Airbus to Deliver First Qatar A350-1000 Feb. 20

Airbus has confirmed that the first A350-1000 for launch customer Qatar Airways will be delivered Feb. 20.

The aircraft will be handed over to Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker in Toulouse.
Plans for the day show that Airbus is going to considerable lengths for the event, which will include a press conference with senior Airbus, Qatar Airways and Rolls-Royce executives, and a preview of the aircraft before the actual delivery ceremony in the evening.
The aircraft is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB97 engines.
The delivery of the first A350-1000, the larger of the two A350 models, was initially slated to take place at the end of 2017, but was delayed by what Al Baker described in January as the "complex seat configuration" of the aircraft's interior. The carrier is installing its new Qsuite business-class cabin in the aircraft.
The A350-1000 is currently on a three-week demonstration tour of the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions. Airbus believes that better-than-predicted performance figures will burnish its sales prospects going forward.

Alan Dron, ATW Daily New