What a difference a week makes. Early this morning, TAMAirlines happily welcomed its first Airbus A350 when it touched downuneventfully in Brazil after a flight from Airbus HQ in Toulouse France. Earlierthis week, however, it was quite a different experience when a Qatar Airwayscharter flight with aviation writers enjoying a look at the fancy new wide body,attempted to leave New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
In thatcase, what appeared to be a normal takeoff roll was suddenly aborted.
Zach Honig, The Points Guy editor, who was on the flight called it the mostmemorable of his life and posted the flight cam video on YouTube.
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Interestingly, Honig says he and another traveler were unable to disembark, despite making requests to do so. An hour and forty minutes later, the A350 was airborne toDoha where it arrived safely, to Honig's relief.
There's no word on what happened to cause the abrupt halt to the first takeoff attempt, but one can't discount the possibility of mode confusion asa possibility when an airline begins operating a brand new airplane.
In Brazil, TAM is planning a one-month get-to-know-you phase with the A350 it received just in time for Christmas. This morning, after landing on Brazilian soil at ConfinsInternational Airport in Belo Horizonte, it received itsBrazilian registration PR-XTA with which it will fly on to Sao Baulo/GuraulhosAirport on Saturday.
"We are very happy to celebrate receiving the first A350 XWBin the Americas," TAM's CEO Claudia Sender said in a pressrelease. "We are pioneers in bringing this aircraft to theregion."
Sender, a Harvard MBA graduate, is herself a pioneer; one of theworld's few top-level female airline executives. She could also have beentalking about herself when she told people assembled for the arrival of theplane, that South America's largest carrier is committed to having "one ofthe youngest and most innovative fleets in the world."
At 40, Sender is also on the younger side of a businesswhere most chief executives are grey, not blonde. She has been with TAMfor just five years arriving right after Chile's LAN and TAM merged in2012 making LATAM Airlines Group.
TAM's pilots, flight attendants, maintenance and operationsstaff will spend January learning about the new star of their long-haulfleet. After that the first revenue flights begin. In March, TAM's A350will operate on routes between Sao Paulo and Miami, Orlando and Madrid.
TAM is the fourth airline to receive the A350, a directcompetitor to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
is already flying it between Helsinki and Shanghai with a New Yorkroute scheduled to begin for a limited time in January. I'll be on that trip from JFK in early 2016,so here's hoping unlike Honig's experience on Qatar, my Finnair takeoff happens exactly right - the veryfirst time.