May 18, 2017 – Airbus has reported that the A350-1000 has successfully completed its first ‘Early Long Flight’ with 310 passengers on board, including 10 Airbus flight test crew members and 13 Virgin Atlantic cabin crew. Test aircraft MSN065 took off from and landed in Toulouse on May 11th after a 12-hour flight.
During the long-haul flight the passengers were the first to experience the A350-1000 cabin. The passengers were invited to try out and test the cabin systems, including air conditioning, lighting, acoustics, in-flight entertainment (IFE), galleys, electrics, washrooms and water waste systems.
Though not part of the technical certification program, the Early Long Flight allows Airbus to assess the cabin environment and systems in-flight and optimize cabin procedures to ensure full maturity at Entry Into Service for its customers.
According to Airbus, the intensive A350-1000 certification testing is progressing well and is on track to reach Type Certification followed by Entry Into Service in the second half of 2017.
