The biggest Airbus A350 airline customers

The biggest Airbus A350 airline customers

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.

SpecificationsA350-900A350-1000
Range15,000Km (8,100NM)15,600Km (8,400NM)
Seating (Typical)314350
Replaces Current ModelA340-300A340-600
Listed Airbus A350 PriceUS$304.8 MillionUS$351.9 Million
Competes againstBoeing 777-200ERBoeing 777-300ER
Length66.89 Metres73.88 Metres
Wing span64.75 Metres64.75 Metres
Height17.10 Metres17.10 Metres
Fuselage Width (Exterior)5.96 Metres5.96 Metres
Cabin width (Interior)5.61 Metres5.61 Metres
Track10.60 Metres10.70 Metres
Wheelbase28.67 Metres33.10 Metres
Freight (underfloor) LD33644
Freight (underfloor) Pallets1114
Freight (underfloor) Bulk11.3 Cubic Metres11.3 Cubic Metres
Freight (underfloor) Total172.3 Cubic Metres208.1 Cubic Metres
Maximum Operating SpeedMach 0.89Mach 0.89
Maximum Ramp Weight268.9 tonnes308.9 tonnes
Maximum Take off Weight268.0 tonnes308.0 tonnes
Maximum Landing Weight205.0 tonnes233.0 tonnes
Maximum Zero Fuel Weight192.0 tonnes220.0 tonnes
Maximum Fuel Capacity138,000 Litres156,000 Litres
Engines – Rolls Royce Trent XWBRR Trent XWB 374kN (83,000 LBF)RR Trent XWB 432kN (97,000 LBF)
Source: Modern Airliners

Here are the top five biggest Airbus A350 airline customers regardless of the variant. These planes have already been delivered to their airlines.

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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.

Airbus A350
N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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.

Airbus A350
Juke Schweizer, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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.

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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.

Airbus A350
Alan Wilson, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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).

Airbus A350
formulanone from Huntsville, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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.

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