( CNN ) -- To fully appreciate all the A350 XWB promises to offer , your imagination needs to take a rather giant leap . On display for the first time at an airshow , the brand new extra wide bodied passenger jet has been one of the Singapore Airshow 's major attention grabbers . Flying high above the Changi Exhibition Centre , it looks sleek and maneuverable . It 's a big draw , part of the airshow 's static display sitting beside its key competitor , Boeing 's 787 Dreamliner . But step on board , and it 's unlike any other experience on a passenger jet , because the A350 is still a test aircraft . Packed with flight testing gear , including the equivalent of 400 kilometers of bright orange testing cables , every nuance of what happens when the plane is in the air is captured by equipment that feeds data live to Airbus ' headquarters in Toulouse . Some 600,000 parameters can be monitored and recorded at any one time as part of that testing . Large water tanks under the floor are filled to the exact weight the aircraft will carry when it 's full of passengers and baggage . The A350 first took to the skies on June 14 last year . Soon after , it performed a fly-by at the Paris Airshow . So far two test planes have clocked 1,000 hours of flying time , some in extreme conditions . To date the A350 has experienced the cold of northern Canada and the high altitude of La Paz in Bolivia . In the next few weeks it will also conduct tests in the stifling heat of the Middle East . All five test A350s will have to fly for 2,500 hours before achieving certification . Selling features . This is a passenger jet made up of 53 % composite material according to Simon Azar from the Airbus Marketing Division , the highest of any commercial aircraft . This allows the A350 to travel as fuel efficiently as possible , lowering operating costs . The wings of the jet incorporate the jet maker 's latest aerodynamics and advanced low-speed controls . The curled winglets are designed to reduce drag , again saving fuel . Essentially the plane will fly further for less , to help offset the high cost of buying the aircraft , which has a list price of $ 254 million-322 million depending on size . Also adding to the customer experience , Airbus says , are the A350 's low noise levels . This airplane has already been nicknamed by some as the `` Hushliner , '' a title Airbus has embraced . `` The noise levels for the aircraft are going to be very low , '' says Azar . `` It 's designed to be a very quiet aircraft both in the cabin and for surrounding space as the aircraft flies around . That 's very important . Noise pollution around airports is something that we work to reduce . '' Airbus also says its custom Rolls Royce engine is unrivaled in terms of fuel efficiency , and contributes to the aircraft achieving a 25 % reduction in seat-mile costs and 25 % lower carbon dioxide emissions . Passenger experience . For passengers , Airbus says it 's offering great quality air ( replaced on the aircraft every two to three minutes ) , wider cabins and 18-inch-wide seats in economy . When carrying 315 passengers this plane can travel 7,800 nautical miles , or an equivalent 17 hours , useful when research suggests passengers of the future will be flying for longer . The twin aisle jet can carry between 250 and 400 passengers . It 's designed to have an economy class carrying nine abreast , but the A350 will come in three sizes , the A350-800 , A350-900 and A350-1000 , and can be configured to seat passengers from eight to 10 abreast . It 'll be up to the customer airlines to choose the mode of inflight entertainment . Business class passengers will experience all the perks , with Airbus promising mood lighting and the option for full flat seats . First class can be fitted at the customer airline 's discretion . It 's a lot to get your head around when you look at the airplane as it is today . `` Flight crew class '' is what Azar laughingly calls the 50 odd well-worn gray seats the jet is currently fitted with , all recovered from old aircraft . For now , these are strictly reserved for crew and mechanics during test flights , but that will change . The first fit-out of an A350 with a proper cabin is expected next month . VIPs and media only . The A350 arrived in Singapore shortly before the airshow started . Only a select few have been allowed inside , including aviation journalists and VIP visitors , including Britain 's Undersecretary of State for Transport Stephen Hammond . On Thursday the plane is due to fly 13 hours back to Toulouse , where rigorous tests will continue until the plane is ready to go to market . Airbus says it expects that to be in the fourth quarter of this year . Its debut customer , Qatar Airways , has ordered 80 of the aircraft . Airbus has a backlog of orders for 814 A350 jets , from 39 customers , almost a third of which are from the Asia Pacific region . Charlotte Glennie is an award-winning freelance journalist living in Singapore . She has previously worked as a foreign correspondent based out of both Beijing and Hong Kong .
Airbus put its A350 XWB test aircraft , with its bare bones cabin , on display at the Singapore Air Show . The plane is designed to fly for up to five hours without refuelling and has a range of about 500 miles ( 800 km ) before needing recharging. First fit-out of an A350 with a proper cabin is expected next month .