Tag Archives: Airbus A350-900

Video: Five A350 XWBs together in flight

From Airbus: The five test and development A350-900s took to the skies for a formation flight in September 2014, bringing together all of the aircraft used for Airbus’ successful campaign leading to certification of this latest Airbus widebody jetliner

Finnair firms up an order for eight additional Airbus A350-900s

Finnair (Helsinki), a launch customer for the A350 XWB, has signed an agreement, firming up the order for eight additional Airbus A350-900s. Finnair was the first airline to select the A350 XWB and will be the first European airline in the autumn of 2015 to receive the all new Airbus widebody. Finnair’s A350 XWBs will seat 297 passengers in a two class configuration. The aircraft will be deployed on Finnair’s long-haul routes to Asia and America.

Finnair currently operates an all Airbus fleet of 45 aircraft (30 A320 Family aircraft and 15 A330s/A340s).

As mentioned, Finnair was launch customer of the A350, and in 2007 placed an order for 11 A350-900s, including an option for further eight. This agreement brings the total committed order to 19 A350-900s.

Image: Airbus.

Finnair aircraft slide show:

It’s official: Delta orders Airbus A350-900s and A330-900neos

Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) has issued this statement concerning its wide body fleet renewal decision:

Delta has chosen the Airbus A350-900 and A330-900neo to replace older generation Boeing 747 and 767 aircraft starting in 2017 and 2019, respectively.

The order for 25 state-of-the-art Airbus A350-900 aircraft and 25 advanced Airbus A330-900neo aircraft fits within Delta’s existing capacity and capital expenditure plan and continues the airline’s focus on making prudent, cost-effective investments in its fleet.

“Delta always approaches fleet decisions with a balance of economic efficiency, customer experience enhancements, network integration and total cost of ownership,” said Nat Pieper, Delta’s Vice President – Fleet Strategy and Transactions. “The A350 and A330neo support our long-haul, transoceanic strategy and join a mix of Boeing and Airbus aircraft that provide exceptional flexibility for Delta’s global network as well as strong cash-on-cash returns for our shareholders.”

Airbus A350-900

The long-range Airbus A350-900 will continue Delta’s optimization of its Pacific network, operating primarily on long-range routes between the U.S. and Asia. The jets are expected to generate a 20 percent improvement in operating cost per seat compared to the Boeing 747-400 aircraft they will replace. Delta will take delivery of the A350 beginning in the second quarter of 2017.

The A350-900 will be powered by two fuel-efficient Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines.

Airbus A330neo (A330-900)

The widebody A330-900neo, an enhancement of Airbus’ successful A330 family featuring greater aerodynamic and economic efficiency, will be deployed on medium-haul trans-Atlantic markets as well as select routes connecting the U.S. West Coast and Asia. The aircraft are scheduled to enter the Delta fleet in 2019 and will deliver a 20 percent operating cost savings per seat over the Boeing 767-300ER aircraft it will replace.

The A330neo features the Rolls Royce Trent 7000 engine which is built with similar technology to the Trent XWB on the Airbus A350.

Delta began a structured fleet renewal in 2011 with the selection of new Boeing 737-900ER aircraft along with Boeing 717s and two-class Bombardier CRJ900 regional jets, and continued it with transactions for Airbus A321 and A330 aircraft. Those aircraft are replacing inefficient older technology airplanes, generating substantial cost improvement and increased customer satisfaction. The airline continues to invest in the onboard product and amenities available to customers on its entire domestic and international fleet including installation of transoceanic satellite in-flight Wi-Fi, Delta Studio featuring a library of free streaming programming as well as more than 1,000 on-demand movies, television shows and music on large, high-definition seatback monitors, and other service improvements.

Read the analysis from Bloomberg Businessweek: CLICK HERE

Images: Airbus.

Delta Air Lines (current livery) aircraft slide show:

The new Airbus A350-900 receives its FAA Type Certificate

Airbus (Toulouse) has announced the new A350-900 received its Type Certification on November 12 from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (Washington).

FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Peggy Gilligan and Airbus Group Inc. Chairman Allan McArtor were among the signing authorities at the official ceremony. The certified aircraft is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. This milestone follows the A350-900 Type Certification awarded by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on September 30.

According to Airbus, “The A350-900’s respective FAA and EASA certification awards come after Airbus successfully finished a stringent program of certification trials which took the A350-900 airframe and systems well beyond their design limits to ensure all airworthiness criteria are fully met. The fleet of five test A350-900 aircraft completed the certification flight test campaign, on time, having accumulated more than 2,600 flight test hours to create and successfully achieve one of the aviation industry’s most thorough and efficient test programs ever developed for a commercial airliner.”

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. One of the five test aircraft, the pictured A350-941 F-WZNW (msn 004), wears partial Qatar Airways markings at Farnborough where it was showcased. Qatar Airways will be the first airline to take delivery of the new type.

