World's first A350-1000 prototype, the stretched version of the A350 XWB family aircraft, has emerged from the paint shop in Toulouse, France with a special livery, marking a key programme milestone, the European manufacturer said via its social media.

Measuring nearly 74 metres from nose to tail, the A350-1000 -- which offers seating for 366 passengers in a typical three-class configuration -- is the longest-fuselage version of Airbus' all-new family of widebody jetliners

The prototype registered F-WMIL, MSN 59, one of three flight test aircraft to be built, is scheduled to take to the skies for its maiden flight in the fourth quarter of 2016, with delivery expected to occur in mid-2017.

So far, Airbus has won 181 A350-1000 orders from 10 customers. Launch customer is set to be Qatar Airways, which also was the launch customer for the -900 variant.