First SAS A350-900 Performs Maiden Flight
First SAS A350-900 Performs Maiden Flight

First SAS A350-900 Performs Maiden Flight

Catarina Madureira·
A350AirbusAviationAviation NewsScandinavian Airlines

The first Airbus A350-900 for Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has successfully completed its maiden flight over France. This aircraft will be the first one featuring the new SAS livery.

The aircraft, with test registration F-WZHJ and listed as flight AIB01HJ, took off from the Airbus facility in Toulouse, France and spent almost 3 hours in the skies.

First SAS A350-900 Performs Maiden Flight
SAS A350-900 Flight Path (By FlightRadar24 )

Following a departure from Toulouse-Blagnac Airport at 09:41 UTC, the aircraft headed for The Bay of Biscay, where it stayed for 1h 20m at high altitude (41,000 ft) performing circles in the French sky. Before returning to the airport a test at low altitude (13,000 ft) was preformed , flying over The Pyrenees in the South of France.

a large white and blue airplane on a runway
SAS A350 in Toulouse (By Clément Alloing )

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.

Named Ingegerd Viking and registered as SE-RSA, the A350 is expected to be delivered to the SAS hub at Copenhagen Airport (CPH) sometime in December.

SAS will take delivery of 80 A320neo’s, 5 A330’s Enhanced, 8 A350’s and 3 Airbus A321LR’s before the end of 2023.

SAS A350 Configuration

SAS’ A350-900’s will feature a total of 300 seats, including 40 Business Class seats, 32 SAS Plus (Premium Economy seats), and 228 SAS Go (Economy seats).

a row of seats in an airplane
SAS Business Class (By Pizza in Motion)

“We will shorten the distance from Scandinavia to cultures and important markets by serving worldwide destinations in an efficient and comfortable way. We look forward to welcoming our passengers on board this state-of-the-art aircraft,” says Karl Sandlund, SAS Executive Vice President Commercial.

“Our new fleet is incredibly well suited to Scandinavian travel patterns and tailored to meet market demands. This new aircraft will strengthen our customer offering,” he says.

First SAS A350-900 Performs Maiden Flight
SAS Plus

SAS A350 Routes

The A350 will be based at the SAS hub at Copenhagen Airport and will operate on seven routes during the first year, including Chicago, Beijing, New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and San Francisco.

a map of the world with red lines
SAS upcoming A350-1000 route (gcmap.com)

SAS A350 Flights to Chicago

On January 28th 2020, the first of eight new SAS Airbus A350 will officially enter into long-haul service between Copenhagen and Chicago, one of the most popular SAS routes.

SK943 Copenhagen to Chicago departing 15:40 arriving 18:10
SK944 Chicago to Copenhagen departing 22:05 arriving 13:20 (+1 day)

Covered Image by Clément Alloing