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Airbus A350a

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Local inspection in Toulouse. The maiden flight of the latest commercial aircraft from European manufacturer Airbus, the A350-900, is seen as another milestone for long-haul traffic. The new flagship with a capacity of 314 passengers and a range of 8,100 nautical miles is due to be delivered to Qatar Airways from the second half of 2014.

However, around 13,280 hours of testing of all relevant systems, including 2,800 hours in the flight simulator for pilots, will be necessary before it enters regular service. The twin-engine jet began its test flight program in June. This is all taking place in what is actually an extremely short period of time until delivery to the first customer. This is because these tests are complex, as project managers explained at the Airbus Innovation Days in Toulouse. A total of 2,500 test flight hours are planned. 300
of these will be carried out on so-called route-proving flights, i.e. scheduled flights simulated with passengers.

There are currently 616 orders for the Airbus A350 from 34 airlines, as well as over 600 options. These include European airlines such as Finnair and British Airways. As of May 31, 35 additional A350s had been ordered this year alone. Compared to the Boeing 777300, which operates in the same segment, the A350 is expected to achieve fuel savings of over 20 percent. A larger version, the A350-1000, will enter service from 2017. In any case, the first impression of the A350-900 is one of captivating elegance.

But whether all the high technical demands placed on the aircraft by the airlines will be met will be revealed by its tough use in scheduled flight operations. In any case, passengers are likely to enjoy another new flying experience.



Kurt Hofmann

Toulouse, June 2013

Connoisseur Circle Reiseservice GmbH Mariahilfer Straße 88a/II/2a 1070 Wien, Austria +43 1 890 69 77-24, +43 1 890 69 77-10, office@ccircle.cc
 

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