After a maiden flight on June 14th and a second on Wednesday, the new Airbus 350 XWB held its third test flight on Friday over the French capital, where a crowd at the Paris Air Show greeted the important new jet, reports CNET.
The jet made a conservative pass above the runway at Le Bourget Airport here, forsaking the steep ascents and sharply banked turns common as manufacturers show off the abilities of their aircraft.
The Airbus A350 XWB - short for extra-wide body - competes with Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, another two-aisle passenger jet designed to cut fuel costs for workhorse airline routes. The Dreamliner, though grounded temporarily after battery problems earlier this year, has a multi-year headstart.
During the Paris Air Show, though, Airbus parent company EADS got some good news: $21.4 billion in commitments from customers who plan to buy 69 of A350 jets. The new orders came from Singapore Airlines, United Airlines, Air France-KLM, and Sri Lankan, Airbus said.
The French company also got some publicity when French President Francois Hollande arrived at the show on the company's A400M, a hulking four-engine airlifter for military customers. Airbus took in $68.7 billion total in orders for new aircraft, doubtless welcome news in a country afflicted by the European economic malaise.
Read more of this report from CNET.