One year since the first flight of the A350 XWB. Video

Airbus has released a video showing the main milestones on the Type-Certification Campaign that should be completed by October in order to deliver the first series aircraft (MSN6) to Qatar, the Launch Customer.

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One year later, the first 4 flight-test prototype are flying and the 5^th one will airborne next week. Many tests have been done and some of them can be shown in the video.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/47086222@N03/14248436671/lightbox/

Cathay Pacific expects to take delivery of its first A350 in February/2016.

Cathay Pacific expects to take delivery of its first A350 in February/2016, with 47 more of the next-gen jetliners to follow.

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The airline has confirmed that its debutant A350 is "currently slated to arrive in February/2016" so it will be around MSN30 and it will include all-new business class and economy seats designed by Porsche Design Group and London-based Tangerine.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/32376857@N02/13776070354/lightbox/

Cathay Pacific has signed up for 22 of the mid-size A350-900 and 26 of the largest and longest-range A350-1000 model.

"With the entry into service EIS of the A350 just 6 months away, Cathay Pacific is working hard to fine-tune its own cabin definition and technical specifications for the new aircraft" the airline said.

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However, Cathay Pacific has already clocked up some time with the A350 as part of a ‘virtual passenger flight’ held in August/2013, when a CX cabin crew served 129 passengers during a four hour dry run in an A350 mock-up dubbed ‘Cabin Zero’.

Source: Airbus.

The 'flight' took place in the Airbus plant situated on the outskirts of Hamburg, with passengers even treated to a hearty hot lunch on their imaginary journey from the Canary Islands to Hamburg.

Based on the article “Cathay Pacific's first Airbus A350 due for February 2016” published in Australian Business Traveller

http://www.ausbt.com.au/cathay-pacif...-airbus-a350-due-for-february-2016 

Rejected Take Off RTO test video. Smoke and only smoke.

Airbus has performed different tests of RTO during the Certification campaign. This is one of the test available in Youtube.

Click the picture to watch the video.

Emirates cancels entire A350 Order

Emirates has cancelled its order for 70 A350s, comprising 50 A350-900s and 20 A350-1000s.

"Airbus and Emirates Airline benefit from a long-standing relationship and the airline recently reiterated its confidence in Airbus products particularly by praising the A380 and the benefits the aircraft brings to their operations," said Airbus in a press release.

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“While disappointed with this decision, we are confident that the delivery slots which start towards the end of this decade vacated by Emirates will be taken up by other airlines. Demand for the Airbus A350 remains strong, with more than 700 aircraft already sold.”

In November/2012, Clark said the airline's A350-1000 was in limbo, and the A350-900 “is starting to look a bit marginal to us because of size,” he said. “Gauge is the way we grow, you cannot get any more aircraft into the Dubai hub”.  But today´s decision is a surprise.

“It is not the world’s greatest news,” said Airbus COO Customers John Leahy. “Tim does change his mind from time to time.” Leahy stated there was no impact financially given that first deliveries were only planned for 2019 and spanned out to 2034. “There is certainly no hole in production, I’m not particularly worried at all.” Leahy pointed out that he has already received expressions of interest from other A350 customers who would like to pick up production slots now freed up as a result of the Emirates decision.

http://airlineworld.wordpress.com/2007/07/27/cartoon-airline-industry/

The cancellation is not so much a problem in terms of order numbers – Airbus still holds 742 commitments for the aircraft – but it does raise the question whether other airlines are as unsatisfied with the -1000. Other Gulf carriers have also placed large orders for the -1000 variant –- Qatar Airways has bought 37 and Etihad 22 of the type.

The Emirates cancellation does leave a significant dent in the -1000 backlog which has now shrunk from 189 to 169 aircraft. 

Since the A350 order, Emirates has been increasingly focused on even larger aircraft. It placed an order for 150 Boeing 777Xs and 50 more A380s. Emirates stated that “the contract which we signed in 2007 for 70 A350 aircraft has lapsed. We are reviewing our fleet requirements.”

