The wide-body jetliner A350 XWB astonished visitors at the Paris Air Show with a show-stopping flying display in the skies above the Le Bourget Airport

“It was fantastic, impressive and quiet,” proclaimed Airbus, after the first test flight of its Airbus A350 XWB. And a week later, the Airbus communiqué was proved right. The long-awaited wide-body aircraft on its third test-flight astonished visitors at the Paris Air Show 2013 with a show-stopping performance in the skies above the Le Bourget Airport on the fifth day of the show. Powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, the aircraft flew quietly along the air show runway before clearing the area and entering the cloud. And the thrilled air show visitors could hardly hear any noise from the aircraft.

With the first test-flight of the A350 XWB on June 14, Airbus had begun a 2,500-hour test and certification campaign with a fleet of five development aircraft. But speculations were rife whether the Airbus A350 XWB will at all make an appearance at the 50th Paris Air Show. On June 21, President Francois Hollande flew from the Villacoublay Air Force Base in the first Airbus A400M airlifter manufactured for the French Air Force. Soon after on the same day, the A350 XWB flew north from the Toulouse headquarters of Airbus in southwestern France to where the large crowd gathered to witness the fly-by of the new highly-efficient wide-body jetliner. The aircraft manufacturer correctly said: “Airbus had saved the best for the last.”

The Airbus Chief Operating Officer John Leahy had after the A350 XWB’s takeoff for its first test-flight, said, “I knew it was going to be impressive, but I was blown away. Did you hear how quiet it was? Did you hear what you didn’t hear? We’re going to set new standards. Not just for comfort, not just for performance, but for environmental friendliness. People living around airports won’t even know we’re taking off.” During the first testflight, the aircraft was accompanied by a chase plane to observe and film manoeuvres of the aircraft. Its progress was monitored by experts on the ground in real-time via a telemetry link.

The aircraft was one among the five A350s that will be used in the test programme paving the way for the new A350-900 version to enter service with Qatar Airways in the second half of 2014. Airbus President and CEO Fabrice Bregier had earlier informed that the A350 XWB, integrated with the latest available technologies, is now entering the final stage of its development. “It is ready to head towards certification and entry into service in the second half of next year.”

Airbus had 613 orders from 33 customers across the world for the A350 XWB and at the Paris Air Show, the original equipment manufacturer declared many more firm orders. The Air France-KLM Group finalised an order for 25 A350-900s with options for 25 more A350 family aircraft. The deliveries are likely to start in the beginning of 2017. Both the group’s operating airlines, Air France and KLM, will deploy the aircraft in their respective liveries. “The A350 XWB fits very well with our needs for the long-haul network,” said Alexandre de Juniac, Chairman and CEO, Air France-KLM Group. “When this aircraft enters service for us, we will have an up to date, fuel-saving, comfortable, modernised plane for our long-haul services.”

Singapore Airlines (SIA) increased its orders for the A350 XWB with an additional 30 A350-900s, plus options for a further 20 aircraft. Under the agreement, Singapore Airlines will be able to select either the baseline A350-900 or the larger A350-1000 when exercising the options. This is the third order from Singapore Airlines for the A350 XWB. The deal sees the carrier’s total firm orders for the all-new aircraft increase to 70, plus 20 options. Singapore Airlines will operate the A350 XWB on both long haul and regional services. Likewise, SriLankan Airlines signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for four A350-900s.

Fuel Eficiency

The A350 XWB uses 25 per cent less fuel than any other aircraft in its category, providing an equivalent reduction in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions too. Airbus has incorporated the latest in aerodynamics, design and advanced technologies in the A350 XWB. Along with all this are the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines that increase its efficiency further.

