The Airbus A350 is now a popular widebody long-range aircraft intended to be a replacement for the quad-engine A340. The aircraft is constructed of carbon composite materials. The Airbus A350 now serves many airline customers across the world, with Philippine Airlines being one of them. However, some may wonder who are the biggest Airbus A350 customers in the world.
The Airbus A350 comes in three variants, the -900, the -900ULR, and the -1000. There is only one airline that operates the ULR version and this is Singapore Airlines. While they are all powered by the Rolls Royce Trent XWB turbofans, they all have different thrust ratings. The RR Trent XWB on the Airbus A350-900 is rated at 83,000 lbf while the engines on an A350-1000 are rated to be at 97,000 lbf.
Below is a more detailed comparison between both A350-900 and A350-1000.
| Specifications | A350-900 | A350-1000 |
| Range | 15,000Km (8,100NM) | 15,600Km (8,400NM) |
| Seating (Typical) | 314 | 350 |
| Replaces Current Model | A340-300 | A340-600 |
| Listed Airbus A350 Price | US$304.8 Million | US$351.9 Million |
| Competes against | Boeing 777-200ER | Boeing 777-300ER |
| Length | 66.89 Metres | 73.88 Metres |
| Wing span | 64.75 Metres | 64.75 Metres |
| Height | 17.10 Metres | 17.10 Metres |
| Fuselage Width (Exterior) | 5.96 Metres | 5.96 Metres |
| Cabin width (Interior) | 5.61 Metres | 5.61 Metres |
| Track | 10.60 Metres | 10.70 Metres |
| Wheelbase | 28.67 Metres | 33.10 Metres |
| Freight (underfloor) LD3 | 36 | 44 |
| Freight (underfloor) Pallets | 11 | 14 |
| Freight (underfloor) Bulk | 11.3 Cubic Metres | 11.3 Cubic Metres |
| Freight (underfloor) Total | 172.3 Cubic Metres | 208.1 Cubic Metres |
| Maximum Operating Speed | Mach 0.89 | Mach 0.89 |
| Maximum Ramp Weight | 268.9 tonnes | 308.9 tonnes |
| Maximum Take off Weight | 268.0 tonnes | 308.0 tonnes |
| Maximum Landing Weight | 205.0 tonnes | 233.0 tonnes |
| Maximum Zero Fuel Weight | 192.0 tonnes | 220.0 tonnes |
| Maximum Fuel Capacity | 138,000 Litres | 156,000 Litres |
| Engines – Rolls Royce Trent XWB | RR Trent XWB 374kN (83,000 LBF) | RR Trent XWB 432kN (97,000 LBF) |
Here are the top five biggest Airbus A350 airline customers regardless of the variant. These planes have already been delivered to their airlines.
World’s Biggest Airbus A350 airline customers
There are now a total of 436 Airbus A350 now serving with 33 airline customers worldwide. The biggest operator of A350 is Singapore Airlines with a total of 61 A350-900 planes. They are also the world’s lone operator of today’s passenger aircraft with the longest range, the A350-900ULR. Singapore Airlines holds two of the record for the world’s longest commercial airline flight to date with direct flights between Singapore and New York JFK, and Singapore to Newark.
Singapore Airlines does not operate the larger version of the aircraft, the A350-1000.
The next biggest operator of the Airbus A350 is Qatar Airways, however, their story did not end well. The Qatari airline operates 34 A350-900s and 19 A350-1000s. Qatar Airways was also the launch customer of both variants of the A350. Amidst being the second biggest operator of the A350 and being the launch customer for both models, the relationship between Airbus and Qatar Airways ended in a legal battle brought about by paint issues on the plane’s surfaces.
As such, Airbus was compelled to cancel all remaining A350 orders from Qatar Airways after the airline refused to take delivery of another aircraft unless the paint issues are resolved.
Other airlines however are said to have encountered the same issues but were resolved immediately.
The third biggest airline operator of the Airbus A350 is Cathay Pacific. The Hong Kong-based airline operates a total of 42 examples of both variants. These include 28 A350-900 and 17 A350-1000.
Cathay Pacific is then followed by Delta Airlines which operates a total of 27 frames of the Airbus A350-900. The fifth is German carrier Lufthansa which operates a total of 21 A350-900. This includes four former PAL A350-900s (RP-C3503, RP-C3504, RP-C3506, RP-C3507).
More A350s to be delivered
There are still a total of 410 Airbus A350 planes to be delivered to airline customers worldwide. So far, Singapore Airlines remains to be the biggest airline operator of the Airbus A350 worldwide, replacing their fleet of Boeing 777-200 and 777-200ER.
As for Philippine Airlines which currently has two left in the fleet after returning four, I am still hoping they bring back more A350s to their fleet. I honestly feel that PAL returned too many A350s at a time when aviation is making a comeback. They returned too late also. I am hoping to see more A350-900s and A350-1000 in their fleet soon.
First love never dies. I fell in love with airplanes and aviation when I was a kid. My dream was to become a pilot, but destiny led me to another path: to be an aviation digital media content creator and a small business owner. My passion for aviation inspires me to bring you quality content through my website and social accounts. Aviation is indeed in my blood and blog!
