Many airline executives across the globe were watching the first flight of the Airbus A350 XWB from the Airbus production site at Toulouse in the south of France with interest last week. The manufacturer has already secured 613 firm orders for the aircraft from 33 customers and like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner before it, the modern generation airliner is sure to influence airline’s network development strategies in the future.
Shortly after 10am local time the prototype A350-900 gracefully lifted from the Runway at Blagnac Airport on June 14, 2013. The aircraft completed a pre-scheduled four hour and five minute test flight in the skies over south western France before returning to Toulouse just after 2pm after initially completing a fly-by over the European manufacturer’s production facilities.
This maiden flight marks the beginning of a rigorous test flight campaign involving five A350s, and around 2,500 flight hours. It will culminate in the aircraft’s certification followed by its entry into airline service in the second half of 2014 with launch operator Qatar Airways.
While Boeing established the 250-seat 787-8 as the first variant of the Dreamliner family, Airbus has launched the A350XWB with the larger A350-900 version, providing additional seating and at the same time encroaching on the 777 product gap, while at the same time acting as a successor for the A330 and A340 models. Airbus remains committed to a three version product line – A350-800, A350-900 and A350-1000 – but with many airlines choosing to upguage from the -800 to -900 variant in recent years, the smaller variant could ultimately be dropped.
The new family will provide seating for between 270 and 350 passengers in a traditional three-class arrangement and will bring a step change in efficiency compared with existing aircraft in this size category, using 25 per cent less fuel and providing an equivalent reduction in CO2 emissions.
The A350-900 can typically accommodate 314 passengers in a three-class configuration, while offering unbeatable economics and true long-haul capability with a range of up to 8,100 nautical miles. Airbus claims the aircraft “is a generation beyond its current competitor” offering “more range and additional seats for greater revenue potential” for the world’s airlines.
Meanwhile, the 350-seat A350-1000 has been developed in response to the market’s call for additional payload and range. The aircraft will be equipped with more powerful Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines – which will be fully optimised for this largest member of the A350 XWB Family. The enhanced powerplant will deliver up to 97,000lb of thrust on take-off, making it the most powerful engine ever developed for an Airbus aircraft. This extra thrust – together with an increased aircraft takeoff weight capability of 308 tonnes – will enable operators to fly the A350-1000 some 400nm further with a full load of 350 passengers, or to carry approximately 4.5 extra tonnes of payload at a given range.
The Airbus orderbook currently includes 89 A350-800s, 414 A350-900s and 110 A350-100s. Planned Customers for the -800 variant comprise Aeroflot (18), Aircraft Purchase Fleet (12), Asiana Airlines (eight), AWAS (two), Hawaiian Airlines (six), ILFC (six), Kingfisher Airlines (five), Libyan Airlines (four), US Airways (18) and Yemenia (ten).
Customers for the -900 comprise, Aer Lingus (nine), Aeroflot (four), Afriqiyah Airways (ten), AirAsia X (ten), Air China (ten), Air Lease Corporation (20), ALAFCO (12), Asiana Airlines (12), Cathay Pacific (20), China Airlines (14). CIT (15), Emirates Airlines (50), Ethiopian Airlines (12), Finnair (eleven), Hong Kong Airlines (15), ILFC (14), Qatar Airways (43), Singapore Airlines (40), Synergy Aerospace (ten), TAM Airlines (27), TAP Portugal (12), Thai Airways International (four), United Airlines (25), US Airways (four) and Vietnam Airlines (ten). Meanwhile, Air Lease Corporation (five), Asiana Airlines (ten), Cathay Pacific (26), Emirates Airline (20), Etihad Airways (12) and Qatar Airways (37) have all placed firm deals for the -1000.
You can watch a video from Airbus on the A350's inaugural flight below:
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