- A350-1000 completes test flight
- Delays in cabin equipment stalling launch of Dublin-Doha
The Airbus A350-1000, Europe’s largest twin-engined passenger jet, has completed its test flight.
The lightweight carbon-fibre aircraft is seven metres longer and able to carry 40 more people than the exiting A350s completed a four hours 20 minute debut flight.
Co pilot Frank Chapman said it had performed “smoothly”, similar to its sister plane the A350-900.
The 366-seat A350-1000 is designed to break Boeing 777’s dominance in the lucrative “mini-jumbo” segment for large twin-engined jets carrying 350 people.
It is larger than the new-generation A350-900, which entered service last year.
Fabrice Bregier, chief executive of the manufatcuring division of Airbus Group, told Reuters he was confident the A350-1000 would be delivered on time to launch customer Qatar Airways and that he was confident this year’s target of at least 50 A350-900 deliveries.
Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker has said he will launch Dulin to Doha if the delays in deliveries of A350s to the airline are solved, thereby releasing a B787 for the route.
Airbus is facing delivery delays to the A350-900 due to shortages of cabin equipment. See press release here.
Watch here Tewolde GebreMariam CEO of Ethiopian Airlines speaking at an event where Ethiopian took delivery of an AerCap leased A350, becoming the first African carrier to fly an A350.
