Tag Archives: A350

European air-framer Airbus S.A.S. has completed the main structural assembly and system connection of the first A350 XWB aircraft ‘MSN1’, which is also the first flight-test aircraft of this new series. The aircraft pictured moved out of the main assembly hall (Station 40) at A350 XWB Final Assembly Line in Toulouse, France. It then entered the adjacent indoor ground test …

National carrier, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has announced that it will order 25 more widebody aircraft from Airbus, comprising five A380 super jumbos and 20 A350-900s. Singapore Airline was the launch customer of the A380 in 2007, and has received all of its ordered 19 aircraft. The airline operates these aircraft to ten destinations around the world from its Singapore hub. …

The first wing for the Airbus A350 XWB has arrived at the European airframer’s final assembly line in Toulouse, France. The A350 XWB wings are about 32 metres long and six metres wide, making them the biggest single civil aviation part made from carbon-fibre composite material. This wing, will not fly, but will be assembled on the A350 XWB airframe, …

European airframer Airbus has successfully powered-up the flight-deck of A350 XWB “MSN1” for the first time, following the initial application of electrical power to the aircraft’s front fuselage. The front fuselage was delivered to the Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Toulouse two weeks ago. Flight-deck power-on is an important step on the route to complete aircraft power-on and first flight, …

Source  Even as chief rival Emirates Airlines reported a sharp 72% decline in net profit to $408 million in fiscal 2012, fellow Middle Eastern juggernaut Qatar Airways is continuing with its exuberant pace of expansion. Earlier this year, the airline, which serves 116 destinations on a fleet of 108 aircraft, announced plans for 65-77 new weekly flights to 13 new …

MSN 5000 The first Airbus A350 XWB static airframe fuselage roll-out at the A350 Final Assembly Line in Toulouse, France.

The first Airbus A350XWB entered the final assembly line at Toulouse earlier this week. Enjoy the photos which are courtesy Airbus S.A.S. Have a great weekend.

The engine for Airbus’ new A350 XWB jetliner made its successful maiden flight on 18 February, 2012. Installed on the A380 flying testbed aircraft, the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB powerplant was tested for performance and fuel efficiency during an airborne evaluation that lasted more than five hours. Click on the picture below for a high-resolution view.

Earlier this week, Cathay Pacific Airways and Singapore Airlines both announced new orders for Boeing 777s. For Singapore Airlines, the order for eight Boeing 777-300ERs comes in addition to the 15 Airbus A330s that were ordered from Airbus (leased via Airbus as well) in late June. Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER at Mumbai. Photo copyright Vedant Agarwal. Deliveries of the new …

United has signed a firm order for 25 Airbus A350-900 XWB aircraft which it originally announced in December 2009 The aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. Deliveries of the aircraft will begin in 2016 and run through 2019.

Toulouse, France based Airbus S.A.S. has commenced the Dubai Air Show 2009 with a slew of orders. Ethiopian Airlines has today ordered 12 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft, bringing total orders for the A350 XWB family to 505. The airline will operate the A350s from their hub in Addis Ababa on routes to Europe, the US and Asia. Luxury charter company …

Following recent successful development testing, “Brake-To-Vacate” (BTV) and “Runway Overrun Warning and Prevention” (ROW/ROP) have both been approved and certified for the Airbus A380 by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). BTV is an Airbus innovation in pilot aid to ease airport congestion and improve runway turnaround time, and ROW/ROP addresses runway excursion risk at landing. Both BTV and ROW/ROP …

Image copyright Airbus, photographer C. Brinkmann This second-generation of CFRP (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic) fuselage demonstrator was designed to be very close to the final design of the A350 XWB fuselage as it will be used for certification of design principles and sizing methods. The barrel demonstrator measures 18 metres in length and more than six metres in diameter. Its …

John Leahy is a happy man; may not be as happy as in 2007, but surely the orders received for the Airbus A320 and A350 families at this year’s Paris air show, must give him a cautious sense of optimism. Airbus SAS is expected to walk away from Le Bourget with about orders for 110 new planes or commitments worth …

Continuing the story on the forty year old rivalry between Airbus and Boeing from yesterday, we pick up the rivalry from the mid 1980s till date. Following the success of the A320, Airbus next introduced the four engined A340 and twin-engine A330 mid-sized aircraft in 1987. While the A340 was designed to compete in the long distance over-water intercontinental routes, …

Airbus yesterday, commenced construction of the A350 XWB (eXtra Wide Body) Final Assembly Line (FAL), completing the second key milestone towards delivering the aircraft in 2013 to launch customer Qatar Airways. Last month Airbus froze the design for the jetliner’s first family member – the A350-900, allowed Airbus teams to begin component-level work, and preparing for the production of tooling …

Airbus reported completion of the largest civil aircraft deal of the year, a 51-plane order from Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways worth over $10 billion. The order includes 6 A380 superjumbo, 25 A350XWB and 20 single-aisle A320 aircraft. The order was first announced at the Farnborough air show in July. However, Etihad’s financial woes, and speculation of a merger with …