Aircraft
Paris 2011: Airbus braces for struggle to keep A350XWB on track
As Airbus prepares to put together the first A350 XWB, the

As Airbus prepares to put together the first A350 XWB, the European manufacturer acknowledges the stiff task it faces to open the final assembly line (FAL) by the end of this year and to fly the aircraft within 12 months thereafter. It says significant challenges remain to start the FAL by year’s end with “an appropriate level of quality to prepare the ramp-up.”

Here at the Paris Air Show, Airbus will confirm that first delivery of the new A350 twin-aisle twinjet–which broadly addresses the same airline requirements as the much-delayed Boeing 787, and some of those at which the 777 is aimed–will be made before 2014. This week’s show also could see first official news of a more powerful engine for the largest A350 model, the -1000.