The carrier shapes the future of air travel with leading A350 XWB widebody fleet

France | February 20, 2018– Airbus has delivered the world’s first A350-1000 widebody airliner to launch customer Qatar Airways at a delivery event in Toulouse, France. The aircraft is the first of 37 A350-1000s ordered by the carrier and is the first ever Airbus aircraft fitted with the revolutionary new Qsuite seats, offering the first ever double bed in Business class. Qatar Airways is the world’s largest A350 XWB family customer with 76 aircraft on order and the largest A350-1000 customer.

“Qatar Airways always demands the very best for its customers, so it is right that we are the first airline in the world to fly the Airbus A350-1000,” said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, “This remarkable state-of-the-art aircraft will become a firm part of Qatar Airways fleet and will keep us ahead of the curve, allowing us to continue to offer our passengers outstanding levels of comfort and service”.

The A350-1000 fits seamlessly alongside Qatar Airways’ growing fleet, including 20 A350-900s today. Both aircraft are complementary and provide for maximum commonality with unmatched operating efficiencies and the same unique passenger experience in their Airspace cabin. Flyers will benefit from absolute well-being in the cabin, with more personal space, optimised cabin altitude, more fresh air, controlled temperature & humidity, integrated connectivity and the latest generation of in-flight entertainment system.

Chris Cholerton, Rolls-Royce President – Civil Aerospace, stated “We are very proud to have worked with Qatar Airways and Airbus to deliver engines for this latest version of the A350 XWB family. This delivery marks another significant day in our partnership with the airline and the manufacturer as the new aircraft is powered by the most powerful engine ever developed for an Airbus aircraft, the Trent XWB-97.”

Fabrice Brégier, Airbus, said “It is a huge pride for us to deliver the very first A350-1000 to our launch customer Qatar Airways. Bringing major advantages in fuel and cost efficiency along with unmatched passenger comfort, the A350-1000 is the ideal aircraft to showcase Qatar Airways’ legendary customer service. With its greater capacity compared to the A350-900, the newest widebody will play a major role on the carrier’s busiest long-haul routes and will contribute to strengthen their position at the forefront of the aviation industry.”

The A350-1000 is Airbus’ latest and largest widebody in the twin-aisle category. With a 7-metre longer fuselage, the A350-1000 space for premium cabin products is 40% larger than its smaller sibling the A350-900. In Qatar Airways configuration the A350-1000 offers 44 additional seats. It is a truly long-range aircraft with a range of 8,000nm (14,800 km) at entry into service. The A350-1000 features a modified wing trailing-edge, new six-wheel main landing gears and more powerful Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines. As with the A350-900, the A350-1000 brings together the very latest in aerodynamics, design and advanced technologies for a 25 per cent step change in operating cost compared to previous generation competitor aircraft.

• Watch the full Qatar Airways A350-1000 delivery press conference via YouTube.
• The evening gala ceremony celebrating Airbus’ delivery of the first A350-1000 is highlighted in a YouTube video

Airbus test aircraft performed Early Long Flight in typical airline operating conditions.
France | May 12, 2017– The A350-1000completed successfully its first and unique “Early Long Flight” with 310 passengers on board, including 10 Airbus Flight Test crew members and 13 Virgin Atlantic cabin crew. Test aircraft MSN065 took off from and landed in Toulouse on May 11th after a 12 hours flight.

During the long-haul flight the passengers, comprising Airbus employees and cabin crew personnel from Virgin Atlantic Airways – one of the 12 A350-1000 customers – were first to experience the Xtra wide comfort of the A350-1000. The early passengers were invited to try out and test the cabin systems, including air conditioning, lighting, acoustics, in-flight entertainment (IFE), galleys, electrics, washrooms and water waste systems.

Though not part of the technical certification programme, the Early Long Flight allows Airbus to assess cabin environment and systems in-flight and optimise cabin procedures to ensure full maturity at Entry Into Service for its customers.

The intensive A350-1000 certification testing is progressing well and on track to reach Type Certification followed by Entry Into Service in second half of 2017.

The A350-1000 is the latest member of the Airbus leading widebody family, showing high level of commonality with the A350-900 with 95% common systems part numbers and Same Type Rating. As well as having a longer fuselage to accommodate 40 more passengers than the A350-900, the A350-1000 also features a modified wing trailing-edge, new six-wheel main landing gears and more powerful Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines. The A350-1000 embodies all of the fuel efficiency and ‘Airspace’ cabin comfort of the original A350-900 – but with extra size perfectly tailored for our customers on some of their busiest long-haul routes. To date 12 customers from five continents have placed orders for a total of 211 A350-1000s.

