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Airbus A350-1000 receives certification

written by australianaviation.com.au | November 22, 2017

The Airbus A350-1000 is the second member of the A350XWB family. (Airbus)
The Airbus A350-1000 is the largest member of the A350XWB family. (Airbus)

Airbus says the largest variant of its A350 widebody is on track for first delivery to launch customer Qatar Airways before the end of calendar 2017 after receiving type certification from regulators in Europe and the United States.

The company said on Tuesday (European time) it had received the type certification documents from both the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the A350-1000, following a flight test program that concluded in early November.

“Receiving the A350-1000 Type Certification from EASA and FAA less than one year after its first flight is an incredible achievement for Airbus and for all our partners who have been instrumental in building and testing this superb widebody aircraft,” Airbus Commercial Aircraft president Fabrice Brégier said in a statement.

“The A350-1000 benefits from the maturity of its successful brother, the A350-900, which has translated into excellent right-on-time performance.

“We now look forward to deliver the first aircraft to Qatar Airways by the end of the year.”

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Three A350-1000 development aircraft were used for flight test program, which began in November 2016.

The flight test program for the A350-100 included the flooded runway test. (Airbus)
The flight test program for the A350-100 included the flooded runway test. (Airbus)
The flight test program for the A350-100 included the cold weather tests. (Airbus)
And cold weather tests. (Airbus)

Airbus said it has received 169 orders for the A350-1000 from 11 customers, which aside from Qatar includes British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Etihad Airways, Japan Airlines, LATAM Airlines Group and Asiana Airlines that serve Australia. Powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines, the aircraft is designed to fly 7,950nm carrying 366 passengers, 41 more passengers than the A350-900 which is already flying with a number of airlines.

The company has said previously that the A350-1000 had 95 per cent common systems part numbers as the A350-900, as well as the same type rating. Differences between the pair included the A350-1000 having a longer fuselage, a modified wing trailing-edge, new six-wheel main landing gears and a more powerful Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines.

No airline in Oceania has ordered the A350, although the widebody twin is an increasingly common sight at local airports thanks to services operated by Cathay Pacific (Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth), Qatar Airways (Adelaide), Singapore Airlines (Brisbane and Melbourne) and Thai Airways (Melbourne).

China Airlines will be the fifth airline to fly the aircraft to Australia from December 1 when it upgauges and upgrades its Taipei-Sydney services from four times weekly with A330s to twice daily with A350-900s from December 1 as part of efforts to support its new long-haul offering to London Gatwick.

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Comments (13)

  • Lechuga

    says:

    This may seem ridiculous because I believe Qantas will be a primarily Boeing airline from here on.
    But I feel this may be on the cards still.

    Mostly because of the A380 orders that won’t get picked up but have to be swapped out with another airbus aircraft.

  • Craigy

    says:

    The A359 is in the race against the B778 for the new ultra long haul contest as part of project sunrise. Both Boeing and Airbus are trying to adapt their offerings to meet Qantas’ specs of range and payload. So it will be an interesting contest. I think Qantas will announce an order for additional B789 when the 2017/18 results are announced. They will have had the B789 operating the B789 in continual operations for several months and will have generally bedded down their operations and the customer feedback on comfort etc.

    Interesting point made in the Dreamliner story on 7 the other night was that Qantas was Boeing’s first international commercial aircraft customer. A lot of history between Boeing and Qantas.

  • Patrickk

    says:

    Lechuga Qantas has a zillion A320neos on order which could earn an A380 countervailing discount.

  • Darren

    says:

    Even though I am for Boeing, the A350 is still, a beautiful piece of machinery.

    I agree with you, @lechuga that Qantas will be a Boeing airline

  • deano

    says:

    Lechuga

    They won’t swap 380 orders for a brand new type, more likely to pick up more 320 for Jetstar or they may even pick up a few more 380s for the US London and high density Asia routes like HK and Airbus will probably offer them for a very low price to keep the line open until they stretch the 380 as they planned to initally
    They seem to want to go for 787s as a 747 replacement but not all routes justify going to a smaller frame
    I can’t see them buying 777s even if they get the legs to get from Sydney to London or New York non stop, I think that they are trying to get Boeing to get extra range out of the 787s

    In 10 years their international fleet will likely be
    a380s and 787s

  • Rod Pickin

    says:

    There are vast benefits and savings available to Qantas and their customers if they align themselves with our Asian neighbors and select the Airbus A350 family of aircraft ahead of the B787 equipment.
    An inventory of A330 A350 A380 and a domestic fleet of A321’s would have a huge cost saving benefit and offer vast flexibility to the schedule all benefiting the airlines financial operating bottom line and it would have many synergies with our Defense Dept .too.

  • Roger

    says:

    I can’t see them ordering more A380s. They just have too much capacity for the routes they’re used on because there’s so much competition to LAX,DXB and LHR.

  • Scott

    says:

    Perfect aircraft for VAA.
    Would replace 773 and 330 with one advanced type, size wise sits perfectly between the two. 900’s for Asia and thinner USA routes @ 310 seats, 1000 if you want capacity @ 360 same current range to match 773, even a small number of 900ULR’s if they want to fly the flag to places like NY or something in mid America @ extreme range all with one type.
    Would be a greet point of difference to other airlines fleets and seats, cabin is large and wider as a great point of difference to other operators for passengers. Bigger cabin means they could keep things like the ‘bar’ that’s harder to fit in the smaller 787..

  • Lechuga

    says:

    Qantas specifically said they won’t take their A380s.

    And they already have a heap of orders for 320 Neos for Jetstar.

    Honestly it’s between the 350-1000 and the 330-900 for Asian routes I believe.

  • David Fix

    says:

    I think this aircraft is sexy.

  • Daffy

    says:

    I don’t think Qantas was Boeings first international commercial plane customer but they were the first international commercial Boeing Jetliner customer with the 707. Many international airlines operated the Boeing Stratocruiser incl Pan Am, BOAC, KLM etc

  • Francisco Miguez Vaca

    says:

    It would be interesting to see what the B 777X could add into the B787-A350 market competition.

  • Daffy

    says:

    Having just watched the Channel 7 program referred to by Craigy and to clarify my earlier comment I think the spokesman in the documentary is confusing International Airline with non Nth American Airline. Qantas was the first airline outside the United States to order and operate. Boeing’s first commercial Jetliner the B707. Several International Airlines, but not Qantas, operated the B707’s predecessor the fabulous double decked Boeing Stratocruiser.

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