Lufthansa selects premium economy seats for A350 … out of Airbus catalogue.

Lufthansa will take delivery of its Airbus A350 XWB aircraft with a seat gap where premium economy will be.

Why? Because its premium economy seatmaker ZIM FLUGSITZ  is not on the Airbus catalogue of pre-selected, pre-approved seats for the A350.

Those planes will be delivered with economy down the back, and whatever the airline decides upon up front (not officially communicated if Lufthansa will be outfitting these aircraft with first class) but with nothing in between.

Lufthansa Technik will complete the ZIM premium economy install post-delivery.

Lufthansa's 747-8i premium economy cabin

ZIM has for Premium Economy Class the ZIMmagic seats for long-haul flights which offers “a new experience in flying”.

“The greater distance to the passenger to the side of you, the improved IFE system and the footrest provide a unique comfort for the passengers who can recline up to 9" their seats.”

Singapore Airlines has chosen ZIM for A380 seats but for A350 the airline has followed the catalogue suggestion of Zodiac Aerospace.

Based on the article “How Lufthansa Technik prepares aircraft for entry into service” published in Runway Girl Network.

VSMPO-Avisma will increase by 15% in 2016 the supply of titanium for the A350 XWB

The supply of titanium and components for Airbus in the year 2016 will increase by 10-15% compared with the current year.

The statement was made by VSMPO-Avisma CEO Mikhail Voevodin during a press conference in the international air show MAKS-2015 in Russia. 

According to him, this is due to the A350 (and also A320neo) production ramp-up at Airbus.

VSMPO-Avisma remains the largest supplier of titanium to Airbus as confirmed by Airbus materials procurement vice president Olivier Chill.

According to him, Western sanctions did not affect cooperation between both companies.

Additionally, Mr. Chill said that one possible future direction in the cooperation between Airbus and VSMPO-Avisma could be the additive manufacturing (3d printed) of titanium parts for the aerospace industry.

Based on the article “ВСМПО-АВИСМА увеличит поставки титана для Airbus в 2016 году на 15%” published in Газета.Ru

Roll out of Finnair's first A350.

The First A350 with Finnair livery has been rolled out today at Toulouse.

Source: Finnair

The MSN18 will be in the flightline within another 4 aircraft that should be delivered in comming days and weeks.

MSN8  Qatar Airways
MSN15 Vietnam Airlines

MSN11 Qatar Airways

MSN16 Vietnam Airlines

Source:TLS_A380_A350

Although this aircraft's delivery was planned for mid-August 5 months ago, the delivery will finally be in September.

Source: Finnair

Finnair will test the A350 aircraft on some shorthaul routes on the first week of October and will start Helsinky-Sanghay route on 25/October.

Source: Airbus

The MSN19 and MSN20 for Finnair are currently painted, on interior completion and engines installation phase.

A350 Type Certification for Brazil.

The Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) has announced that has certified the Airbus A350 XWB.

Source: Airbus

Type certificate of the A350-900 was issued on 14/August.

As per the certificate, the A350-900 is capable of carrying 440 passengers (or 268 tonnes) in its maximum capacity and it has a range of up to 8.000 nautical miles and 84.000 pounds of thrust for improved efficiency in fuel consumption.

The certification process in ANAC lasted 13 months and involved at least 8 experts of the Agency, for 8 months, as well as technical personnel from TAM.

Source: Airbus

TAM will receive the first A350-900 aircraft in December this year, starting to operate on the route Guarulhos-Manaus, before placing it in flight between Guarulhos and Miami in 2016.

Source: TLS_A380_A350

The aircraft (MSN24) is currently on the final assembly line in Toulouse and it should airborne in November.

Source: Airbus

In addition to 27 aircraft ordered by TAM, Azul ordered 5 A350-900 that should begin to be delivered in 2017.

Based on the press release “ANAC certifica nova aeronave comercial da Airbus”.

This is what MAKS visitors will see inside A350.

MSN1 first flying prototype is visiting MAKS Russian Airshow this week.

