The first Airbus A350-900 for Japan Airlines (JAL) has successfully completed its maiden flight over France. This A350-900 is the first aircraft to be produced by Airbus for the airline and features a special A350 logo on the fuselage.
The aircraft with test registration F-WZHF and flight AIB01HF took off from the Airbus facilities in Toulouse last Thursday 16th and spent almost five hours in the air.
After departing from Toulouse-Blagnac Airport the aircraft headed for The Bay of Biscay, where it stayed for 2:30 hours at high altitude (40,000ft). Then it flew to La Rochelle and climbed to 43,000ft for 20 minutes; before they finally returned to the airport, they performed a test at low altitude (11,000 ft) for 1 hour flying over The Pyrenees in The South of France.
The initial flight marked the beginning of the last phase of production, which includes cabin completion, as well as further ground and flight tests leading to customer acceptance and delivery.
JAL has ordered 31 A350 XWB aircraft, comprising 18 A350-900s and 13 A350-1000s. The A350-900 will initially be operated by JAL on major domestic routes, with a three-class configuration seating 369 passengers including 12 First Class seats, 94 Business Class (Class J) and 263 Economy Class. More information on be found on JAL official page.
At the end of April 2019, the A350 XWB Family had received 893 firm orders from 51 customers worldwide, making it one of the most successful widebody aircraft ever.
Feature Image by Clément Alloing