Airbus’s newest aircraft, the A350-900 (MSN5) took off this morning for Route Proving Tests as part of the final stages towards certification for a period of three weeks. This test is to test for readiness for airline operations and will include airfield performance, auto-landing trials, and airport turnaround and handling services.
The A350-900 world tour will travel to 14 major airports worldwide and one route via the North Pole. The tour will be split into five trips:
- Trip One – Canada via the north-pole and Frankfurt
- Trip Two – Asia including Hong Kong and Singapore
- Trip Three – Johannesburg, Sydney, Auckland, Santiago de Chile and Sao Paulo
- Trip Four and Five – Toulouse to Doha, Perth and back to Doha, Moscow, Helsinki then back to Toulouse
Some of these flights will have passengers on board. MSN5 is Airbus’s fifth test aircraft and one of two with a fully functional cabin carrying 42 business class seats and 223 economy class seats. The flights will operated by Airbus flight crew with the participation of Airworthiness Authority pilots from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
