The A350 XWB flight test aircraft, MSN2 and MSN4, have both taken to the skies above Toulouse, France today for their respective first flights, bringing the total number of A350 XWBs now flying from two to four.

To date, the first two A350 XWB test aircraft to fly, MSN1 and MSN3, have already performed close to 1100 flight test hours out of the programme’s total 2500 hours planned for certification.

MSN2, with its special “carbon” inspired livery, will be the first A350 XWB test aircraft to feature a full passenger cabin. This allows Airbus to start testing and validating all the cabin and passenger related systems. As part of these cabin tests, MSN2 will carry the first A350 XWB passengers during the Early Long Flights (ELF) in spring.