Airbus’ next-generation A350F freighter, which the manufacturer confirmed to be under development in July 2021, has finally conducted its maiden flight.
The aircraft, registered F-WXLD and referred to as MSN700 by Airbus, is the first of two test aircraft the manufacturer will use for a more-than-nine-month test campaign. It aims to rack up more than 400 flight hours before moving into formal certification in 2027, with deliveries expected in the second half of the year.
A dedicated Airbus crew of five flew MSN700 for 4 hours and 10 minutes, reaching an altitude of 25,000 feet. FlightRadar24 said close to 1 million people tracked the flight.
The A350F’s debut was streamed live during the early hours of Tuesday morning for American aviation geeks, but Airbus captured the moment the freighter first took to the skies.
Lars Wagner, CEO of Airbus Commercial Aircraft, called the A350F a “true game-changer for the air cargo market, combining unmatched operational flexibility, fuel efficiency, and range.”
The freighter is intended to offer up to 40 percent lower fuel burn and carbon emissions versus aircraft it is designed to replace. Its projected range of about 4,700 nm at full payload of 111 metric tons (nearly 245,000 pounds) would enable trips between cities such as Hong Kong and Anchorage, Alaska.
The A350F’s massive cargo door is designed to be the largest in its class and fit everything from small e-commerce shipments to oversized cargo such as large aircraft engines, as well as items requiring temperature control.
The A350F cargo door, the largest of its kind, open in Toulouse
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— Airways Magazine (@airwaysmagazine) September 29, 2026
The Airbus crew carried out a battery of tests on the aircraft, which is fitted with special flight test instrumentation. They focused on verifying its basic airworthiness, gauging fundamental flying qualities, and ensuring basic systems performed as predicted. Airbus said earlier this month that a trailing cone will measure data such as airspeed, altitude, and Mach number and compare those measurements to the aircraft’s internal instruments.
The manufacturer said its second A350F prototype (MSN701) is in an advanced stage of final assembly and will get a paint job in the “next few weeks.”
What’s Next for the A350F?
The A350F flight test program has faced delays stemming from supply chain issues, staffing shortages, and challenges with production of the main-deck cargo door. Its entry into service has been delayed from 2025 to the second half of ’27, per Airbus’ latest estimate.
Laurent Bussiere, lead flight test engineer for the program, said this month that the freighter has “unique dimensions” due to its fuselage configuration, which is “equivalent to an A350-900 forward fuselage [length] mated to an A350-1000 rear fuselage [length] and A350-1000 wings.” Bussiere described it as “between both” the A350-1000 and A350-900.
“This creates a new aerodynamic model which affects flight control,” he said.
Bussiere added that the aircraft’s specialized nose landing gear, developed by Liebherr-Aerospace, “affects ground maneuvering.”
The prototype that flew Tuesday is intended to study the A350F’s aerodynamic performance, handling qualities, and autopilot systems. The initial flights are being executed without flight envelope and stability protections to validate flying under manual control.
The second test aircraft, MSN701, will fly with those flight envelope and stability protections and is designed to test various systems in hot and cold weather. For example, Airbus will gauge the model’s fire and smoke detection systems, which it said will eventually allow MSN700 to fly with real cargo. Some operators will be permitted to test the airplanes’ cargo loading and unloading capabilities themselves.
“Our target is to be able to load and unload various representative containers and payloads every day after flight,” Bussiere said.
European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) pilots and flight engineers will be passengers on A350F performance flights and “become extensively involved in the formal certification phase planned in 2027,” he added.
The freighter’s combination of advanced aerodynamics, weight-saving materials, carbon airframe, and Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines is intended to enable long-range, fuel-efficient operations. A flight crew rest compartment with two beds will give pilots space to relax on long journeys.
Airbus said “advanced materials” comprise over 70 percent of the A350F’s airframe, giving it a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) that is 46 metric tons lighter than competitors. The manufacturer said it is the first new freighter to fully meet the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) latest carbon emission standards It will be capable of using up to 50 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at launch, but Airbus aims to increase that to 100 percent by 2030.
Airbus said Tuesday that it had recorded 115 A350F orders from 14 disclosed customers at the end of August, which it said represents a 59 percent market share in the large freighter category. It entered 2026 with 81 on order. Atlas Air is the largest customer, with 20 orders.
The A350F will rival Boeing’s upcoming 777-8F, which has 81 confirmed orders and is also targeting a 2027 service entry. The 777-8F is designed to carry slightly more cargo and fly about 300 nm further than Airbus’ design.