Airbus factories are preparing the first fuselage structures for  the new A350-1000. Following the recent delivery of the A350-1000’s first forward fuselage by the Airbus Group subsidiary Premium Aerotec (in Nordenham, Germany), to Airbus’ Hamburg plant for systems installation, the section was subsequently delivered to Airbus Saint-Nazaire plant to be mated with the cockpit fuselage panels (from Aerolia).

Airbus engineers have developed various enhancements for this version of the A350 which is 3.81 metres longer than the A350-900. For example, the door frames are now made of carbon fibre instead of titanium, while the underfloor structure has been optimised.

In addition, the hydraulic system has been improved by a simplified connection to the airframe and the electrical cable bundling has been refined. Meanwhile the first rear fuselage is currently in the final stages of structural assembly in Hamburg and will be delivered to the Toulouse final assembly line in February.