Airbus said its new A350F freighter completed its first flight on Tuesday, marking the start of a flight test campaign expected to run for more than nine months.

The first of two test aircraft, registered as MSN 700 and fitted with special flight test instrumentation, flew for 4 hours 10 minutes and reached an altitude of 25,000 feet, the European planemaker said in a press release. A dedicated Airbus flight test crew operated the aircraft.

The crew verified the aircraft's basic airworthiness and fundamental flying qualities and checked that basic systems performed as predicted, Airbus said.

Airbus Commercial Aircraft CEO Lars Wagner called the flight "a major milestone" for the A350F and for customers worldwide. He said the aircraft, the latest development of the A350 platform, combines operational flexibility, fuel efficiency, and range, and that it could change the air cargo market. Wagner also praised the teams involved in the programme.

The second prototype, MSN 701, is in advanced final assembly and is due to enter the paint shop within weeks, the company said.

According to Airbus, the A350F has a range of up to 8,700 kilometres and can carry a payload of up to 111 tonnes, allowing operators to use it on international long-haul routes. The company said more than 70 per cent of the airframe is made of advanced materials, giving a maximum take-off weight 46 tonnes lower than that of competing aircraft.

The freighter is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines. Airbus said fuel consumption and carbon emissions would be up to 40 per cent lower than for competitor aircraft with similar payload and range. It also said the A350F is the first new freighter to fully meet the latest carbon dioxide emission standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations aviation agency. These performance and market claims come from the manufacturer and have not been independently verified.

Airbus said the A350F had recorded 115 orders from 14 disclosed customers by the end of August 2026 and had captured up to 59 per cent of the large freighter market.

Captain and test pilot Bernardo Saez-Benito and first officer and experimental test pilot Sylvain Guiraud flew the aircraft, together with test flight engineer Ludovic Girard. Lead flight test engineers Laurent Bussiere and Jaime Angoloti were also on board.

Source: PR