First A350XWB Delivered to Qatar Airways

First A350XWB Delivered to Qatar Airways

Launch customer Qatar Airways has taken delivery of the first Airbus A350XWB, an A350-900, A7-ALA (MSN06), in Toulouse.   A350 at Farnborough

The A350XWB family features three versions: A350-800, A350-900 and A350-1000. A350 family In a typical two-class configuration, the A350-800 will accommodate 276 passengers, while the A350-900 and the A350-1000 will seat 315 and 369 passengers, respectively.

Composite materials make up more than 50 per cent of the A350 – the most to date for an Airbus aircraft:

ADS has produced this graphic that highlights the range of UK suppliers to the A350, including Airbus’ wing manufacturing facility at Broughton and Rolls-Royce in Derby who provide the Trent XWB, the sole engine available on the A350Rolls-Royce are ramping up development of higher thrust versions of the Trent XWB. The final assembly in Toulouse is shown here:

The layout of first prototype, MSN01 is here:

The Velocity Minimum Unstick (VMU) testing at Istres:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=EXYPcEVSjjo

The high risk flight flutter testing is described here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLY2mLlka-s

However, it is the passenger experience that is one key selling point for the XWB:

UPDATE See also:

Qatar Airways reveals A350 cabin

Qatar Airways CEO says first A350 is just right.  This article identifies the slight delay in handover was due to Buyer Furnished Equipment (BFE).  Aerossurance has previously commented on the raid growth and related challenges facing the cabin furnishing sector.

As is usual, the aircraft has been flown on route proving flights.

The first was a polar flight to Iqaluit Airport in Northern Canada:

To date the A350XWB has won 780 orders from over 40 customers worldwide.  Fabrice Brégier, President and CEO of Airbus was interviewed by CNBC today.

UPDATE: Airbus are planning to ramp up to 10 aircraft per month by 2018.

UPDATE: Flying On The Qatar Airways A350 On The First Commercial Service, As Newest Airbus Debuts

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