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A350 direct competitor to 787 and completes maiden four-hour return flight from Toulouse

The Airbus A350's maiden flight ended with a safe landing on Friday, setting the stage for intensifying competition with US rival Boeing in the long-haul wide-body aircraft market.

The four-hour flight marks a key step on the path to full certification for the jet, which can carry between 250 and 400 passengers and is the European aircraft maker's best hope for catching up in a long-haul market dominated by Boeing's 787 and 777.

Airspace at the airport in the southern French city of Toulouse, where Airbus has its headquarters, closed for both take-off and landing.

Airbus has 613 orders for the A350, and hopes Friday's flight will bring it momentum heading into next week's Paris air show, which is already shaping up as a battle of the wide-body planes.

More than half of the twin-engine jet consists of lightweight carbon-fibre designed to save on fuel, which makes up half the cost of long-haul flights.

The A350, which was delayed for two years as Airbus hashed out the new design, is a direct competitor with the 787 Dreamliner – minus the lithium ion batteries now under investigation for unexplained smoldering. Airbus abandoned its plans to use the lithium ion batteries despite their advantages in weight, power and re-charging speed.

"The A350 has the same innovations more or less as the Dreamliner, the 787," said Gerard Feldzer, a French aviation expert and former airline pilot.

"It is pretty much equivalent, the same amount or proportion of carbon for the lightness of the material, just as many electrical devices."

Boeing's list prices for its 787 line range from $206 million to $243 million. Airbus lists prices ranging from $254 million to $332m (£211m), and had 613 orders as of May, compared with 890 orders for the 787. Steep discounts are common on large orders, although the details are rarely made public.

Airbus claims the A350 burns 25% less fuel than the Boeing due to its lighter weight, redesigned Rolls Royce engines and new aerodynamics.

"The first flight is a very special moment in an aerospace company," Tom Enders, CEO of Airbus parent company EADS, said

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1. France Telecom chief charged over Bernard Tapie award

Stephane Richard accused of fraud while he was assistant to Christine Lagarde, over €400m given to businessman

The CEO of France Telecom, Stephane Richard, has been charged with fraud in relation to his role as chief of staff to Christine Lagarde when she was France's finance minister.

Richard had been questioned about the decision by the French treasury, in 2008, to grant a €400m (£340m) award to the business tycoon Bernard Tapie.

Richard was charged yesterday having been detained by financial police on Monday and admitted to a special interrogation room at a hospital near Notre Dame cathedral as a "precautionary measure" after suffering fatigue after two days of questioning. Neither France Telecom nor Richard's lawyer commented immediately. Richard has previously said he was "trying in good faith to defend the state's best interests".

Tapie, a supporter of former president Nicolas Sarkozy, won the award in arbitration in 2008 to end a dispute with the government over his company's sale of Adidas. Tapie claimed the then-state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais had cheated him while handling the sale.

Lagarde, now managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has also been questioned and has denied any wrongdoing. She has been named as a key witness but was not charged.

The then-socialist opposition claimed the arbitration process was rigged to reward Tapie for his support of Sarkozy in the 2007 presidential election. The socialist government has not yet replaced any of the bosses of the major state-owned companies such as EDF or GDF, but could move Richard on if the Tapie case prevents him from carrying out his duties.

Bruno le Roux, the leader of the Socialists in the National Assembly, said France Telecom's board should decide Richard's fate at the company.

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