Airbus has confirmed that the very first flight of its new A350 XWB aircraft is planned for this Friday, June 14th 2013.

Weather conditions permitting, the A350 XWB MSN1 will take off from Toulouse-Blagnac airport at around 10:00 local time.

The A350 XWB flight test teams are now carrying out the last checks on the A350 XWB “MSN1” before they give their final green light for the first flight to take place this Friday.

Recent pre-first flight tests successfully carried out include the first power up of the fuel efficient Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines on MSN1, which took place on June 2nd.

The A350 XWB is the all-new mid-size long range product line comprising three versions and seating between 270 and 350 passengers in typical three-class layouts.

Scheduled for entry-into-service in second half of 2014, the A350 XWB has already won 613 firm orders from 33 customers worldwide.

It is seen as an alternative to the troubled Boeing Dreamliner.