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After the A350 XWB MSN1 exits station 30, the
aircraft will go through a series of extensive
production and certification / development
tests, be painted and have its engines
installed. It will then be delivered to the
flight-line and be readied for its first flight
in mid-2013.
The Airbus A350 is a family of long-range,
wide-body jet airliners under development by
European aircraft manufacturer Airbus. The A350
will be the first Airbus with both fuselage and
wing structures made primarily of carbon fibre-reinforced
polymer. It will carry 250 to 350 passengers in
three-class seating, depending on variant.
The A350 was born as an A330-derived
minimum-changed competitor to the Boeing 787
Dreamliner and the larger Boeing 777, but was
unanimously rejected by prospective customers.
Airbus was forced to redesign the initial
proposal, but airlines voiced support for a
complete overhaul. The eventual proposal
incorporates major changes, which Airbus says
will be more fuel-efficient, with up to 8% lower
operating cost than the Boeing 787.
The redesigned A350 was marketed by Airbus as
the A350 XWB, where the XWB stands for Extra
Wide Body. The launch customer for the A350 is
Qatar Airways, which ordered 80 aircraft across
the three variants. Development costs are
projected to be US$15 billion.The airliner is
scheduled to enter airline service in mid 2014. |
