Thursday saw the maiden flight of the largest version yet of the the super successful Airbus A350 commercial aircraft.
“The A350-1000 is the world’s most modern and efficient passenger aircraft.” – President and CEO of Airbus Fabrice Brégier.
The flight was in the skies above southern France and the test flight was very successful and lasted for more than four hours. The aircraft should see it’s first service in the second half of 2017.
The first version of the A350 series was the A350-900 which was introduced in January 2015. The 1000 model has a longer fuselage which allows it to carry 40 more passengers.
So far, 11 customers have placed orders for the A350-1000 including Qatar Airways, British Airways, Etihad Airways, Cathay Pacific and United Airlines.
“We have seen today the world’s most modern and efficient passenger aircraft – the A350-1000 – in action for the very first time,” said Airbus’ president & CEO, Fabrice Brégier. “My congratulations and thanks go to all the teams who have contributed to make today’s flight happen.”
