Airbus first flight of A350 aircraft turns impressive

The plans of building A350 aircraft model were conceived in 2004. The total cost of the Airbus plane amounts to more than $15 billion of investment. After all those years Airbus A350 made its flight which was expected by high interest. The aircraft is supposed to have improved fuel efficiency and environmental performance.

The A350 took off from the airport in Toulouse in 10 am local time making a 4 hour test flight. “I knew it was going to be impressive, but I was blown away,” said Airbus chief operating officer, John Leahy cited by CNN, following the A350 XWB take off.

The A350 is the first of a fuel efficient aircraft line also being extremely quiet to take off which according to companys CEO would “set new standards; Not just for comfort, not just for performance. But for environmental friendliness. People living around airports wont even know were taking off,” he said to CNN.

Airbus reported that this model would reduce fuel usage with 25% comparing to current generation similar aircraft. Right now there were contracts of more than 600 planes sold as the company is hoping this number to increase 10 times. It seems that Airbus wins the battle with Boeing 787 as the company recorded a demand boom for its new models.

The main reason for Boeing to be lagging behind is that company had some technical issues with overheating batteries causing fires. The production was inspected by regulators which hurt the image of the new plane. The initial problem consisted of using technology that have never been used before on a plane – powering by lithium ion batteries. Being a very popular in consumer technology, the lithium ion battery was overheating quickly. As a result Boeing had to re-design. Airbus took a lesson and followed a more conservative approach using a standard nickel- cadmium power source.

A350 Airbus model aircraft is on a verge of winning the upper-hand and gain advantage over its rival. Boeing is still working on rebuilding its reputation.

European Aeronautic Defense and Space Companys shares are down 0.24% today while Boeing closed at 1.27% share gain yesterday.