中文标题：首架A350XWB宽体飞机交付卡航倒计时：12月13日

With the first delivery to launch customer Qatar Airways scheduled for this Saturday in Toulouse, Airbus is poised to see years of development work turn to reality in the form of its latest widebody, the A350.

As Flightglobal’s A350 timeline shows, the programme was not without its early tribulations. The A350 also has competition on the way, in the form of Boeing’s update of its 777 – the bigger, more advanced 777-9X is due to enter service from 2020.
But for now, capped by an on-schedule and largely flawless flight test campaign, Airbus is in the spotlight and ramping up to deliver on nearly 800 orders for the type’s three variants.

The maiden delivery – a -900 powered, as all A350s will be, by two Rolls-Royce Trent XWBs – is expected to be followed by entry into service on 15 January, between Doha and Frankfurt.

Qatar has a total of 43 -900s on order and 37 of the larger -1000. The carrier’s chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, has described the imminent delivery as “a moment of great symbolic national pride for the state of Qatar.

"I know its delivery will be met with excitement at its new home, Hamad International Airport, which was built for advanced aircraft types such as this.”