Air France's widebody fleet grew by one last month, as its 19th Airbus A350 was delivered to the SkyTeam alliance member.

Air France recently took delivery of its 19th Airbus A350-900. The widebody made the journey from Toulouse to Paris Charles De Gaulle on the evening of September 30th, and was carrying passengers on a flight to Delhi the morning after. Let's take a look at Air France's newest aircraft and the quick turnaround achieved by the airline.

The A350-900 delivered to Air France was registered F-HTYS and has MSN 576. According to AIB Family Flights, the jet took its first flight on August 9th and had two subsequent test flights - one on August 29th, and another on September 15th. The total flight time for these three test flights was six hours and 24 minutes.

Arriving in Paris from Toulouse on September 30th at 20:23 local time, the aircraft had a fairly quick transition from its delivery flight to first revenue service. Indeed, the aircraft performed flight AF226 from Paris to Delhi on October 1st at 11:31 - roughly 15 hours after the end of its delivery flight. Since then, F-HTYS has been flying nearly non-stop, taking passengers between Paris and destinations like Bamako (Mali), Conakry (Guinea), and Toronto (Canada).

15 hours between delivery and revenue service is quite impressive - but it remains beaten out by ITA Airways' mid-September A350 delivery and turnaround, which was about four hours.

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Keeping with Air France tradition, the A350 has been given its own special name (in addition to the government-mandated registration code). Like many airlines around the world, such as KLM and Lufthansa, Air France names its aircraft after geographical locations.

F-HTYS has been assigned the name Biscarrosse, which is a seaside resort town located on the southwestern coast of France. While Air France aircraft names may not always have a specific aviation connection, Biscarrosse has its own unique ties to air travel.

According to Explore France, it could be said that air mail started in Biscarrosse. The French tourism site notes that an engineer from Toulouse named Pierre Georges Latécoère created a new flight route to connect Toulouse to Santiago, Chile. With a transatlantic flight considered too intimidating at the time, Latécoère decided to use seaplanes for his project, choosing Biscarrosse as his homebase. Test flights began in 1930 and “La Compagnie Générale Aéropostale” (the French Air Mail Company) was conceived in the same year.

Air France would go on to perform its first regular passenger flights out of Biscarrosse, serving New York City, Natal in Brazil, and the French West Indies. It is said that Biscarrosse today is an "international attraction" for amateur pilots and other interested visitors, as it hosts an International Seaplane Reunion every two years.

While 19 isn't exactly a special milestone when it comes to aircraft deliveries, it's always interesting to examine the unique aspects of each incoming jet!

Have you flown on Air France's Airbus A350s yet? Share your experiences with us by leaving a comment!

Sources: Explore France, AIB Family Flights, Planespotters.net, FlightRadar24.com

Deputy Editor - An experienced photographer and video producer, Chris is a journalistic natural. Degree educated with a wealth of traveling history, Chris’ insight into routes, networks, and alliances brings a depth of quality to his work that is hard to beat. His strong relationships with Middle Eastern and Canadian airlines make him an asset to the team. Currently based in Vilnius, Lithuania.

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