• Crawford Hamilton, Head of Freighter Marketing at Airbus, has confirmed there are currently 14 customers awaiting the new A350F freighter to add to their fleets.
• This comes as the new freighter completed its first test flight at Toulouse airport this morning.
• “The freighter has always been a part of the A350 vision, and now its really coming to fruition. Today we are going to see something that is going to be fantastic,” Martin said.

Crawford Hamilton, Head of Freighter Marketing at Airbus, today confirmed that there are 14 confirmed customers for the new A350F freighter that is currently undergoing testing, with its first flight taking-off this morning from Toulouse.

Speaking to Air Cargo Week, Martin explained the excitement at Airbus for getting the aircraft into service, certificated and flying for its future customers who already have Airbus’ largest freighter built on their orderbooks.

“The freighter has always been a part of the A350 vision, and now its really coming to fruition. Today we are going to see something that is going to be fantastic,” Hamilton said, prior to the A350F’s scheduled take-off at 10:00 local time.

“What’s amazing is seeing the transformation from people asking, ‘What exactly is the freighter?’ to now seeing it as a true part of the Airbus family and as an important part of the company’s future. It really represents the culmination of years of activity, going back to the launch and even before that. It has been a huge team effort, bringing together engineering, programme teams, production teams, marketing and many others across Airbus”

Speaking about the origins of the project to launch the freighter, Hamilton added, “It’s incredibly exciting. I’ve been speaking to colleagues and asking: ‘When did you start working on this?’ Some say 2016. Others say their first studies began when the A350 itself was launched, because they were part of the very early preliminary work. So many people here have had a stake in this for a long, long time.”

It is currently estimated that it will take between ten months and a year for the aircraft to enter service, as it is yet to complete further air and ground testing.

At Airbus, however, it is evident that there is excitement following this milestone flight, and the future to come for the freighter. “I don’t think it will fully sink in until Friday, maybe even the weekend, but it has been an absolutely brilliant experience watching everyone get behind this aircraft. And now, effectively, you have 160,000 or 170,000 people across Airbus supporting it,” commented Hamilton.

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