Finnair, A350 European launch customer, details the route plans.

Airbus A350 XWB European launch customer Finnair will initially deploy its new aircraft on routes to Shanghai, Bangkok and Beijing when it enters service in the 2nd half of 2015.

Finnair, which has 11 A350s on firm order and another 8 on option, will subsequently roll the aircraft out to its Hong Kong and Singapore services in 2016.

Finnair will operate the aircraft in a 297-seat configuration including 46 business class seats in a 1+2+1 layout. Economy will feature a 3+3+3 layout, including 43 "economy comfort" seats with additional leg-room.

Based on the article “Finnair details initial A350 routes” published in FlightGlobal.

FAA Issues Special Conditions on Tire Failure Debris Penetration for A350. Meantime, Airbus completes the impact study for the wing.

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a final special conditions rule [a Federal Register notice Docket No. FAA-2013-0907] for Airbus Model A350-900 series airplanes that will be effective on 8/September.

“These airplanes will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with fuel tanks constructed of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) materials located within the tire-impact zone, including the wing fuel tanks.

The ability of carbon-fiber composite material to resist penetration or rupture when impacted by tire debris has not been established. No current airworthiness standards specifically address this hazard for all exposed wing surfaces. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.”

Meantime, Airbus has completed the impact study for the A350 wing. Engineering consultancy Frazer-Nash has successfully completed a contract to accurately model impact damage on the A350 XWB.

The team analyzed particular areas on the leading edge and lower wing covers of the A350 XWB wings, with particular focus on the composite components.

The work involved Frazer-Nash conducting non-linear Finite Element Analysis to evaluate the predicted damage to the leading edge structures during bird impacts for different speeds and angles. The work also assessed the integrity of the wing lower covers in the event of tire debris impact.

Glyn Norris, Aerospace Business Manager at Frazer-Nash, “This project has been a great success. We were able to use our extensive modelling experience to support Airbus in successfully gaining certification”

Based on the press release “Impact study for Airbus A350XWB wing completed by Frazer-Nash” and based on the article “FAA Issues Special Conditions on Tire Failure Debris Penetration for Airbus A350-Series Airplanes” published in HispanicBusiness.com 

What are those big jars onboard the A350 test aircraft used for?

During the Farnborough Airshow, the A350 prototype that was in display was visited for many people. And when visiting the interior of the flight test prototype, many questions were regarding the big grey-vessels that were onboard.

Crawford Hamilton, who works in the Airbus customer affairs team during the Farnborough Airshow explained what the big jars on board the aircraft were used for.

“We load them up with a mixture of water and glycol. That’s to stop them freezing and they simulate the loads in an airplane. We can move the centre of gravity of the aircraft by either filling them or taking the water mix out of them. And that means we can then start to look at how the airplane will look when it is loaded up with passengers or freight and understand what it does under those conditions.”

In ILA Mrs. Merkel asked about the jars too.

Based on the article “Airbus A350: The secrets behind building a superjet” published in The Telegraph.

A removal in one engine during the A350 flight testing campaign. 420min-ETOPS clearance targeted for EIS.

Rolls-Royce reports smooth operation of the Trent XWB-84 during A350 flight testing .

“So far engine performance has been really good and reliable,” says Trent XWB Program Director Simon Burr, who notes that the single unplanned removal to date was a precautionary move to replace a faulty oil level sensor.

With the bulk of testing over, Rolls is focused on endurance-running to support ETOPS clearance—targeted at 420 min. from entry into service for the A350-900.

The work, conducted at Rolls’s  “60 bed”  facility at the NASA Stennis site in Mississippi, is aimed at demonstrating reliability across 3.000 simulated flight cycles.

The engine returned to Derby for tear down and inspection some weeks ago, following completion of a 3rd —and final—simulated diversion cycle.

ETOPS testing included runs at 30 min. per cycle. “We have been doing 60 cycles a day and ran through difficult weather for 43 hours continuously,” says Burr.

“We are in good shape and looking forward to entry into service.”

Based on the article “Stepping Up” published in Aviation Week.

Ethiopian Airlines could choose soon between the 777X and the A350-1000.

