Qantas' Very First Airbus A350-1000 Nears Completion

On November 6th, Australian carrier Qantas put out a post on social media announcing that its first Airbus A350-1000ULR, or Ultra Long Range, is now on the final assembly line in Toulouse. Accompanying the announcement was video showing the aircraft being put together. As highlighted by the carrier, it's a significant step in Project Sunrise, which will link Australia's east coast with London and New York. We examine the latest news and what is known thus far about the jet for today's video. There's still a lot of time before this A350-1000 enters service, but it's certainly nice to see progress and get an update. Qantas' November 6th post gives us a glimpse of its first A350 during the assembly process. Qantas says in its post that all key airframe components, including the forward, center, and rear fuselage sections, have come together, along with the wings, tail section, and landing gear now attached. This wide photo here shows the aircraft assembled with everything except its Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines. Other photos are close-ups of the airframe and wings. Checking out this photo in particular, we can see 707 printed-slash-painted on the front section. This reminds us that the A350-1000 has manufacturer's serial number MSN-707. Taking this information and heading to Planespotters.net's production list, we can see that the airframe will have a test registration, Foxtrot-Whiskey-Zulu-November-Kilo, while an Australian registration code has yet to be assigned. And on the topic of testing, it's worth remembering that being on the final assembly line doesn't mean that the aircraft is all that close to being finally delivered and finally entering service. Indeed, there's still quite a bit to go. After getting its engines and flight test instruments installed, the aircraft will obviously need to undergo flight tests, be painted, and have its interior fitted, which may or may not take place in this order. Upon delivery to Qantas, there will most certainly be a celebration, although after any kind of delivery ceremony, weeks of crew training will need to take place. Thus, it makes a lot of sense as to why late 2026 is when delivery will take place, and why entry into service will only happen in 2027. And so, in over a year's time, the first Project Sunrise flights will, according to Qantas, "...conquer the final frontier of long-haul travel with nonstop flights between Australia's East Coast and London and New York." The jet is due to be fitted with the following classes and seat quantities. Six seats in first class, 52 in business, 40 for premium economy, and finally 140 for economy. Are you excited to see this first aircraft take shape and eventually be delivered to Qantas? Let us know by leaving a comment.