It’s the biggest thing you can get today.
(Well, it’s the biggest thing you can have delivered today, anyway.)
The A350-1000 has grown to a fleet of 113 aircraft, with another 254 on order. This week we take a look at the largest of the A350 variants and where you can find the Rolls-Royce XWB-powered aircraft.
The stretched A350 originally entered service with Qatar Airways, followed shortly by Cathay Pacific in 2018. Of course, the pandemic slowed growth down a bit for the platform, but the type has continued to see its utilization grow, now with 10 (soon to be 21) operators.
The stretched A350 will soon be gracing the skies in liveries of Air India, Riyadh Air, EVA, Qantas, Delta, Korean, China Airlines, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, Philippine Airlines, and Air Canada. Geographically, the aircraft is weighted heavily to the eastern hemisphere, with only Delta and Air Canada representing the type in the Americas, in addition to Air Caraibes. (We’ll count Air Caraibes, even if IATA classifies the airline as being in Europe).
Despite the lack of American operators, the type spends quite a bit of time in North America. The dense transatlantic corridor is responsible for the largest portion of A350-1000 flying, followed by the transpacific between JAL and Cathay Pacific.
Almost 30% of the A350 family backlog consists of the A350-1000, split with the -900 and the freighter. And yet, in an era of upgauging, the uptake of the A350-1000 is below what could be expected. Considering the aircraft delivers superior range to the A350-900, it becomes purely a function of capacity. How many airlines need aircraft this large?
Some do (at least 21, anyway), and then consider the pending arrival of the 777X (soon?) and the capacity that will soon share the skies with the A350-1000. Also consider that, with fewer than 200 A380s still flying, the A350-1000 will soon be more common than the four-engined superjumbo.
And then, of course, you have the arrival of the A350-1000ULR, purpose-built for Qantas’s Project Sunrise completing the last great non-stop between Sydney to London. Imagine closing your eyes on takeoff, getting a full eight hours of sleep, and waking up with only a short 14 hours to go before landing in London.
Research published this week
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