Aviation enthusiasts looking to get a glimpse of the Airbus A350 when it touches down in Sydney next week will need to set their alarms for an early start.
A350 MSN005 is due to arrive at 0600 on Tuesday, August 5, from Johannesburg, and will remain on the ground at Mascot until 1400.
At that time, the aircraft, which is undergoing route proving flights as part of the A350’s type certification program, will head for Auckland, where it was expected to land at 1900.
New Zealanders have until 1500 on Wednesday, August 6, to get a look at Airbus’s newest aircraft before it jets off for Santiago in Chile.
On a separate trip, the A350 test aircraft is scheduled to come to Perth between August 9 and August 13 as part of a Toulouse-Doha-Perth-Doha-Moscow-Helsinki-Toulouse routing. Exact arrival and departure times were unavailable at the time of writing.
Airbus has said previously certification of the aircraft was on track to be completed by the third quarter of calendar 2014, with first delivery to launch customer Qatar Airways due by the end of 2014.
“These route proving tests are designed to demonstrate readiness for airline operations and will include high airfield performance, auto-landing trials, and airport turnaround and handling services,” Airbus said in a statement.
