In February, Air India announced that it would be placing a massive 250-aircraft order with Airbus. Part of this order would include six Airbus A350-900s reported to have been originally ordered by Aeroflot. Airbus appears to be hard at work preparing the batch of widebodies, with one already taking its first test flight.

Four airframes spotted

With data coming from Aviation Flights, it appears that Airbus is getting Air India's A350s ready for their estimated late-2023 delivery target. Four airframes, initially ordered by Russian carrier Aeroflot, have been spotted at various stages of completion and/or testing. Their statuses, sorted by manufacturer serial number (MSN), are as follows:

• MSN 554 (Test registration F-WZFZ, previous registration VT-JRH): Painted in all-white livery, with the first test flight on August 4th.
• MSN 558 (Test registration F-WZFN, previous registration VT-JRI): Spotted on June 16th with engines installed.
• MSN 585 (Test registration F-WZGT): Spotted on June 20th without engines installed.
• MSN 589 (Test registration F-WZNY): Spotted on July 24th, in full-white livery, without engines installed.

Photo: FlightRadar24.com

With the data above, we can see that MSN 554 is the A350-900 furthest along in the process. The aircraft's first test flight out of Toulouse on August 4th saw it fly over the cities of Bordeaux and La Rochelle with a total flight time of two hours and 52 minutes.

All aircraft were intended for Aeroflot

Turkish Airlines was the first carrier to scoop up undeliverable A350s that were ordered by Russia's Aeroflot. The widebodies, which were in various stages of pre-delivery testing, were banned from being sold to the Russian flag carrier. The reason for this was the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022. Some of these jets had already been painted in Aeroflot colors, which Turkish Airlines only modified slightly to form a 'hybrid livery.'

Photo: Airbus

Air India is now the second carrier to take up A350s that were initially destined for Aeroflot. While the six widebodies will bear Air India's livery, at least some of the interiors will be those designed for the Russian airline. This decision to keep the already-fitted interiors is due to supply chain constraints and Air India's desire to get its aircraft sooner rather than later.

So, with this decision, we know that Air India's A350-900s will be configured with 28 seats in business class, 24 in premium economy, and 264 in economy.

Are you looking forward to Air India becoming an Airbus A350 operator? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment!

Sources: Planespotters.net, FlightRadar24.com, Aviation Flights