The Mexican Navy’s (SEMAR) Airbus C295W aircraft has successfully conducted flight tests to demonstrate its capabilities in hot and high conditions in El Alto, La Paz, Bolivia.
During testing at El Alto International Airport, the aircraft also performed flights to the Cochabamba base and the unprepared runway of San Borja.
Airbus Defence and Space Latin America head Christophe Roux said: "The highly successful demonstration by the C295W in Bolivia this week underlines again its excellent performance in hot and high conditions, which is key for several countries in the region. It demonstrates once more the C295W’s status as the most efficient aircraft in its category."
The El Alto International Airport is said to be one of the airports with the most extreme hot and high conditions in the world.
The aircraft is scheduled to return to Mexico in early December.
In October 2014, SEMAR signed a contract to purchase two additional Airbus C295 aircraft with winglets. The navy has ordered the new winglets to be made a standard feature for all future C295 orders.
The Mexican Navy is the launch customer of the first C295W version, featuring winglets and enhanced engine settings. The company unveiled the improved C295W aircraft in May 2013.
The added winglets enable the aircraft to transport an increased payload for longer distances, which saves approximately 4% of fuel each flight.
Image: An Airbus C295W aircraft. Photo: courtesy of Airbus DS GmbH.
