Comments
European airplane manufacturer Airbus has announced plans to fly the A350 XWB aircraft for the first time on Friday.
The extra wide body (XWB) aircraft is Airbus’ response to arch rival Boeing’s long-haul 777 and 787 (Dreamliner) planes.
Journalists attending the Airbus Innovation Days 2013 event at its Toulouse headquarters last week were given a preview of the A350 XWB.
Speaking at the event, Fabrice Brégier, President and Chief Executive Officer, Airbus said: “We have been criticised for not having the appetite to launch an aircraft ground-up. The A350 proves that wrong.”
Three versions
Taking a dig at Boeing’s troubles with the 787 aircraft, which was grounded earlier this year due to battery troubles, Brégier said: “We have no appetite to launch a grounded aircraft.”
The A350 XWB aircraft will come in three versions (800, 900 and 1,000) capable of seating between 270 and 350 passengers. In the first phase, the company is focussing on the 900 version.
The A350 XWB aircraft, a mid-sized long range product line, will be made primarily from composite materials. Airbus says that compared with existing aircraft in this size category, it will use 25 per cent less fuel.
The timing of the first flight of the A350 just days before the Paris Air Show should help Airbus score brownie points over Boeing.
The A350 XWB may be put into commercial service by airlines in the latter half of 2014. Qatar Airways is the launch customer, and Airbus has so far received 613 orders from 33 customers.
This correspondent was in Toulouse on the invitation of Airbus.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.