already making it one of the most successful
widebody aircraft ever. Over 200 A350
XWBs have already been delivered and are
in service with 22 airlines, ying primarily on
long-range services.
The idea of having the -800 carrying270 passengers over 8,500nm (15,750km)
appears to be moribund, with orders for the
variant being, in the main, converted into the
larger, long-range models, or types such as
the new-generation A320/A330neos.THE FUTURE
It’s not surprising that in such a competitive
market Airbus is keeping its future plansfor A350 programme close to its
chest. The original intention when
the ground-breaking jetliner was
launched over a decade ago was
to establish the passenger variants,
and then produce a freighter version.If Boeing’s impressively large sales of its
777F/787F are anything to go by, there
is certainly a market for a cargo version
of the A350, especially in its long-range
con guration. At the time of writing (early
October), Airbus was tight-lipped about the
900F programme.
A new corporate jet version of the
A350, called the ACJ350 XWB, is alsoon the cards. Airbus says it will feature
2,910 sq ft (270m^2 ) of cabin space in
the -900 version and be able to y 25
passengers up to 10,800nm (20,000km)
or 22 hours non-stop.
The efforts by Airbus to create the A350
after getting feedback from airlines has
certainly proved fruitful with the type securing
an impressive number of orders.40 Aviation News incorporating Jets November 2018
Above: Air Mauritius took delivery of its rst Airbus A350-900 in October 2017. The
aircraft, registration 3B-NBP, was been named le Morne Brabant after the island’s most
famous mountain, declared a world heritage site by UNESCO. The airline has chosen a
two class layout for its eventual eet of six A350s, with a total of 326 seats comprising
28 in business class and 298 in economy. Airbus
Below: Airbus A350-900ULR F-WZNY/9V-SGA was delivered to Singapore Airlines on
September 22. Singapore Airlines‘This system engages the aircraft’s
autopilot function to automatically and
quickly bring the aircraft to a lower,
safer altitude in the event of in-fl ight
cabin depressurization’
AIRBUS A350 OPERATORS
AT A GLANCE
Operator Variant No. in service
Air Caraïbes -900 2
Asiana Airlines -900 6
Air Mauritius -900 2
Air China -900 3
Capital Airlines -900 1
Cathay Paci c -900, -1000 22/3
China Airlines -900 13
Delta Air Lines -900 11
Ethiopian Airlines -900 9
Finnair -900 11
French bee -900 2
Hong Kong Airlines -900 5
Iberia -900 2
LATAM Brazil -900 8
Lufthansa -900 11
Malaysia Airlines -900 6
Philippine Airlines -900 3
Qatar Airways -900, -1000 30/4
Sichuan Airlines -900 1
Singapore Airlines -900, -900ULR 21/1
Thai Airways -900 12
Vietnam Airlines -900 12