Based on an interview to Tewolde Gebremariam (Ethiopian Airlines CEO) in The Wall Street Journal, the national airline of Ethiopia would announce next week an order of around 40 new widebody aircraft, selecting between the Boeing B777X and the A350-1000.

A 2nd order or MoU for additional 20 aircraft could also be anounced.

The carrier, which currently has an almost exclusively Boeing fleet, has said it wants to double its fleet to 112 planes and carry 18 million passengers over 92 routes by 2025.

“In line with our Vision-2025, we plan to provide more and more non-stop long-haul flights to connect east, west, north and south using the strategic location of our Addis Ababa hub” said Gebremariam. Due to its location, analysts say Ethiopian mainly competes for business with long-haul rivals such as Turkish Airlines and Gulf carriers Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways.

Ethiopian Airlines has an order for 12 A350-900 but it has been Boeing´s partner for more than 65 years: Ethiopian Airlines currently operates an all-Boeing fleet of 737, 757, 767, 777 and 787 airplanes in passenger service. It was the first African airline to order the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

An order for A350-1000 is possible but not easy, after Gebremariam´s comment in an interview last February; "when the 777X comes, as soon as we can get the production slots we will be there".

Updated: the order will be for 70 jets, including 30 narrow-bodies (20 firm + 10 options).

Based on the article « B777X ou A350 : décision imminente pour Ethiopian Airlines » published in Air Journal

Aeroflot’s order for 22 A350s could be impacted by US/EU sanctions.

Even though sanctions imposed over Moscow’s alleged involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine appear not to immediately threaten airliner sales in Russia, the inclusion of certain Kremlin-controlled financial institutions and airlines on so-called “black lists” appears likely to alarm potential investors from Europe and elsewhere.

The situation casts a shadow over Aeroflot’s rather controversial order for 22 Airbus A350s placed 7 years ago. Among other recent Aeroflot fleet renewal programs, plans called for one of the banks under sanction—Vneshtorgbank (VEB)—to fund the A350 transaction under a buy and lease-back arrangement. Should the sanctions continue for long, Airbus might ask Aeroflot for a more suitable financier.

Andreas Kramer, Airbus vice president for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, tried to allay any such fears. “A financier is often chosen five to six months before delivery, so it is too early to speak of it,” he insisted.

During the MSN5 one-day stop at Moscow Sheremetievo airport –within the A350 World Tour-, Kramer said: “We are in Moscow to show the A350XWB to our airline customers and to demonstrate that it can operate without any additional airport equipment. The A350XWB is partially a Russian aircraft since some parts of it have been developed Airbus engineering center in Moscow, one of the best engineering centers of its kind around the world.”

Russian engineers performed work involving the shaping of the airplane’s fuselage sections.

Based on the article “Sanctions Cast Shadow over A350 Visit to Moscow” published in AINOnline

Virgin Australia CEO: “the A350 is a very impressive aircraft. I have been pleasantly surprised”

Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti joined the A350-900 visit to Sydney last week and he admitted that “the A350 is a very impressive aircraft”.

http://www.ausbt.com.au/virgin-australia-warms-to-airbus-a350

Virgin plans to replace and update their fleet of existing Boeing 777 and Airbus A330s beyond 2017.

“We’re talking about fleet composition beyond 2017. Admittedly we have to make a call soon, but we’ve still got a year or so up our sleeves. We don’t have to rush into this” Borghetti said in Feb/2013.

That year-or-so is now all but done, and orders for 787-9 and A350-900 are piling up, but Borghetti is intent on taking his time to make the right decision – and no doubt land the best discount against the list price. And a few sweet words for the A350 is no doubt going to help in that.

“We’ll take our time and make sure we make the right decision” Borghetti said.

“Our team’s been studying this very carefully, obviously, along with the Boeing aircraft, and from everything we’ve seen on paper certainly the A350’s an incredibly competitive aircraft” he said.

“Whether you’re looking at it from the operating statistics or the customer comfort, I have to say that I have been pleasantly surprised. You really don’t think you’re in a tube; you think you’re in a room because you’ve got a flat roof and almost a flat side” he observed. “It’s very different to what was, of course, the original 350 design. This is outstanding, seriously ­outstanding.”

Based on the article “Virgin Australia warms to Airbus A350” published in Australian Business Traveller.