Based on the article “Emirates Cancels Airbus A350 Order” published in Aviation Week and based on the article “Emirates cancels 70 A350s after A380 deal” published in Flight International.

A350 XWB Ramp-up for coming years. As much as possible, as faster as possible.

"We closely follow up all the constraints for the smooth running of the program and we need to be very transparent about our targets and objectives”. said Harald Wilhelm, Airbus Groups CFO.

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Regarding the A350, we plan to deliver 1 or 2 aircraft this year, 10 to 15 by 2015 and reach a production rate of 10 per month late 2018. Above all, we want to reach the point of balance for the A350 by the end of the Decade", he said.

Based on the article “Première assemblée générale pour le nouveau groupe Airbus” published in Les Echos

“We want to occupy Farnborough!” says Qatar Airways CEO Al Baker.

An A350 is included among the 4 aircraft Qatar intends to bring to the Farnborough air show in July, alongside an A380, A320 and Boeing 787. “We want to occupy Farnborough!” said Qatar Airways CEO Al Baker.

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Airbus-(Qatar-Airways)/Airbus-A350-941/2443600/&sid=a3b81e28df99988357480daefd6fe31e

Test airframe MSN4 will be displayed in a special livery highlighting Qatar’s status as the A350’s launch customer.“This was part of our purchase agreement, that they [Airbus] will brand one of the test airplanes,” said Al Baker.

http://www.wcarn.com/news/34/34765.html

Credit: Airbus Group/JV. Reymondon

Based on the article “Qatar’s chief ‘very satisfied’ with A350 progress” published in Flight International.

Airbus CEO talking about the strategic importance of industry, simplicity and agility. Not only in UK.

In this article, Fabrice Brégier explains why UK has a big role in aerospace and how France could learn from British business attitudes.

As the person who presides over one of the UK's most important industrial employers, Fabrice Brégier is keenly aware of British anxiety about manufacturing.

http://www.airbus.com/galleries/photo-gallery/

The French CEO of Airbus is responsible for a 10.000-strong British workforce – at a wing manufacturing plant in Broughton, north Wales, and at a design and testing facility in Filton near Bristol – plus tens of thousands more when the wider supply chain is included.

"It is very good that the government is conscious of the strategic importance of industry. Services are good, but you also need to promote industry on your territory," Brégier said.

"Aerospace is one of the jewels of Europe and the UK is a big part of Airbus. Everybody in the UK understands that business is what makes the difference to the success and growth of the country.”

The UK government has made manufacturing central to its vision for a long-term sustainable economy, hoping stronger exports will replace an over-reliance on debt-fuelled spending and financial services.

"It is very good that the government is conscious of the strategic importance of industry," Brégier said. There is a "lot of added value – engineers, well-paid blue collars, high-skilled people and a lot of exports".

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Brégier said France has a lot to learn from the UK when it comes to its attitude to business. Does he no longer think as a Frenchman?

"Not always but sometimes," he said, smiling. "As far as business is concerned, yes, this is a fair statement. If there is one strong point in the UK this is it. I won't say everybody loves business, but everybody understands it is what makes the difference to the success, the growth and the wealth of the country.

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"We tend in France to believe that people do it to make money. No: they do it because they have an entrepreneurial spirit and then on top of that, if they are successful, they make money. So yes, this is clearly a weakness in France."

He said if the French are unable to love business, they should at least admit that their companies are key to growth and the success of the economy. Brégier's comments on European industry carry weight because Airbus is a €39bn (£32bn) business engaged in highly complex engineering, with a workforce of more than 60.000 in 4 countries; the UK, France, Germany and Spain.

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"I constantly repeat to my 60.000 employees in four different countries that we need to look for simplicity and for agility. That we need also to inject much more speed in everything we do, and I think David Cameron could have probably said the same. These values are well established in the UK and the US."

Based on the article “Airbus's French boss who likes to think British” published in The Guardian.