Assembly of the first A350-900 for Cathay Pacific Airways is progressing well at Airbus’ A350 XWB Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Toulouse, France. Following the fuselage section joining phase, the wings, the horizontal and vertical tailplane as well as tail cone have been joined to the fuselage. Following this, the aircraft will move to the next assembly station for structural completion, ground testing and start of cabin installation.

The aircraft is scheduled for delivery early next year and will be the first of 48 A350 XWBs acquired by Cathay Pacific. Cathay Pacific’s A350 XWB fleet will include 22 A350-900s and 26 of the larger A350-1000s, for operation on long- and medium-haul services.

The A350 XWB is Airbus’ all-new mid-size long range aircraft and the latest member of the manufacturer’s leading widebody family. It is the world’s most modern and efficient aircraft in its size category and is setting new standards in terms of inflight experience, operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness for airlines.

The A350 XWB has been especially successful in the Asia-Pacific region, where 11 major airlines have ordered a total of 244 aircraft out of the 781 total ordered so far. Cathay Pacific represents one fifth of the A350 XWB total orders from Asia-Pacific.

Press Release and picture Airbus