Airbus A350 XWB news

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It didn't last long after the lifting of the sanctions: on the sidelines of the CAPA summit Iran announces a provisional order for 16 A350s (and 8 A380s).

https://www.aviation24.be/airlines/iran-ai ... -aircraft/

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Asian carriers defer A350s over cabin-fitment delays

Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines have postponed the delivery of their respective maiden A350-900s following delays in the fitment of on-board toilet and seating facilities.

According to Bloomberg, the Hong Kong-based carrier had expected its first A350 to arrive later next month though this has now been postponed towards the end of the second quarter. The delays are related to its business class seats which are manufactured by Zodiac Aerospace; the French firm which is also responsible for outfitting Singapore Airlines' A350s with seats and toilets.

Having experienced a series of delays over the past twelve months, Zodiac's relationships with Airbus Industrie and Boeing have deteriorated to such an extent that Fabrice Bregier, the CEO of Airbus, has now negated the firm's eligibility for A330neo cabin fitment contracts.

"We could have delivered fifteen [A350s rather than 14 last year] if we had not been trapped by some cabin elements of the last aircraft of the year," he said. "Last year we suffered a lot with Zodiac. I expect they will manage to do better this year, especially as a lot of A350s are directly linked to their performance on lavatories and seats."

Singapore Airlines has also been affected with its maiden A350-900 now due to make its commercial debut in late March/April.

Source: ch-aviation

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American defers deliveries of two A350s due in 2017

American Airlines has reached an agreement with Airbus Industrie over the deferral of two out of six A350-900s that would have been delivered in 2017.

Speaking during a 4Q earnings call late last month, AA's EVP and Chief Financial Officer Derek Kerr said the deferrals would allow the airline to better match capacity to international network demand. As such, the affected aircraft will now be delivered in 2020.

Courtesy of US Airways, American Airlines has twenty-two A350-900s on order from Airbus and is the type's North American launch customer.

Source: ch-aviation

[sn26567]

First Singapore Airlines A350 taxiing in Toulouse before first test flight:

[YYZ727]

What a beauty she is...

[luchtzak]

First Singapore Airlines A350 taxiing in Toulouse before first test flight:

And first flight: https://www.aviation24.be/manufacturers/ai ... irst-a350/



and not the Airbus that is displayed on Facebook right now

[Passenger]

There is a first for everything...

A Vietnam Airlines Airbus A350-900 (VN-A887) performing flight VN-227 from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) was enroute about 40 minutes into the flight when the cabin pressure was lost, the passenger oxygen masks were automatically released, and the crew initiated an emergency descent. The aircraft returned to Hanoi for a safe landing.

More info:
http://avherald.com/h?article=493799bd&opt=0

[Passenger]

Another oopsie:

http://avherald.com/h?article=493afcbb&opt=0

[sn26567]

Another oopsie:

http://avherald.com/h?article=493afcbb&opt=0

Anyway, what is an A350 doing in such small under-equipped provincial airports?

Picture from FR24:

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SriLankan Airlines may alter its eight A350-900s on order with Airbus — split between purchase and lease — and expected to deliver from 2016. The Government (which owns the airline) is looking to acquire narrow-bodies instead.

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The A350 that was present for demonstrations and static display at the Singapore Airshow made a stop at Tehran on the return trip from Singapore to Toulouse. That was the least Airbus could do after the big order from Iran Air.

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MNS59 first A350-1000 prototype will be registered F-WMIL.

MIL=1000 in Spanish.

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Airbus is examining with some airlines whether there is enough demand for a new and larger version of its A350 (-1100?) and expects to update the industry at the Farnborough Airshow in July 2016.

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Airbus is examining with some airlines whether there is enough demand for a new and larger version of its A350 (-1100?).

Airbus is seeking airline support for a new 400-seat jetliner provisionally dubbed the A350-8000. Aircraft will likely require bigger engines and would boost the MTOW to just over 319 tonnes, with range under 8,000 miles.

[sn-remember]

Seems a good idea but arguably too late ... Actually I was already suggesting this addition to the a/b 350 portfolio one year ago ...
Too late bcs EK and LH and some other majot players already commited to the B779 and the market is not unlimited. Unless they market it otherwise ? We don't know the full specs yet ..
I still wonder why they didn't announce it 2 yrs ago.

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The first SriLankan Airlines A350 undergoes final assembly in Toulouse.

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Airbus may add a small lower deck to the future A350-1000 to accommodate lavatories and kitchens, freeing up significant amounts of space for more seats in both business and economy class.

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Airbus modified the thrust-reverser actuation system of production A350-900s after a failure of a locking mechanism on an in-service aircraft.

[Flanker2]

The A350-1100 may be an interesting development, though as stated, maybe a bit late to take advantage of the EK requirement.
There are still many B77W that will be up for replacement in the next decade and if they can keep the same wing while stretching it another 5 meters and trading some excess usable load from the -1000 for more carbon, it could be as simple as adding a bit of thrust to be able to carry the same amount of fuel and maintain range.

The -1000 has a ridiculously high MZFW, so the limiting factor is MTOW.

I don't see a big market for it, but progressively, the market sweetspot may move towards bigger stretches.
Also, Airbus will really have a full family to stay competitive for at least 2 decades, covering all segments of capacity demand, from the A319 to the A380.

[Desert Rat]

China Eastern Airlines should sign soon for 20 A350's...Hope some of them will be assigned to Shanghai Airlines...