Commercial

Airbus A350

Manufacturer: Airbus

The Airbus A350 is a long‑range, wide‑body twin‑engine airliner built by Airbus. It was the first Airbus aircraft largely made of carbon‑fibre composites and introduced a new extra‑wide‑body (XWB) design.

Aircraft Facts

Type Key
airbus-a350
Class
Commercial
Registry Count
42
Example Registration
D-AIXM

Specifications

Wingspan
64.8 m / 212.5 ft
Length
66.8 m / 219.2 ft
Height
17.1 m / 56.1 ft
Max Speed
945 km/h / 587 mph
Cruise Speed
903 km/h / 561 mph
Range
15000 km / 9321 mi
Ceiling
13100 m / 43000 ft
First Flight
2013-06-14
Production Start
2014-12-22
Total Built
700

Aircraft Overview

History

The A350 was first proposed in 2004 as a derivative of the A330, but customers pushed for a clean‑sheet design. In 2006 Airbus launched the XWB version, powered by Rolls‑Royce Trent XWB engines. The prototype flew on 14 June 2013, received EASA certification in September 2014 and FAA approval in November 2014. It entered commercial service with Qatar Airways in January 2015.

Design

The A350 uses a new composite fuselage with a constant width and a double‑lobe cross‑section. It has a 3‑3‑3 economy layout (or 3‑4‑3 on some models) and a cabin 12.7 cm wider than the 787. The aircraft is powered by twin Rolls‑Royce Trent XWB high‑bypass turbofans and features advanced winglets and a bleed‑air system.

Variants

The A350‑900 seats 300‑350 passengers, flies 15,750 km (8,500 nm) and has a 283‑tonne MTOW. The A350‑1000 seats 350‑410 passengers, flies 16,700 km (9,000 nm) and has a 322‑tonne MTOW. The A350‑800 was cancelled. The A350‑900 entered service in 2015, the A350‑1000 in 2018.

Operations

Qatar Airways was the launch operator, and Singapore Airlines is now the largest operator with 65 aircraft. Turkish Airlines is the largest customer with 110 on order. As of April 2026, 713 A350s are in service with 38 operators, having completed more than 2 million flights on 1,365 routes and carried 530 million passengers with no fatalities.

Notable Facts

  • First Airbus aircraft largely made of carbon‑fibre composites.
  • First airliner approved for ETOPS beyond 180 minutes.
  • Uses twin Rolls‑Royce Trent XWB high‑bypass engines.
  • Has a 3‑3‑3 economy cabin layout, wider than the 787.
  • Has flown over 2 million flights with no fatalities.

Variants

  • A350-941- 41 registrations - Example D-AIXM
  • A350-1041- 1 registrations - Example G-XWBK

Machine-Readable Resources

Sources