Airbus announced Thursday that Air Caraïbes has taken delivery of their first Airbus A350-1000, the largest member of the A350 XWB family. The airline, which is a member of Groupe Dubreuil, will be the first French operator of the aircraft type.
Today, Airbus announced that French carrier Air Caraïbes has taken delivery of the first of three A350-1000s on order. The airline is a member of the airline Groupe Dubreuil and will be the first French operator of the type. The A350-1000 is the largest member of the Airbus A350 XWB Family and Air Caraïbes' new aircraft will be configured in a three class layout accommodating 429 passengers. The aircraft has 24 “Madras” Business, 45 “Caraïbes” Premium Economy and 360 “Soleil” Economy Class seats.
Airbus A350 XWBs are equipped with a quiet and comfortable “Airspace” cabin with new lighting designed to provide a sense of well-being for passengers on long-haul flights. The aircraft features an aerodynamic design with a carbon fiber fuselage and wings and fuel-efficient Rolls Royce XWB engines, resulting in a 25% reduction if fuel burn and emissions. At the end of November 2019, Airbus had received 959 Airbus A350 XWB orders from 51 customers, making the aircraft one of the most successful widebody programs in history.
Air Caraïbes is part of the airline division of the Dubreuil Group, a French conglomerate with interests in the automobile, energy, materials, agricultural machinery and hotel industries. The airline was founded in 2020 by Jean-Paul Dubreuil and offers service from Paris-Orly to Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Haiti, Saint-Martin, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas. The company also owns the low-cost carrier French Bee, which was founded in 2016. The Dubreuil Group has been in the commercial airline business for over 40 years. They founded the European regional carrier Air Vendée in 1975, which was renamed Regional Airlines in 1991, before being acquired by Air France in 2000.
Source(s): Airbus, Groupe Dubreuil, Air Caraïbes