Video: Airbus A350 XWB Roll Out (Plus Composite Airliner Beauty Poll)
Monday, May 20, 2013 at 09:39AM (vote in the composite airliner beauty poll at the bottom of the post)
About a week ago Airbus rolled out the all new A350 XWB fresh from the paint shop looking like an airplane that's ready to fly before long. It appears that is indeed the case as they have indicated that the first flight will take place this summer, tho most likely not before the 50th anniversary Paris Air Show which runs June 17-23, 2013. Airbus didn't present the A350 with a big bash, instead it was a simple display of the aircraft with employees as seen in the photo below.
(click pic to enlarge) Roll out of the Airbus A350 XWB with employees (photo: Airbus)
The A350 looks just like it should given the market it's intended for, but it's interesting to me that so much of the basic design was driven by both the revolutions displayed in Boeing's 787 and by serious push from airlines and airline industry people demanding that Airbus respond directly (meaning an all-new aircraft) to Boeing's quantum leap in airliner design and function. I'd say Airbus was dragged kicking and screaming into the A350 program, but ultimately they have an airplane that will likely compete very well against the 787. I have no doubt that both aircraft will be very successful and that the people involved in designing and building these modern airliners have so very much to proud of.
(click pic to enlarge) A350 on May 13, 2013 - fresh out of the paint shop (photo: Airbus)
I figured today was a good to share the video and pix of the A350 roll out since today is the day that United will put the 787 back into service after the lithium-ion battery issue. Ethiopian Airlines actually resumed 787 service way back on April 27, 2013 and Japan's ANA is expected to resume 787 service on June 1. The Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350 will be battling it out for fleet dominance in the next 10 years+, and once the A350 flies and its performance figures become known, it'll be interesting to speculate which will ultimately dominate. Of course there's more to airliner success than just performance numbers... overall operating costs, reliability, and even passenger response all factor in.
(click pic to enlarge) United 787 in Flight: UAL 787 resumes today May 20, 2013
In the end, overall beauty probably won't have much if any impact on which of these aircraft is the most successful, but it's still something I'm very interested in... so I thought a little composite airliner beauty poll was a good idea. Based only only on the look of the aircraft, which do you think is the prettier airliner?
UPDATE: (5.20.13 1:43pm) While I think the A350 looks nice, I admit that I find the 787 to be truly beautiful. If you doubt my opinion, watch this video: Mesmerizing HD Video Of The 787 Dreamliner In Flight (N787EX) - I'll do a follow up poll when we get a great video like that of the A350 to compare with : )
Reader Comments (2)
I think it looks every bit as good as the 787. It will be a stiff competitor for sure.
Nice looking airplane but not as truly beautiful as the 787. I've seen the 787 in flight many times and it is the absolute best looking airliner since the Connie. I think the -9 version will look even better with its slightly different proportions.
Of course, CEO's only look at bottom lines so that might end up being the figures that matter.