Airbus A350 gets FAA approval

Enlarge Photo

Fred Lancelot / Courtesy Airbus

The first A350 is expected to be delivered to Qatar Airways by the end of the year.

Daniel McCoy

Reporter- Wichita Business Journal

Email  |  Twitter  |  LinkedIn  |  Google+

Airbus has announced that its A350-900 passenger aircraft has received type certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

That will clear the way for the for the manufacturer to deliver the new jet to U.S. customers.

The plane is part of Airbus' new A350 XWB family of aircraft, which will compete with rival Boeing's 787 and 777 jets.

At the end of October, the company had 750 orders for A350 aircraft from 39 customers worldwide.

The first A350 is expected to be delivered to Qatar Airways by the end of the year.

Airbus Americas Engineering in Wichita has had as many as 150 people working on the A350 during its design and development.

In addition, Wichita-based Spirit AeroSystems Inc. (NYSE: SPR) builds the composite center fuselage section and front wing spar at its plant in Kinston, N.C.

Daniel McCoy covers aviation, manufacturing and automotive.