BA’s fourth A350 plane is damaged by the painters

In one of the more bizarre stories we’ve covered this year, the delivery date for the fourth British Airways A350 aircraft has been delayed due to a painting accident.

This has practical implications for many HfP readers.  If you had been booked on an A350 service in December or January, especially if you were booked into Club Suite, you should keep an eye on your booking.  Dubai is believed to be the main casualty.  As BA is now an aircraft down, it will have no choice but to substitute a non-A350 and non-Club Suite aircraft on some services.

FlightGlobal first ran the story.  This would have taken place at the Airbus factory in Toulouse.  To quote:

Airbus is undertaking repairs to a British Airways Airbus A350-1000 after the twinjet was damaged during the final stages of the production process.

The aircraft suffered an “incident”, the airframer confirms, although it has not disclosed the nature of the event or the location of the damage.

Airbus says it is “working with the customer” with the aim of delivering the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-powered aircraft in December.

FlightGlobal understands, from a source familiar with the situation, that the A350-1000 was parked in a paint shop and sustained surface damage from one of the many pieces of equipment that surround the aircraft in such facilities.

“Airbus has assured us that the aircraft will be fully repaired and delivered shortly,” says British Airways, without elaborating on the circumstances.

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