Airbus asked us to display it at the Dubai Air Show on November 17 and 18, on the way home from Toulouse.
■ This is a massive honour for Fiji Airways and for Fiji, to have our aircraft displayed as the central attraction for Airbus in one of the largest air-shows in the world.
■ After Dubai, the A350 will also stop enroute – in Brisbane and in Sydney, so we are able to have our trade partners and travel agents see the aircraft. This will help them sell our A350 experience to more and more guests.
■ After Brisbane and Sydney, our A350 will be on its way home on Saturday, November 23. The aircraft will approach Viti Levu at 12 noon and, subject to weather and relevant clearances, do a low flyover of Nausori, Suva, Pacific Harbour, Sigatoka, the Mamanuca Islands, before touching down at Nadi at 12.50pm.
■ There will be numerous opportunities for the Fijian people to engage with us prior to and on the day of the A350 arrival, so please ‘Watch this Space’.
■ We will be giving away quite a few flights on the A350 as part of the build-up campaign, so there will be lots of excitement, leading right up to the day of arrival.