The first “big problem” for A350 XWB: no white tails until 2020.

Airbus has flown its second test and certification A350-900 on its first flight. But there is a problem. Not a technical problem, and not a lack of interest.

The problem is that there is so much demand for the A350 XWB that EADS CEO, Tom Enders said last week in Sydney it would currently take until 2020 for an order for an A350 to be delivered.

While this is a ‘good’ problem for Airbus, in that it can’t build A350s fast enough, it would be on the face of it, quite a disappointment for Virgin Australia or Qantas should they decide they need this airliner’s range and payload capacity, which in the initial form could fly a typical three class 325 passenger configuration non-stop between east coast Australia and west coast America.

However, Mr Enders has said Airbus would consider increasing production rates later in this decade under some circumstances, a non-committal assessment also offered by others in Airbus management on recent occasions.



Based on the article ”Airbus A350′s first big problem? A seven year waiting list!” published in Plane Talking