The battle to win dominance of the skies continues. Hardly a day goes by without archrivals Airbus and Boeing updating us about their upcoming new aircraft launches, or celebrating their current models’ successes.
It’s a tough and competitive market out there, with both manufacturers relentlessly trying to undercut the technical advances and sales performance figures of the other. Next in line of the big aircraft launches in 2014 is Airbus’ new A350 XWB, the Europeans’ answer to Boeing’s not uncontroversial B787 Dreamliner.
Qatar Airways B787
Airbus hopes the A350 XWB family of mid-sized wide-body airliners will shape the efficiency of medium- and long-haul airline operations globally by overcoming the challenges posed by volatile fuel prices while addressing increasing environmental concerns and meeting rising passenger expectations.
Under the pretext of continuing to develop “one market-matching aircraft family”, the A350 XWB family consists of three passenger versions capable of reaching truly long-range distances of up to 8,500nm/15,580km. The shortest among the three versions is the A350-800 that, in a typical two-class configuration, will offer 276 seats. The medium-length A350-900, so far the most popular model with airlines, will seat 315 passengers, while the A350-1000 will have room for 369 passengers.
Dreamliner challenger: A350-800
The A350-800 variant is designed to directly replace Airbus’ A330-200 aircraft and, more importantly, to compete head-to-head with Boeing’s B787 Dreamliner. Both aircraft offer similar seating capacity and range, but the internal diameter of the cabin is 5.61 metres wide at armrest level in the Airbus compared with 5.48 metres in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, opening up additional space to passengers.
Passengers will further enjoy more headroom, wider panoramic windows and larger overhead storage space. Most important for Airbus, however, is the A350’s fuel efficiency, which is expected to better the Dreamliner by as much as six per cent. Airbus says it is confident to meet this target as a result of using more composite materials which will reduce the aircraft’s weight, as well as having had more lead time in developing more efficient engines with
its partners.
It has been noted that Airbus appears to be quietly moving away from the current design of the A350-800 and is considering changes that would make the aircraft larger and likely more economical to operate. The manufacturer is currently saying that while the A350-800 will still be more economical to operate than the B787, a slightly larger version (i.e the A350-900) will be more economically “optimal” in passenger service by offering up to 40 additional seats at very similar operating costs.
It is rumoured that Airbus has been lobbying its customers for years to drop orders for the -800 in favour of commitments for the larger -900. This strategy seems be working for the Toulouse-based manufacturer: Both Qatar Airways and American Airlines have recently changed parts of their orders from the -800 to the -900.
The cornerstone: A350-900
The A350-900 will be the first A350 variant to enter commercial airline operations with launch customer Qatar Airways in October 2014. The -900 variant is a stretched version
of the -800 variant with seating for up to 315 passengers in a typical two-class configuration, rendering it the perfect replacement aircraft for ageing A340-300 and B777-200ER fleets, with improved fuel efficiency of up to 27 per cent compared with these older-generation jetliners.
Of the 814 orders Airbus had secured as this issue went to print, 579 are for the A350-900. The rationale for the skew lies in the aircraft’s seating capabilities. The majority of long-haul aircraft in operation today seat around 300 passengers but these aircraft are past their prime.
The A340-300, seating an average of 295, first entered passenger service in 1993 and the B777-200, seating an average 315, was introduced in 1995. Many of these aircraft will soon have been in service for some 20 years, and will reach the end of their life cycle and cost-effective operations. It looks like the A350-900 will come at just the right time to replace these jetliners.
The long-haul: A350-1000
Seating up to 369 passengers, the A350-1000 is the largest variant of the A350 XWB family and will be the last variant to enter service when it launches in 2018. The -1000 variant will have a range of 8,500nm/15,580km and is designed to compete with Boeing’s successful B777-300ER – its best-selling 777 variant – and replace Airbus’ less successful A340-600 series. Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Qatar Airways and United Airlines have all placed significant orders for the A350-1000 to replace and add to their existing long-haul fleets.
With one aircraft available in three different sizes, airlines can best match their A350 XWB fleets to route capacity demands, guaranteeing optimum revenue potential. Once certified on the A350 XWB, pilots can fly all three versions with the same certification, maximising airline profitability by applying economies of scale, an initiative introduced by both Boeing and Airbus in the 1990s. Its presence in the A350 XWB family will offer flexibility to airlines flying more than one variant of the aircraft, and this flexibility will help to significantly offset flight crew payroll costs and assist in mitigating the impact of ever increasing oil prices.
