First Airbus A350 XWB for Thai

 Thai Airways International has received its first Airbus A350-900 XWB on 30th August 2016. The airline is the eighth operator of the new Airbus widebody type.

First Qatar A350 flight to Frankfurt

Qatar Airways performed the inaugural flight with the Airbus A350 XWB from Doha to Frankfurt on 15 January. The Qatar Airways A350 will be flying daily on the DOH-FRA route with 283 seats (36 business and 247 economy class) on board.

First delivery of A350 delayed

The delivery of the first Airbus A350 XWB to Qatar Airways, planned for 13 December, has been delayed.

The carrier said in a statement: "Qatar Airways announces that the Airbus A350 aircraft ceremonial transfer of title has been postponed until further notice." The airline didn't give a reason for the delay, but delays are far from unusual for first deliveries to Qatar Airways. The airline was also very critical before accepting its first Airbus A380, recently, and this resulted in a three-month delay. The reason for the A380-delay were concerns about the quality of the cabin interior.

Qatar Airways has ordered 80 A350s: 43 -900s and 37 -1000s. (Photo: Airbus)

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First delivery of A350 on 13 December

The first delivery of the Airbus A350 to Qatar Airways is scheduled for 13 December. The official handover will take place in Toulouse, France.

Qatar Airways, the global launch customer for the A350, has ordered a total of 80 A350 XWB Family aircraft, including 43 A350-900s and 37 of the longer-fuselage A350-1000.

The carrier plans to commence commercial service with the A350 XWB between its Hamad International Airport hub in Doha, Qatar, and Frankfurt, Germany, in January.

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Finnair orders extra Airbus A350s

Finnair has ordered eight additional A350-900s. The airline has now a total of 19 A350-900s on order. In 2007 Finnair became a launch customer of the A350 when it placed an order for 11 A350-900s, including an option for a further eight.

The airline currently operates a mix of 15 Airbus A330s and A340s, which fly long-haul routes to Asia and America from its Helsinki hub. Finnair will be the first European airline in autumn 2015 to receive the new Airbus widebody jet. Finnair’s A350 XWBs will seat 297 passengers in a two class configuration. (Image: Airbus)

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Delta orders 50 Airbus widebodies

The champagne glasses in Toulouse, Hamburg and other places with Airbus-plants can be filled. Delta Air Lines has placed a firm order for 50 new Airbus widebody aircraft: 25 A350-900 XWB and 25 A330-900neo aircraft.

The A330neo jets will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines and the Trent XWB will power the A350 XWBs.

Airbus A350 XWB makes Asian tour

An Airbus A350-900 has taken off from Toulouse for an 11-day demo tour in Asia. Airbus is going to show its newest airliner in South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.

The Asian Demo Tour follows the completion of the A350-900 flight test campaign which recently led to the EASA and FAA type certification. The tour is performed by test aircraft MSN5, which has a fully functional cabin (42 business class and 223 economy class seats).

Airbus A350-900 receives FAA Type Certificate

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted Type Certification for the Airbus A350-900 on 12 November. The certification follows the A350-900 Type Certification awarded by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on 30 September.

The A350-900’s respective FAA and EASA certification awards come after Airbus successfully finished a stringent programme of certification trials. A fleet of five test A350-900 aircraft completed the certification flight test campaign, on time, in more than 2,600 flight test hours.

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

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Common type rating pilot training for A350 and A330

European and US civil aviation authorities have approved common type rating pilot training on the Airbus A350 XWB and A330 widebody jetliners.

The approval means that pilots who are qualified and current on the A330 can already commence their preparations to take the A350 XWB’s controls by undergoing "differences training" only.

First Qatar Airways A350 makes maiden flight

The Airbus A350-900 XWB for launch customer Qatar Airways has completed its maiden flight today.

Qatar Airways will receive the aircraft before the end of the year, says Airbus. The airline has 80 A350s on order, including 43 A350-900 and 37 of the larger A350-1000.

At the end of September 2014, the A350 XWB had won 750 orders from 39 customers worldwide. (Photo: Airbus)

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Qatar A350 XWB in full colours

Airbus has published photographs of the first A350 XWB to be delivered to Qatar Airways later this year. The aircraft is in its full colour scheme now. On the picture it is being rolled out of the paintshop.

