A350 emerges from the paintshop

A350 MSN001 out of the paintshop. (Airbus)

Airbus has eschewed the traditional lavish ‘rollout’ ceremony for its new A350 XWB twin. Instead, Airbus employees in Toulouse “welcomed” MSN001 after it emerged from the paint shop on Monday.

The aircraft was painted in under seven days after the completion of MSN001’s flight test instrumentation verification. MSN001’s engines were installed last month, following which it underwent an intensive phase of ground vibration tests.

Airbus says first flight is planned for the northern summer.