An A350 Xperience

Airbus’s new big twin is on track for certification and deliveries from the end of the year

It’s one year since the Airbus A350 XWB first took to the skies. Now it has over 2,000 flight test hours spread across its fleet of five aircraft. As certifications looms ahead, the A350 is preparing to make the transition from the testbed to the aerobridge.

In the family

In the A350 XWB, Airbus has the world’s long-haul routes firmly in their sights. With 742 aircraft orders already on their books, the A350 slips into the Airbus family as a bridge between its siblings, the A330 and the A380. Across the A350’s three variants – -800, -900 and -1000 – and depending on configuration will offer between 280 and 370 seats. The launch customer for the A350‑900 is Qatar Airways and their first two aircraft (MSN006 and MSN007) are in final assembly and on track for delivery by the year’s end. Further smoothing the way for the aircraft’s entry into commercial service is that it only takes eight days to train previously qualified A330 crews to fly the A350 and without the need for a full-flight simulator.