A350 XWB

Airbus has obtained the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certification for new-generation commercial airliner A350-900.

FAA certification comes after the European Aviation Safety Agency approved the aircraft in September.

With the latest approval, the company will be able to deliver the long-range airliner to US airlines.

Powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, the A350-900 is said to accommodate 314 passengers and can travel up to 7,750nm. It is scheduled to enter service with Qatar Airways before the end of this year.

Airbus said that the approvals come after the programme has completed series certification trials, to comply with airworthiness criteria.

Using a fleet of five test A350-900 aircraft, the certification flight test campaign has completed over 2,600 flight test hours.

The fleet trials included ‘Early Long Flight’, hot weather testing, maximum energy rejected takeoff testing and route-proving tests.

Last month, the EASA approved Airbus’s A350 XWB to fly up to 370 minutes with single engine.

As of October 2014, the A350 XWB has logged 750 orders from 39 customers worldwide.

The A350-900 will compete with rival Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. The larger A350-1000, which is scheduled to enter service in 2017, will be pitched against Boeing 777.

Image: Airbus will now be able to deliver the long-range airliner to US airlines.Photo: courtesy of H.Gousse / Airbus SAS.

Defence Technology