This week Airbus received European certification for the new widebody airliner. Teams of Airbus and Qatar Airways are working now to ensure a smooth hand-over process for the aircraft, with the final steps before delivery including cabin completion, as well as ground and flight tests. (Photo: Airbus)

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A350 for Vietnam Airlines enters final assembly

Airbus has started final assembly of the first A350 XWB for Vietnam Airlines.

The aircraft is scheduled for delivery in mid-2015. Vietnam Airlines will then be the first Asian airline to fly the A350 XWB and the second operator in the world of the all-new widebody after Qatar Airways. Vietnam Airlines has 10 A350 XWBs on order.

To date, the A350 XWB has won 750 firm orders from 39 customers worldwide.

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Airbus A350 XWB is airworthy

Airbus has received type certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the A350-900 today. Certification by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expected to follow shortly.

Cathay to phase out A340s and 747s

Hong Kong's all-widebody-operator Cathay Pacific is to phase out part of its fleet of Boeing 747-400s and all of its A340-300s in 2016 and 2017, as part of its fleet renewal plan. The airline announced that it intends to sell six of its B747-400Fs back to Boeing with four of them already parked. Four passenger 747-400s are also to be retired with two of them having been withdrawn from service this month.

Airbus A350 ends world tour

The Airbus A350-900 has completed a series of route proving trials to fourteen cities worldwide over the past three weeks. According to Airbus the new airliner has successfully demonstrated that it is ready for airline operations.

Finnair will be first European A350-operator

Finnair is to be the first European operator of the Airbus A350 XWB, which will become the backbone of its longhaul fleet. The first A350-destinations out of Helsinki will be Shanghai, Bangkok and Beijing in late 2015, followed by Hong Kong and Singapore in 2016. The airline has 11 firm orders and 8 options for A350 aircraft.

Who is selling the most widebody jets?

Who is selling the most widebodies? Boeing or Airbus? The two aircraft manufacturers are, as often, quarelling about who sold the most aircraft. The fuss is about this year's sales total so far. Boeing is in a very good mood, because it sold 324 aircraft in July only. It has never had a month that it sold so many planes.

LATAM orders 27 Airbus A350-900 widebodies

The LATAM Airlines Group (LAN and TAM), the biggest airline in South America, said it has ordered 27 Airbus A350-900 widebody jetliners. Delivery will take place between December 2015 and 2019. TAM will be the first airline in the Americas to operate the aircraft.

A350s and A330s replace Iberia A340s

International Airlines Group (IAG - British Airways, Iberia, Vueling) has converted eight Airbus A350-900 options into firm orders for Iberia. The airline becomes a new customer for the fast-selling A350XWB Family.

Test programme A350 in final stage

Airbus is in the final stage of the test programme of the A350-900 and has started route proving tests. These tests are to demonstrate readiness for airline operations and will include high airfield performance, auto-landing trials, and airport turnaround and handling services. Some flights will have passengers on board. The A350 world tour itinerary includes fourteen major airports worldwide and one route via the North Pole.

The world tour is made by A350 MSN5, the fifth test aircraft, which has a fully functional cabin (42 business class and 223 economy class seats). The A350 flights will be operated by Airbus flight crews with the participation of Airworthiness Authority pilots from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

The tests form part of the last trials required for aircraft Type Certification scheduled for Q3 this year. The first airline delivery, to Qatar Airways, will follow towards the end of the year.

The three week trial (four trips) starts in Toulouse, France. Trip one includes destinations such as Canada via the north-pole and Frankfurt. Trip two to Asia includes visits to Hong Kong and Singapore. The third trip goes around the world and brings the aircraft to Johannesburg and Sydney. From Sydney it will fly to Auckland, followed by Santiago de Chile and Sao Paulo before returning to Toulouse. On the fourth and final trip the A350 will depart from Toulouse to Doha, the homebase of launch customer Qatar Airways, then onto Perth and back to Doha. From Doha it will fly to Moscow, then to Helsinki from where it will fly back to Toulouse.

Airbus has five development A350s flying. The test programme has reached over 540 flights and 2,250 flight hours.

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