Qatar Airways aircraft slide show:

Qatar Airways to introduce the new Airbus A350-900 on the Doha-Frankfurt route

Qatar Airways (Doha) has announced Frankfurt will be the first destination for its new Airbus A350-900. The fast-growing airline issued this statement:

Qatar Airways has announced Frankfurt as the first route for its highly anticipated A350 Xtra Wide Body (XWB) aircraft.
As the Global Launch operator of the A350 XWB, the program will achieve another major milestone once the airline receives its first aircraft before the end of this year.

Upon delivery, following several weeks of induction preparation, Qatar Airways will then be set to introduce its first commercial service to the German business hub city of Frankfurt.

Frankfurt will be operated nonstop daily with an A350 starting from January of next year.

Qatar Airways currently flies twice-daily to Frankfurt, and the double pairings will both be operated by an A350 on the route.

Initially flights QR 067/068 will be the first pairing with the A350, followed shortly by flights QR 069/70.

The 283 seats are divided across a dual cabin layout, configured in Business Class and Economy Class; 36 seats and 247 seats respectively.

Qatar Airways has 80 Airbus A350s on order, and expects to induct the first eight production aircraft into its fleet before 2015 year-end.

Before the end of this year the airline will reach 146 destinations, launching new services to Djibouti, in the Republic of Djibouti, on October 26 and Asmara, in Eritrea on December 4.

Qatar Airways presently flies to 144 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America, and operates a modern mixed fleet of narrow and wide-body aircraft.

Qatar Airways took delivery of its first double-decker A380 aircraft in September this year and it is currently operated daily on the Doha – London Heathrow route.

In other news, Qatar Airways Cargo has announced the launch of freighters to Stavanger in Norway, effective November 3, 2014.

Stavanger will be served once a week by an Airbus A330F freighter, with the freighter making a stop at Brussels before heading to Stavanger Airport and then returning to Doha.

Stavanger is known as the European oil and gas capital, with many of the major oil and gas companies and supplier companies having their Norwegian headquarters located in Stavanger. Other areas of activity and business include fishing, shipping, finance, culture, food and renewable energy. There is also great demand for Norwegian salmon worldwide, while imports include considerable quantities of motor vehicles and other transport equipment, raw materials, and industrial equipment.

With the introduction of scheduled freighter services, Qatar Airways Cargo will provide air transportation to these growing industries through the Doha hub, to and from more than 140 destinations worldwide.

The airline received its seventh Boeing 777 freighter on October 2, 2014, bringing up the total freighter fleet to 10.

Copyright Photo: Airbus/Qatar Airways. The pictured Airbus A350-941 F-WZFA (msn 006) will become A7-ALA on the official handover.

Qatar Airways:

EASA certifies the Airbus A350-900 for up to 370 minutes ETOPS, the first delivery A350 makes its first flight

Airbus (Toulouse) has announced it has received approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for operators of the new Airbus A350-900 for ETOPS (Extended-range Twin engine aircraft Operations) “Beyond 180 minutes” diversion time with an option for up to 370 minutes maximum diversion time. Airbus issued this statement and new logo:

The A350-900 is the first new airliner ever to be approved before EIS for “ETOPS Beyond 180 minutes”.

This includes an option for up to 370 minute maximum diversion time, for the most efficient, reliable and direct long-range routings of any two-engined aircraft.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has approved the new A350-900 airliner for ETOPS (Extended-range Twin engine aircraft Operations) ‘Beyond 180 minutes’ diversion time. This significant achievement marks the A350 XWB as being the first new aircraft type ever to receive such a level of ETOPS approval prior to entry into service (EIS). Moreover, this means that operators will benefit from the most efficient, reliable and direct long-range routings of any two-engined aircraft. The FAA’s respective ETOPS certification of the A350 is expected soon.

The approval which includes ETOPS 180 minutes in the basic specification also includes provisions for “ETOPS 300 minutes” and “ETOPS 370 minutes” depending on individual operator selection. The latter option extends the diversion distance up to an unprecedented 2,500 nautical miles – a distance which corresponds to a maximum ETOPS diversion time for the A350 of approximately 370 minutes, at one-engine-inoperative speed under standard atmospheric conditions.

A350 operators will thus be able to serve new direct non-limiting routings, compared with a 180 minutes ETOPS diversion time: The ETOPS 370 minutes option will be of particular benefit for new direct southern routes such as between Australia, South Africa and South America; while the ETOPS 300 minutes option will facilitate more efficient transoceanic routes across the North and Mid-Pacific – such as from South East Asia to US, and Australasia to the US. Meanwhile, operators flying on existing routes (currently flown with up to 180 minutes diversion time) will be able to traverse a straighter and consequently quicker and more fuel efficient path, and also have access to more – and possibly better equipped – en-route diversion airports if needed.

