Airbus has completed the functional & reliability testing for the A350-1000, bringing the aircraft a step closer to type certification this month.

The first customer delivery to Qatar Airways will follow in the coming weeks, according to Airbus.

“The functional and reliability testing took the flight test aircraft, MSN065, across Europe and South America,” Airbus said in a statement. “The A350-1000 completed its exercise after landing in Toulouse, France on Nov. 1 [07:00 UTC] coming from Barranquilla, Colombia. In less than two weeks the aircraft flew approximately 35,200 nm /65,200 km representing 150 flight hours, as per certification requirements.”

The latest tests were part of an intensive flight test campaign, which started less than one year ago designed to demonstrate readiness for airline operations. These included: high airfield performance, auto-landing trials, airport turnaround and handling services, cabin systems, navigation and connectivity function performance.

The A350-1000 test flight was operated by Airbus flight test crews with the participation of Airworthiness Authority pilots from the European Aviation Safety Agency.

Linda Blachly linda.blachly@penton.com