According to the company, over 70 per cent of the A350 XWB’s weight-efficient airframe is made from advanced materials, combining 53 per cent of composite structures with titanium and advanced aluminium alloys. The aircraft’s all-new carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) fuselage helps towards lower fuel consumption as well as easier maintenance. The NOx emissions will be up to 40 per cent lower than CAEP/6 requirements and exterior noise levels will be up to 16dB lower than the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Chapter IV regulations. Likewise, the fuselage with new, wide cross section made of more than 50 per cent of composite materials will lead to lower operating costs.

The A350 Family

The A350 XWB twin-engine jetliner family has a range of newgeneration aircraft designed keeping in mind the demand for different sizes, ranges, passenger comfort etc. The Airbus 350 XWB family will have three versions, the A350-800, -900 and -1000. In a typical three-class configuration, the A350-800 will accommodate 270 passengers, while the A350-900 and the A350-1000 will seat 314 and 350 passengers, respectively. All A350 XWB family members can be configured for higher density layouts of up to 440 seats.

Powerful Engines

Responding to the market’s call for additional payload and range, the A350-1000 will be equipped with more powerful Trent XWB engines which will deliver up to 97,000 lb of thrust on takeoff, making it the most powerful engine ever developed for Airbus aircraft. The extra thrust together with an increased aircraft takeoff weight of 308 tonnes, will enable operators to fly the A350-1000 about 400 nm further with a full load of 350 passengers or to carry approximately 4.5 tonnes of extra payload for a given range.

Tony Wood, President, Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, said, “We look forward to supporting the A350 XWB to a successful entry into service and beyond. Our own employees are very proud to have delivered a global engine programme that has achieved new levels of efficiency.” At the Paris Air show, Air France-KLM Group signed an MoU with Rolls-Royce for Trent XWB engines to power 25 Airbus A350s.

With more than 1,300 already sold, the Trent XWB, specifically designed for the A350 XWB, is the fastest selling among the six Rolls-Royce Trent family of engine. The Trent XWB version that will power the A350-800 and A350-900 variants was awarded its “ticket to fly” in February with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification. A higher thrust version of the Trent XWB is under development for the A350-1000.

The Trent XWB engine is lighter, capable, efficient and assures lowest carbon emissions of any wide-body aircraft. Besides reduced CO₂ emissions, there would be major reductions also in nitrogen oxide (NOx), smoke, carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons. Smartly designed, the Trent XWB’s latest technology will also minimise life-cycle operating cost of the aircraft and increase durability and performance.

Comforta ble and Spacious

The A350 XWB’s wide fuselage cross-section has been designed for an optimum travel experience in all classes of service. Passengers will have more headroom, wider panoramic windows and larger overhead storage space. With a cross-section of 220 inches from armrest to armrest, the jetliner’s cabin provides the widest seats in its category, being five inches larger than its nearest competitor. The A350 XWB cabin design, with its smooth curves, flowing lines, innovative lighting and its wide windows will help create a pleasant and soothing atmosphere. For better passenger comfort, the A350 XWB has been designed to provide low cabin altitude (6,000ft) advanced air filtering and efficient air and temperature management.

Further, the cabin crew will have a rest area in the A350 XWB’s rear fuselage that accommodates six to eight bunks. It has a full-height standing area providing a comfortable zone that allows the crew to prepare and dress more easily.

Designed for Varied Use

The A350 XWB has been designed not only for very long-haul missions but also for regional operations. To reduce costs on short-range missions, it combines reduced operating weight options. The A350 XWB cabin also provides the flexibility to adapt to different markets. Its wide cross section can accommodate seven regional business class and up to 10 economy class seats. Moreover, the A350 XWB also offers operators easier re-configuration solutions. This provides market-matching flexibility, for example, there would be options for swapping some rows of business class seats for more rows of economy class seats.

Recent media reports hinted that the aircraft manufacturer would develop an A350 XWB freighter too, offering around 90 tonnes of cargo capacity. However, later the company clarified that there are no immediate proposals for a freight-only variation of the successful passenger aircraft and the manufacturer is now concentrating on timely delivery of the passenger version.