Streamlined design
An innovation to counter fuel prices, an aircraft’s design plays a key role in determining its financial viability to the operator. A poorly designed aircraft will result in drag and poor aerodynamics which, in turn, will lead to higher fuel consumption. Similarly, an aircraft constructed with heavy materials will invariably become a fuel guzzler, too.
Airbus’ engineers applied the lessons learned when designing the A380 superjumbo to the A350 XWB family, and the A350 XWB will be built with 53 per cent composites, 19 per cent aluminium, 14 per cent titanium, 6 per cent steel and 8 per cent miscellaneous materials. To compare: The B787 Dreamliner is made up of 50 per cent composites, 20 per cent aluminium, 15 per cent titanium, 10 per cent steel and 5 per cent miscellaneous materials. As a result of the A350 XWB Family’s design and materials composition, the Toulouse-based manufacturer expects to achieve 10 per cent lower airframe maintenance cost and 14 per cent lower empty seat weight on the A350 XWB models compared with the B787 Dreamliner.
Cabin comfort
In terms of aircraft design and passenger comfort, X-tra Wide Body (XWB) is the key term to set all three A350 variants apart from current Airbus aircraft like the A330 and A340, as well as Boeing’s rival B787 Dreamliner.
“The A350-900 has a much wider cabin than the Airbus A340, which will give us new opportunities to improve comfort for our customers when designing the cabin interior,” says Carsten Spohr, chief executive of Lufthansa airlines and member of the board of the Lufthansa Group, which has ordered 25 A350-900s.
Spohr – who will become group chief executive in May when Christoph Franz departs – adds, “positive feedback from customers about the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8 shows that investing in new, wider, types of aircraft that offer more room and comfort to passengers pays off”.
Air France-KLM has also placed an order for 25 A350-900s, listing added comfort for passengers as a main purchase reason in addition to cost savings achieved by the aircraft’s advanced technology.
The A350 is a tall plane with a more oval-shaped cabin than any of its competitor models, providing passengers with extra room where it counts: from hip to shoulder. There will also be plenty more stowage space on-board as Airbus ditches the old slam-door style in favour of super-sized swing bins similar to those introduced by Boeing, but up to 10 per cent larger. This focus on passenger comfort seems to be resonating well with the target audience as future operators of the aircraft have been stepping forward to praise Airbus for its innovative cabin design.
Inside the cockpit during the A350 XWB MSN4 developmental aircraft’s maiden flight
With 70 orders for multiple A350 variants, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has made a big commitment to the A350 XWB programme. One of the deciding factors when placing these orders was the Singapore-based legacy carrier’s assessment that premium travel is here to stay and that rising passenger expectations across all classes have to be met to secure future business for the airline.
“These new aircraft will provide opportunities to grow and renew our fleet and enhance our network, benefiting customers by offering more travel options and the latest in-flight cabin products,” says SIA chief executive Goh Choon Phong. “They demonstrate our commitment to the Singapore hub and our confidence in the future for premium full-service travel.”
SIA’s vice president of public affairs, Nicholas Ionides, says the A350 will serve as a potential replacement for the airline’s older Boeing 777s and Airbus A330s on both medium- and long-range routes, but firm decisions have not yet been made about the specific destinations they will serve.
SIA recently unveiled the next generation of its cabin products, which will see improved cabins across all classes, including the industry’s widest full-flat bed at 30 inches (76.2cm) in business class and 11.1-inch (28.2cm) personal monitors in economy class. This new generation of cabin products will be installed across all its upcoming A350 XWB aircraft.
Switching allegiances
Another Asian legacy carrier now closely associated with the A350 XWB line is Japan Airlines (JAL). Tokyo-based JAL surprised the aviation world in October 2013 when it placed its first ever Airbus order for 31 A350 XWBs – 18 A350-900s and 13 A350-1000s – plus options for an additional 25 aircraft. In JAL’s 63-year-long history, Boeing served as the carrier’s sole supplier of aircraft but with mechanical problems plaguing the B787 Dreamliner and Japanese passengers expressing their dissatisfaction with the plane’s reliability, the Japanese national airline appears to have made a strategic decision to end its devotion to Boeing and give Airbus the long-awaited opportunity to outperform its archrival.
