Paris: Airbus's new A350 plane is due to take off on its much-anticipated maiden flight Friday, a milestone for an aircraft the firm hopes will help close the gap with rival Boeing in the lucrative long-haul market.
Weather permitting, the next-generation plane will lift off from the southwestern city of Toulouse at 0800GMT with six people on board -- a British and a French test pilot, a flight engineer and three other engineers at the back.
The test flight of the long-haul plane -- more than half of which is made of composite materials -- comes just days ahead of the Bourget air show where Boeing and Airbus traditionally vie for the spotlight over plane orders.
13/06/13 AFP/Economic Times
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Weather permitting, the next-generation plane will lift off from the southwestern city of Toulouse at 0800GMT with six people on board -- a British and a French test pilot, a flight engineer and three other engineers at the back.
The test flight of the long-haul plane -- more than half of which is made of composite materials -- comes just days ahead of the Bourget air show where Boeing and Airbus traditionally vie for the spotlight over plane orders.
13/06/13 AFP/Economic Times
