Airbus' newest, biggest version of the A350 makes its first flight

TOULOUSE, France -- Airbus flew its new A350-1000 wide-body jet for the first time on Thursday, The jet, the largest twin-jet airplane the European aerospace company has ever made, took off from Airbus’ headquarters near the French city of Toulouse. It's the largest and latest variant of the company's flagship A350 line of jetliners.

The aircraft took off from the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport at 10:42 a.m. local time (4:42 a.m. ET), flying for several hours over southern France before returning.

The A350-1000 will seat between 366 and 440 passengers, depending on the configuration airlines choose for it. Its range of 7,950 miles will enable the jet to connect cities like Boston and Shanghai or Los Angeles and Manchester, England, according to Airbus.

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It is powered by the Trent XWB engine, manufactured by Rolls-Royce. The engine is capable of out-putting 97,000 lbs of thrust.

Airbus anticipates the jet will deliver to launch customer Qatar Airways late next year, following a full year of flight testing.

The airplane is the latest installment in Airbus’ A350 program, first launched in 2006. Qatar Airways became the first carrier to take delivery of an A350 in late 2014.

The jets are manufactured with lightweight carbon-fiber composite materials instead of the more traditional aluminum, allowing for greater fuel efficiency and more flier-friendly features, such as larger windows more-comfortable cabin humidity levels.

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Qatar Airways is world's first airline to get the Airbus A350

FacebookIn addition to the newly added -1000 series, the A350 family also includes a smaller -900 version. The -900 seats around 325 passengers in a standard configuration and can fly 200 miles further than the larger -1000. The -900 first took to the skies in 2013, and entered commercial passenger service in early 2015 when Qatar Airways deployed the jet on its route between Doha, Qatar and Frankfurt.

The first flight of the -1000 is also the latest bid in an ongoing battle for sales in the twin-engine long-haul jet market, a segment that Boeing has dominated for decades.

The two airplane-makers have increasingly attempted to one-up one another in recent years, each trying to outdo the other with ever-larger and more-efficient airplanes.

Airbus' A350-1000 is aimed squarely at dethroning one of Boeing's most popular products, the 777-300, which has sold 809 frames to date. Airbus says the A350-1000 is 25% more fuel efficient and 30 tons lighter than the venerable Boeing jet.

“The -1000 has killed the 777-300ER,” said Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier during an interview on Thursday. “What we wanted has been achieved, without having even demonstrated it in flight,” he added, noting the performance capabilities of the -1000.