Vietnam Airlines’ first A350 XWB has begun final assembly at the Roger Béteille Final Assembly Line in Toulouse, France. It is scheduled for delivery in mid 2015 and will become the first Asian airline to fly the A350 XWB and the second in the world.
Vietnam Airlines has a total of 10 A350 XWB on order and will operate the fleet on its premium long range services.
Airbus has accumulated some 2,600 flight hours in over 600 flights on its five A350 test aircraft. Q4 2014 is the planned date the aircraft will enter into service. The A350 XWB will offer better efficiency compared with existing aircraft in this size category, using 25% less fuel and providing an equivalent reduction in CO2 emissions. There are 750 firm orders from 39 customers worldwide, to date.
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