Qatar Airways' First Liveried A350 XWB Completes Its Maiden Flight

Doha, October 19 (QNA) - Qatar Airways' first A350 XWB in full airline livery has successfully completed its maiden flight over the Airbus facility in Toulouse, France. The airline, which is the global launch customer for the Airbus A350, is scheduled to take delivery of its first A350-900 before the end of the year, a Qatar airways press release said. Following the successful inaugural flight, Qatar's A350 XWB is now continuing its production phase, including cabin completion and further ground and flight tests, before final delivery. Qatar Airways has 80 A350s on order, including 43 A350-900 and 37 of the larger A350-1000 models. "We are delighted to see the new A350 taking to the skies in our livery," said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, HE Akbar Al Baker. "The A350 will be a very valuable addition to our fleet, and thanks to its extra width, we will be able to offer our passengers even greater comfort and continue to raise the benchmark for service in the sky." With a cross-section of 220 inches from armrest to armrest, the A350s cabin provides the widest seats in its category, offering its passengers a unique experience of space and comfort. The A350 XWB is Airbus all-new mid-size long range product line and the newest member of Airbus' leading widebody family, and offers a combination of enhanced passenger comfort and technological innovation. Built hand-in-hand with its customers, the A350 XWB will set new standards in terms of passenger experience, operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 17 years of operation, to the point where today it is flying a modern fleet of 137 aircraft to 144 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America. (QNA)