British Airways has posted images of its first A350-1000 aircraft being painted at Airbus’ Toulouse factory, ahead of delivery this summer.
In a Facebook post the carrier said:
“Our first A350-1000, G-XWBA, is nearing completion and has entered the Airbus paint bay in Toulouse… We can’t wait to reveal her in full British Airways colours very soon!”
BA’s first A350 is expected to be delivered in July (although the exact date has not yet been confirmed), and will temporarily be used on short-haul crew familiarisation flights to Madrid in August and September, before being rostered onto selected services to Toronto, Dubai from October, followed by Tel Aviv and Bengaluru.
The airline has a total of 18 A350s on order, with four expected to be delivered this year.
The aircraft will features BA’s new Club Suite product, which offers a sliding door, 40 per cent more storage, and a 1-2-1 layout with direct aisle access for all passengers.
Rival carrier Virgin Atlantic also takes delivery of its first A350-1000 this summer. The aircraft will initially launch on the London Heathrow-New York JFK service from August, with four of the carrier’s six flights per day on the route set to feature the A350 by the end of the year.
Similar to BA, Virgin will launch its new Upper Class product on the aircraft.
