A few hundred Emirates passengers received a special treat on Wednesday morning: They were the first to fly on the airline’s brand new A350.

The aircraft flew on EK823/EK824 as the first commercial flight from Dubai to Dammam, Saudi Arabia and back.

The aircraft (A6-EXA) arrived in Dubai on November 25th and has been busy ever since. Typically it flew short jumps at DXB and DWC to familiarize and train the crew. In fact, it flew a dozen such flights on Tuesday just before the trip to Dammam and eight more so far after returning from Saudi Arabia.

The airline is expected to continue flying the Dubai loop and potentially move to other short-haul markets as the airline prepares for its official entry into scheduled service. This is scheduled for January 3rd on the EK23 from Dubai to Edinburgh.

The Emirates A350 features a modernized cabin, particularly in terms of seating for business class passengers. It also includes significant updates to the in-flight entertainment and connectivity package across the aircraft.

Each seat has a 4K HD screen equipped with the Thales AVANT Up offering. The screens all have a Bluetooth pairing option for two headsets as well as 60W USB-C charging. The IFE system will also include new touchscreen bell buttons for cabin crew and the ability to display the on-screen menu.

The airline has orders for 65 A350s.