Qatar Airways’ delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 has been held up by minor technical matters, requiring a small amount of additional testing.
The airline had been due to receive its first aircraft on 13 December, following formal transfer from the industrial division to the delivery centre on 3 December.
A350 programme chief Didier Evrard, speaking during an investor forum in London, said the 10-day interval was normal for the delivery process but suggested it was a “little optimistic” for the first example of a new aircraft.
He says the 10-day period was “very tense” and says the airframer had “a couple of minor issues” which forced it to carry out more acceptance flights than planned.
Evrard says three flights had been conducted. “We’ll have to do two or three more,” he added, to ensure everything had been properly tested and that Qatar Airways is satisfied with the aircraft.
Airbus has been working “very closely” with Qatar Airways – which is due to take 43 of the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-powered -900 variant – over the past six months, Evrard states.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
