VIDEO. Toulouse: the race for deliveries is carried out at Airbus: diving into the giant’s A350 factory
By Thibaut Calatayud
Published on
The last months of the year are always hectic at Toulouse-Blagnac airport. In addition to commercial flights, Airbus is also active and makes sure to deliver the maximum number of planes. In 2022, the giant had set itself the objective ofabout 700 deliveries. On Tuesday December 6, 2022, the aircraft manufacturer announced that this course was finally “out of reach”.
French Bee receives its new A350-1000
If the 700 deliveries were not to be received this year, Airbus should still do better than last year. 611 devices had been delivered that year. For this, the world leader in aeronautics must still send more than 46 planes around the world. It’s well within his reach.
Friday, December 9, the European manufacturer added a new delivery to its counter. This time it’s French bee who received a A350-1000 brand new. This is the sixth A350 (four A350-900s and two A350-1000s) in its fleet.
This young French company, created in 2016, belongs to the Dubreuil Group, which already owns Air Caribbean. Based at the airport of Paris-Orlyit rests on several major cities in the United States (New York, miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco), Pape’ete (Tahiti) and the island of The meeting. This new A350 will serve the last destination mentioned. The “flagship” of Airbus’ long-haul range will be able to carry up to 480 passengers.
“No car does better on the highway”
For Marc Rochet, CEO of the low-cost airline, the A350-1000 is “the best aircraft of its generation”. The strengths of this aircraft? “The comfort on board and its ecological performance. »
On the side of Airbus, it is indicated that this long haul 30% less polluting emissions compared to the previous generation. The noise pollution would also be halved. According to the boss of French Bee, for a flight between Paris and Reunion, the plane would consume, per passenger, approximately 1.6 liters of fuel per 100 km traveled.
“It gives you an order of magnitude of what modern aviation is today. No car does that on the highway! So when you want to get into this kind ofairplane bashing, you have to know what we are talking about…”, tackles the CEO. Not sure that this is enough to extinguish the criticisms of civil aviation…
How much does an A350 cost?
To afford this aircraft, the company spent several hundred million dollars. How many ? Difficult to know… The manufacturer prefers to remain discreet. Nevertheless, we know that the A350-1000 is sold, list price, around 350 million dollars. But the amount may vary according to the different options and configurations of the device.
After the conclusion of the negotiations, the production phase can start. Airbus currently produces five A350s per month. And perhaps even a sixth, in 2023, if the aircraft manufacturer manages to achieve the expected ramp-up.
The only FAL A350 is in the Toulouse conurbation
If the parts come from all over Europe – from France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain, the “pieces” of the plane are sent to Beluga -, the A350 is still assembled in the agglomeration Toulouse. And for good reason, it is Colomiers that we find the only final assembly line (FAL) A350.
500 people works in this factory five acres. “Airbus has made sure to reduce the size of the building, both in height and in space”, explains Matthew Lord, guide at Manatour, the group which offers to visit the sites of Boeing’s rival.
If the manufacturer wanted to limit the size of its site, it is in particular to control the temperature more easily. “It must always be between 18 and 19°C, especially for the application of mastic”, details the guide.
Assembly takes four to five months
To design the A350, Airbus relied on composite materials. They are found in particular on the fuselage and the wing. They make it possible to offer a better resistance and of reduce aircraft weight by 15%.
Much of the assembly of the different parts is still done manually. Between the beginning and the end of this stage, it takes four to five months. Paint included! “says Matthieu Lord. Then, on to the tests. Before delivery, the aircraft makes at least two to three test flights. The objective is to verify that everything is working well. No detail is left to chance before delivery.
18 months between order and delivery
After placing your order, the client waits an average of 18 months before retrieving his plane. French Bee received his, in the gray, this Friday, December 9. The aircraft then left the Pink City to reach Orly. We let you relive its takeoff:
The A350-1000 will start out of its career this Monday, December 12 with a Paris – La Réunion.
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