This first prototype with register F-WXWB has a very interesting interior as it is being used for exploring the flight envelope and to test systems and powerplant.

During the certification phase, she flew more than 1000 hours in 275 flights since the first flight on 14/June/2013.

MAKS is an International Air Show held near Moscow on Zhukovskiy LII air field.

Source: Airbus

Starting tomorrow 25/Aug, the A350 will fly back to Toulouse on 27 with static and 7-minutes flight displays on both 2 days of the airshow.

The Russian show is famous because of the flight displays. And this MAKS 2015 will be no exception at all.

“The best Russian test pilots will demonstrate unique capabilities of advanced military and civil fixed and rotary wings for specialist and numerous visitors of the air show in Zhukovsky skies.”

Source: MAKS-2015

From Russian Air Force, there will be flight demonstrations of the Knights Team (Sukhoi Su-27P and Su-27UB), Swifts Team (MiG-29), Falcons Team (Sukhoi Su-27), Golden Eagles (6 Mi-28N attack helicopters), Taurida Wings Team (6 Yak-130 fighter trainers) as well as other acrobatic teams.

Source: Airbus

Aeroflot was one of the early customers for the A350, as it signed for 22 aircraft in 2007. Although the A350-800 development is cancelled, Airbus still counts Aeroflot orders among the total orders collected so far.

Currently there are 8 A350-800 and 14 A350-900 orders considered in Airbus´ orderbook.

Source: Airbus

Aeroflot has cancelled an order for 22 787 2 months ago and is also reviewing its order for 22 Airbus A350s; the on-order mix of 8 A350-800s and 14 A350-900s is "something that we are looking at".

Finnair will use the A350 XWB to establish Helsinki as a bridge to Northeast Asia from Europe.

Finnair is looking at adding routes to Chinese cities not currently connected to Europe as it takes delivery of the region’s newest wide-body jet fleet.

Source: Airbus

Finnair, which will become the 1st European carrier to deploy the Airbus A350 in October, is “not that concerned” about recent economic turmoil in China, CEO Pekka Vauramo said in an interview.

“We really feel being a 1st mover has benefits,” he said.

“There are some mega-cities there where we could add frequencies. We could also look into cities in China or South Korea that don’t have many connections, or don’t have any.”

Of Finnair’s 1st 5 A350 destinations, 3  -Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong- are in China, alongside Bangkok and Singapore.

Source: Airbus

The carrier will take delivery of 19 of the twin-engine jets through 2023 to add capacity and replace 7 four-engine Airbus A340s used on intercontinental trips.

Vauramo said Northeast Asia remains Finnair’s “sweet-spot” even after the market suffered setbacks including the Japanese earthquake, curbs on flights through Siberian airspace, a weakening yen and now the devaluation of the yuan.

Source: Jujug Spotting

The carrier’s strategy centers on establishing Helsinki as a bridge to northeast Asia from Europe, exploiting its position on the shortest great-circle routes between the regions.

“We are of course in many different markets in Asia and that’s one part of how we can manage this,” he said.

Based on the article “Finnair Examines New Layer of China Routes as A350s Arrives”published in Bloomberg.

Sabena Technics approved for A350 MRO.

Independent MRO Sabena Technics has gained Part 145-approval from the French Civil Aviation Authority covering the A350.

The certification enables Sabena to provide airframe MRO services on the all-new widebody from its site in Bordeaux, where it is modifying A380s passenger doors (after finishing wing-rib modifications) on the manufacturer's behalf.

Alain Leboucher head of sales, airframe services at Sabena said: “We have been studying the aircraft and its connectivity systems so we could come up with solutions especially designed for A350 operators.”

Source: Airbus

"Strong experience" with Airbus types at the site has been central to the extension of existing capabilities to the A350.

Sabena Technics' services for the A350 will cover airframe maintenance, "advanced" composite repairs, modifications and airworthiness management, says the MRO provider.

Based on the article “Sabena Technics receives A350 approval” published in mro-Network