If you’re anything like us, you will have been watching British Airways' four-part documentary. The series has been exploring everything from launching new routes to training cabin crew to delivering cream teas at 36,000 feet.

Tomorrow, the last episode airs, exploring such topics as the delivery of British Airway’s first Airbus A350 to welcoming the Queen to the company’s Waterside Headquarters. Simple Flying has been eagerly following the Airbus A350’s entry to service and, as such, we decided to delve into the process of ordering, delivering and preparing an aircraft for entry to service.

Ordering the aircraft

The first step in introducing new aircraft to service is to order them. With almost every aircraft made to order, this needs to be done a few years in advance, as there is usually a backlog of orders. British Airways initially ordered its Airbus A350s back in September 2013, exactly six years ago to the day.

British Airways paid for a slot in the aircraft’s production line. Once this had been confirmed, it simply becomes a waiting game until an aircraft begins to be built.

Manufacture

After several years of waiting, it’s time to start building the aircraft. Parts for a new aircraft are built all across the globe, rather than in one location. They are then brought all together in order for the aircraft to be built. In the case of the Airbus A350, this takes place in Toulouse in the south of France.

The aircraft is then built in several stages. Firstly, the fuselage and wings are attached together, with the undercarriage being installed. The aircraft can then be sent for painting before the engines and interiors are installed.

Flight testing

Once the aircraft has been constructed, Airbus needs to check that everything fits together correctly and there are no faults. The aircraft will go through a series of flight tests. Once Airbus is satisfied with the aircraft they have built, the customer will be invited to Toulouse to evaluate the aircraft. If this is successful, the aircraft will be accepted, and the paperwork signed. The aircraft is then delivered to the customer.

Once the aircraft has been delivered to the customer, then the airline will typically run the aircraft through a series of tests before it enters service. In the case of British Airways’s first Airbus A350, this was allocated 10 days, of which time was also allocated to show the aircraft off to guests and the media.

Once the aircraft is ready to enter service, all that is left to carry out is the aircraft’s inaugural passenger flight. You can read about our experience on the first commercial flight of a British Airways Airbus A350 here.

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