Exclusive: A first look at the new Airbus A350 XWB

Airbus is currently doing a combined test and promotional tour with their Airbus A350. While it as a chance to show off the new aircraft, Airbus also have the opportunity to test the technology in a variety of situations, including different climates and continents, to hopefully detect any teething problems before the aircraft is put into commercial operation. The tour began in Toulouse on 24th July, and after a stops in Johannesburg, Singapore, Sydney and Sao Paulo, the tour culminated in Helsinki, where the aircraft was welcomed with a water salute. Finnair will become the first airline in Europe to fly the Airbus A350 (hence the visit to Helsinki), while the very first aircraft will be delivered to Qatar Airways sometime in autumn 2014. SAS is expected to receive their first Airbus A350 by 2018.

The Airbus A350 is welcomed with a water salute in Helsinki

Airbus A350 XWB - Extra Wide Body

The official name of the aircraft is A350 XWB, where the XWB stands for Extra Wide Body. While many airlines have eight seats across in economy class, the Airbus A350 has nine seats, without tampering with the seat width or the space each passenger has. From the outside, the Airbus A350 looks fairly similar to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, although the aircraft body feels somewhat ‘chunkier’, while the Boeing 787 is narrower. This corresponds with the official information provided by Airbus that the aircraft is both taller and wider.

Airbus A350 XWB with its distinctive 'sharklets’ Something which is hard to miss is the aircraft's 'sharklets’, located on the tip of the wings. The wings are bent upward at the end, which improves the aircraft's efficiency and fuel consumption. ‘Sharklets’ are Airbus' own variant of wing tip devices and are a little smoother in their design than, for example, Boeing’s aircraft, which have a much narrower version. The Airbus A350 XWB is available in three versions - A350-800, A350-900 and A350-1000. In a normal cabin configuration, with two cabin classes, the different models can accommodate 276, 315 and 369 seats, respectively.

A quieter and more fuel-efficient aircraft

A large part of the fuselage is made from composite materials together with titanium and aluminium. This special and quite sophisticated combination of materials makes the aircraft lighter and lowers fuel consumption. The Airbus A350 XWB uses about 25 percent less fuel than a Boeing 777, and 6 percent less than a Boeing 787, according to Airbus. The new design also makes the aircraft much quieter than similar older aircraft, which is also very evident on the second most recent Airbus aircraft, the Airbus A380.

The interior on the Airbus A350

The interior does not look noticeably different than, say, the cabin of an Airbus A380. Some minor adjustments have been made to improve comfort and to better utilise the space on board. Otherwise the aircraft feels very fresh and modern. The interior of the test plane is obviously a prototype from Airbus and it will be up to each airline to determine which seats they want and how the interior of the cabins should look. This is handled by outside companies. SAS, for example, have selected a seat in business class from Thompson Aero Seating, while Finnair have chosen a seat from Zodiac for their business class.

The interior on the Airbus A350 Airbus, however, are accountable for the basic structure on board, which includes, for example, the basic technology for the entertainment system. A test entertainment system was installed on the test plane, where one could find both advanced flight maps and three different cameras - two located in the cockpit and one at the back of the plane, on top of the aircraft's fin.

Entertainment system with different cameras The Airbus A350 XWB also has an advanced lighting system in the cabin, which was demonstrated onboard and is one of the most sophisticated we have seen in the industry. This really opens many possibilities for creating different effects and moods, for example, Finnair have chosen to utilise this feature with their ‘Space Alive’ concept.

More space for hand luggage and multiple electronic displays

One piece of very positive news is that the luggage racks for hand luggage have been redesigned and are much larger than before. They are now almost completely square and are designed so that several approved cabin bags will fit in comfortably.

Good storage for hand luggage Another fun detail is the large number of electronic displays located in the ceiling. Airbus have chosen to remove the traditional safety belt signs, which are normally illuminated by a lamp, and have replaced them with electronic displays. A representative of Airbus told us that it is primarily done for practical reasons, electronic displays are easier to maintain and have a longer lifetime, but potentially it could mean that each airline can design their own signs and displays on the ceiling.

Electronic Displays in the ceiling

A few more pictures from the Airbus A350 XWB

Please note that the seats are test seats and are not related to any particular airline, and that the exact interior that the likes of SAS, Finnair and Qatar Airways will have, may well look different. On board, there were also a large number of test instruments. In the center of the economy class cabin was a large table with many of the same instruments that are found in the cockpit. Many aspects of the test flights were measured and verified here.

Finnair becomes the first in Europe with the Airbus A350

Finnair and Finavia welcome the Airbus A350 to Helsinki

The cabin in economy Class

The cabin in business class

Nice lighting effects

Entertainment system on the Airbus A350

Modern toilets on board

Galley in business class

Cockpit of the Airbus A350

The test table in the middle of the aircraft