The granting of this ETOPS capability prior to the A350’s EIS is a testimony to the development teams’ emphasis on securing the aircraft’s design and systems maturity, which had to be demonstrated as equivalent to that of a proven ETOPS aircraft such as its widebody sibling – the versatile and extremely reliable A330. The latter has proven the robustness of its systems as demonstrated in over 30 million flight hours in almost seven million flights.

Around 70 percent of A350 flight hours will be ETOPS. At the end of September 2014, the A350 XWB had won 750 orders from 39 customers worldwide.

“ETOPS” is a set of rules initially introduced by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in the mid-1980s to allow commercial operations with twin-engine aircraft on routes beyond 60min flying time from the nearest airport and which were previously operated only by aircraft with more than two engines. These rules, which are now named “EDTO” (Extended Diversion Time Operations) by ICAO have been progressively revised to allow operations beyond 180min diversion time. In 2009, the Airbus A330 became the first airliner to gain an ETOPS “Beyond 180 minutes” certification, when it was granted an ETOPS 240 minutes certification by EASA. As of today, Airbus twin-engined airliners have accumulated over 16 million ETOPS flight hours, out of which over 12 million have been accumulated by the A330 models.

TopCopyright Photo: Eurospot/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A350-941 F-WZFA (msn 006), the first delivery model going to Qatar Airways as A7-ALA performs a taxi test. F-WZFA flew today (October 16) for the first time at Toulouse.

Qatar Airways:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Airbus. Qatar Airways’ future first delivery to be registered as A7-ALA takes to the skies for the first time today in Toulouse. Qatar Airways will become the first operator of the A350 XWB when it takes delivery of its first aircraft later this year. The airline has 80 A350s on order, including 43 A350-900 and 37 of the larger A350-1000 models.

Qatar Airways Aircraft Slide Show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-3/Airlines-Asia3-QZ/Qatar-Airways

Airbus rolls out the first delivery A350-900 for the launch customer, Qatar Airways

Airbus (Toulouse) has unveiled the first delivery aircraft for its first A350 customer, Qatar Airways (Doha). The pictured A350-941 A7-ALA (msn 006) is now fully painted. Airbus issued this statement:

The first A350 XWB for Qatar Airways is progressing towards delivery before year end. The aircraft equipped with Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines rolled out of the Airbus factory in Toulouse fully painted, prominently bearing Qatar Airways’ livery.

Following the recent EASA Type Certification, the Qatar Airways A350-900 is now entering into its final stage of production during which Airbus and the airline teams are actively working together in order to ensure a seamless hand-over process. The remaining steps up to delivery comprise notably the cabin completion as well as ground and flight tests.

The A350 XWB is Airbus’ all-new mid-size long range product line and the newest member of Airbus’ leading widebody family. The A350 XWB stands out in its class thanks to its combination of passenger comfort, technological innovation and its unique industrial process. Built hand-in-hand with our customers, the A350 XWB sets new standards in terms of passenger experience, operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

At the end of September 2014, the A350 XWB had won 750 orders from 39 customers worldwide.

Qatar Airways:

The first Airbus A350 for Vietnam Airlines enters the final assembly at Toulouse

Airbus (Toulouse) has issued this update and photo of the first A350-941 (msn 014) for Vietnam Airlines (Hanoi).

Final assembly of the first A350 XWB for Vietnam Airlines has begun at the Roger Béteille Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Toulouse, France.

Scheduled for delivery in mid-2015, the aircraft will see Vietnam Airlines become the first Asian airline to fly the A350 XWB and the second operator in the world of the all-new, fuel-efficient widebody.

Vietnam Airlines has a total of 10 A350 XWB on order. The aircraft will be operated on the carrier’s premium long range services.

Vietnam Airlines:

The Airbus A350-900 receives EASA certification

Airbus (Toulouse) has announced the new A350-900 received its Type Certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on September 30, 2014. The certified aircraft is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification will follow shortly.

The EASA A350-900 Type Certificate was signed by EASA’s Executive Director, Patrick Ky. The document was handed over to Airbus’ Executive Vice President Engineering, Charles Champion and Airbus’ A350 XWB Chief Engineer, Gordon McConnell.

Qatar Airways will take delivery of the first A350 before the end of the year. Our fleet of five test aircraft (above) completed the certification campaign, on time, cost and quality with more than 2,600 flight test hour

At the end of May 2014, the A350 XWB had received 750 orders from 39 customers worldwide.

All images by Airbus.

The first delivery Airbus A350 is painted for Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways (Doha), which will receive its first A350 XWB before the end of 2014, has ordered 80 of the wide body jetliner. The first delivery aircraft has now been painted at Toulouse.

Qatar Airways: