• rsz_airbus_50th_years_anniversary_formation_flight_-_air_to_air
    Airbus
    Stock Code:
    AIR
    Date Founded:
    1970-12-18
    CEO:
    Guillaume Faury
    Headquarters Location:
    Toulouse, France
    Key Product Lines:
    Airbus A220, Airbus A320, Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Airbus A350, Airbus A380
    Business Type:
    Planemaker

After reporting last week that two Airbus A350-900s built for Russian carrier Aeroflot were moved from storage on May 5th, a third aircraft built for the airline has followed suit. The aircraft was pulled from storage and relocated to Airbus' facilities in Toulouse on May 12th.

Third orphaned A350 pulled from storage

On May 12th, the A350-900 (MSN 471) with test registration F-WZGB and pending registration VP-BYH flew out of Airbus' storage facilities.

The jet flew from Châteauroux-Centre "Marcel Dassault" Airport (CHR) to Toulouse (TLS) on Thursday, taking off almost a half-hour ahead of schedule at 15:03 local time. The short 40-minute flight had the aircraft touchdown in Toulouse at 15:42. The flight was so short that the aircraft spent just eight minutes at its cruising altitude of 31,000 feet.

Screen Shot 2022-05-14 at 9.56.51 AM
The flight from CHR to TLS is about 40 minutes. Photo: FlightRadar24.com

The history and journey of MSN 471

According to AIB Family Flights, MSN 471 was first spotted fully assembled and painted in January 2022. The aircraft's first engine run and taxi check took place on February 10th, with a rejected takeoff (RTO) taking place the next day.

Days later, on February 15th, the jet had its first test flight: A nearly three-and-a-half-hour journey from Toulouse, over Bordeaux, out to the Bay of Biscay, and back. Its second test flight would take place on February 24th, the day Russia would begin its invasion of Ukraine. The aircraft has had a total of five test flights totaling nearly six hours.

Likely as a result of sanctions, the brand-new aircraft could not be delivered and was sent to storage like its fellow Aeroflot-ordered A350s. For MSN 471, this took place on March 9th (while the other two we previously discussed were stored on January 5th and March 10th.)

The mystery continues

While Lufthansa has been rumored to be considering the A350-1000s built for Qatar Airways, the future operator of Aeroflot's A350-900s (if one has indeed been found) also remains a mystery. Lufthansa, too, has been associated with the -900s as a possible buyer, but other airlines could be wanting them as well, such as Air India, Delta Air Lines, or another carrier. Of course, with the war dragging on, delivery to Aeroflot seems to be the most improbable scenario.

An Air India announcement would perhaps be the most newsworthy, considering the fact that the carrier has mainly been a Boeing widebody operator for most of its history. For the Indian carrier, taking the A350 would mean a brand new type - which isn't the case for Delta, Lufthansa, Turkish, with these firms already operating the Airbus widebody.

Delta A350
Photo: Airbus

So, with another week having passed, and an additional aircraft moved out of storage, we are still left waiting to see if they will in fact have a new operator in the near future.

Are you eager to find out the fate of these three aircraft? Do you think there is any chance some or all of the aircraft might end up back in storage? Let us know by leaving a comment.

Sources: AIB Family Flights, FlightRadar24.com