Airbus A350 completes world tour

The world’s newest wide-body airliner, the Airbus A350-900, has successfully completed a series of route proving trials, visiting two cities over the past three weeks. (see BTN 28 July)  The aircraft clearly demonstrated its readiness for airline operations on a global scale flying approximately 81,700nm (151,300km) in some 180 flight hours, with all flights performing on schedule.   Type Certification is expected in the third quarter of this year.

The A350 was operated by Airbus flight crews as well as Qatar pilots on the route from Doha to Perth, Moscow and Helsinki.  The Airworthiness Authority pilots from the European Aviation Safety Agency also participated and flew the aircraft on two legs.

A major highlight was the trip from Johannesburg Tambo International Airport, located at 5,558ft (1,694m) above sea level, to Sydney, demonstrating the A350’s excellent performance at high altitude airports.  The flights from Johannesburg to Sydney and Auckland to Santiago de Chile showed its capability to fly ultra-long haul routes, extended range twin-engine operations (ETOPS).

Current Airbus A350XWB sales stand at 748.   www.airbus.com

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