• Flight-test programme now underway;
• Three development aircraft will prepare A350-1000 programme for certification.

Toulouse, France | November 24, 2016– The first A350-1000 took off this morning for its maiden flight at Blagnac in Toulouse, France at 10.42 hrs local time. The A350-1000 is Airbus’ largest and most powerful twin-engined airliner ever – and the world’s most fuel efficient large widebody. Equipped with specially developed Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 turbofans, the A350-1000’s first flight is taking place over south-western France.

The crew in the cockpit on board this flight comprise: Hugues Van Der Stichel, Experimental Test Pilot; Frank Chapman, Experimental Test Pilot and Gerard Maisonneuve, Test-Flight Engineer. Furthermore, monitoring all the test parameters at the Flight-Test-Instrumentation (FTI) station behind the cockpit are: Patrick du Ché, Head of Flight & Integration Tests; Emanuele Costanzo, Head of A350 Development Flight Tests; and Stéphane Vaux, Flight-Test Engineer.

Benefitting from the experience of the original A350-900 test campaign (accomplished in 2014), the A350-1000’s development programme will be shorter – under one year for the three aircraft. The overall campaign will culminate in the type’s certification followed by its entry into airline service scheduled for the second half of 2017.

The A350-1000 is the latest member of the Airbus leading widebody family, together with the A330neo, offering unprecedented levels of operating efficiency, low noise and true long-range capability. As well as having a longer fuselage to accommodate 40 more passengers than the A350-900, the A350-1000 also features a modified wing trailing-edge, new six-wheel main landing gears and more powerful Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines. The A350-1000 embodies all of the fuel efficiency and ‘Airspace’ cabin comfort of the original A350-900 – but with extra size perfectly tailored for our customers on some of their busiest long-haul routes. To date 11 customers from five continents have placed orders for a total of 195 A350-1000s.

• 12 A350-1000s to become a key part of both leisure and mainline fleets

Farnborough, UK | July 11, 2016– UK based Virgin Atlantic Airways has selected the A350-1000, the largest member of the A350 Family, to become the latest aircraft in its fleet, operating from both London Heathrow and Gatwick airports. The airline is purchasing eight A350-1000s for deliveries commencing in 2019, and four new aircraft on long term leases from ALC from 2020, including a lease “option” for a fifth aircraft.

The A350-1000 was selected after intense and detailed evaluation of the current and future alternatives. The airline will benefit from state-of-the-art technology and the latest cabin product innovations to satisfy the most exacting customer expectations. Airport operations and neighbouring communities will benefit from the use of an environmentally efficient aircraft with low pollution credentials and half the noise impact compared to rival aircraft.

The aircraft will be deployed initially at London Heathrow to strengthen the trans-Atlantic network on existing business routes, and subsequently at Gatwick airport on leisure routes to the Caribbean, where Virgin Atlantic will provide three classes of customer service in the A350s distinctive Airbus ‘Airspace’ cabin with roomy overhead bins and the latest concepts for ambience, comfort, service and design.

The United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron said, “I welcome the news of Virgin Atlantic’s investment. As well as being good news for passengers, it’s great news for jobs in the UK. The fantastic Airbus A350 is built in the UK, with Rolls-Royce engines and suppliers across the country. It’s an investment in the UK itself, and our world-beating aerospace industry.”

Craig Kreeger, CEO Virgin Atlantic said: “The size of this order demonstrates our absolute focus on investing in the future for our customers and our people, and confirms the strength of our business. The A350-1000 plays a pivotal role in our fleet programme, helping to create one of the youngest, cleanest, greenest fleets in the sky. We’re looking forward to introducing this aircraft to our customers, as its impressive economics, fuel performance, and quiet flying offer an irresistible proposition that makes long haul travel more enjoyable and better for the environment.”

“This agreement allows Virgin Atlantic to set the standard on its network by being amongst the first airlines into service with the A350-1000, with an Airspace by Airbus cabin, offering superior comfort including industry leading 18″ wide seats in‎ economy,” said Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President and Chief Executive Officer. “These modern, efficient A350s will complement Virgin Atlantic’s existing fleet of 10 A330-300s and offer Virgin Atlantic crews the advantage of familiarity with Airbus operating procedures around the network”

The world’s latest generation airliner, the A350 XWB, is the newest member of Airbus’ modern, comfortable & efficient widebody product family with 18” wide seating in economy. The long-range A350 XWB features the latest aerodynamic design, carbon fibre fuselage and wings for a lighter aircraft and quiet and low emission Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines that together deliver a 25 per cent reduction in fuel burn. Together, these technologies translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency, with, lower environmental charges, and significantly reduced maintenance costs.