European airplane manufacturer Airbus is giving its newest aircraft, the Airbus A350 the clear for its first flight on Friday. The A350 is the first new Airbus jet since the year 2005. The Airbus 350’s maiden voyage will originate from Toulouse, France where the airplane is assembled.
An A350 XWB (extra wide body) jet will take off at 10 AM local time. The maiden voyage is scheduled on Friday to accommodate the recently concluded French air traffic controller strike.
Introducing the Airbus A350 XWB
The Airbus A350 is a 300-seater twin-engine aircraft. It is the company’s first lightweight carbon composite airplane. A significant cut in fuel bills is made possible by lightweight aircraft made mostly from carbon fiber reinforced plastic, titanium and advanced alloys. The A350 has the primary advantage of fuel efficiency because of the carbon composite technology and additional advanced aerodynamic features. The A350 also has less noise emissions than usual levels.
The aircraft has been in development for seven years costing the company about US$15 billion. The airplane has a custom-designed engine made by Rolls-Royce, new wings, and a much lighter fuselage. Airbus claims that the A350 will set new standards not only in fuel efficiency but environmental performance as well.
Orders are in
Thirty-three customers have already ordered more than 600 of the new aircraft from Airbus. The Paris Air Show will open next week and reports say that Air France will be purchasing A25 Airbus A350s and possibly 35 more.
The first A350 is expected to be part of the Qatar Airways fleet in mid-2014 after completing a number of flight tests. Airbus intends to start delivering orders by the end of next year. The state-of-the-art aircraft underwent a number of modifications on the drawing board before gaining vote of confidence of potential customers.
With flying colors
The final ground tests have been completed by the European Aeronautic Defense & Space Unit on Tuesday and the A350 passed the tests with flying colors. Once flight test teams have completed last checks, the green light will be given for the Friday flight.
According to analyst, a successful test flight is a milestone for the aircraft and the company. The first flight of any new aircraft is not just symbolic, but it is a neon sign to potential customers that the project is right on target.
Intense rivalry
The A350 is meant to compete with both the 787 Dreamliner and the Boeing 777. Similar technology is used in the Airbus A350 as in these two wide-bodied jets designed for the long haul. The Boeing Dreamliner was launched in 2009. Recently, there was reason to ground the Dreamliner fleet after two non-fatal incidents involving defective batteries. Despite the battery issue, the order for the Dreamliner has reached 890 aircraft so far.
Airbus and the American company, Boeing are the two main suppliers or airplanes to many of the airliners in the world today. Airbus, owned by the EADS group with around 63,000 employees, is the maker of the A380 the largest aircraft in the world to date.
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