JAL and national competitor All Nippon Airways (ANA) were among the first airlines to take delivery of the B787 Dreamliner in 2012, but suffered severe financial losses from the FAA-imposed grounding order for the jets, which lasted several months and caused large-scale flight disruptions and cancellations.
“JAL decided to replace [the] current Boeing 777s [with the] A350 from 2019 after the airline evaluated various factors such as safety, quality of aircraft, long-time durability, and support from the maker,” says Jian Yang, public relations spokesperson for JAL.
The A350 XWB will not only become Airbus’ most fuel-efficient aircraft yet but also an extremely comfortable one due to its extra-wide body. Echoing feedback from other future operators, JAL emphasises that passenger comfort plays a vital role in selecting the A350 XWB for long-haul operations. Airbus further adds that the seat width will be 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) greater than a B787 seat in the equivalent nine-abreast standard economy class configuration.
Ultimately, however, it is the airlines that decide on the specific seats they will install on their planes, and the above figures are based on Airbus’ and Boeing’s mock-up designs.
A matter of space
Comfort in the air has become something of a traveller’s prerogative in the 21st century. Expectations are constantly on the rise, especially with new aircraft entering service and carriers – notably those from the Gulf – rolling out upgraded cabins in ever-shorter cycles. The B787 Dreamliner, however, has received little praise from economy class passengers for its lack of space and comfort, which presents an opportunity for Airbus and the airlines to do a better job on the A350 XWB.
But it is not entirely Boeing's fault. The Dreamliner was designed and marketed by the manufacturer as a roomy long haul aircraft in an eight-abreast 2-4-2 configuration, but 14 out of the 15 airlines operating the aircraft have opted for a denser nine-abreast configuration, cutting immensely into passengers’ private space aboard the aircraft.
In a newsletter to staff BA reported: “The Dreamliner has generally been well received. Club World [business class] customers were particularly impressed with the cabin environment, although seat comfort in World Traveller [economy class] is creating a slightly negative theme.”
It is noteworthy that almost all current operators of the B787 Dreamliner have opted against Boeing’s initially proposed 2-4-2 economy class configuration, with JAL being the only exception. While this is most certainly the result of economic considerations, from a passenger’s perspective one might find it regrettable that airlines would make decisions that undermine the ways the aircraft was originally marketed to passengers.
Going green
Less fuel consumption, less CO2 emissions and less noise: the A350 XWB is being positioned as a responsible choice for environmentally conscious travellers. Further to the fuel savings resulting from better aerodynamics and less structural weight arising from the increased usage of composite materials, the new A350 XWB family will also be operated by ultra-modern, powerful, low-noise engines – the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB 84 engine. The noise footprint of this engine will be at least 30 per cent lower than today’s aircraft, an important consideration for airlines operating in and out of airports with noise restrictions.
Busy hub airports like Frankfurt, Heathrow and Amsterdam have restrictions in place for noise abatement that see airlines limited in their choices of aircraft types to operate into these destinations, as well as charging significantly higher fees for noisier jets.
High expectations
The Airbus A350 XWB sounds like a winner in all classes, but only time will tell if Airbus’ prestige project meets airlines’ and passengers’ undoubtedly high expectations. Airbus is obviously hoping that teething problems like we have seen with Boeing’s B787 Dreamliner will not accompany the launch and service inauguration period and dampen the optimism that has been building.
The A350 XWB programme has now had almost three more years in development time over the B787 Dreamliner. Airbus assures us that it has used this additional research time wisely and does not predict any delays to the aircraft’s commercial launch in October. The Toulouse-based manufacturer further emphasises that it has learnt considerable lessons from the structural problems – such as the hairline cracks it encountered – when developing the A380 superjumbo and is adamant this will not be an issue with the A350 XWB. This statement comes amid news that hairline cracks have been detected in early B787 Dreamliner models’ wing sections causing another maintenance re-call of the aircraft. We can only hope Airbus keeps its word.
At any rate, the Asia-Pacific region seems set to embrace the new Airbus A350 XWB airliner, and currently represents the largest customer base by number of airlines, with 11 carriers ordering 244 aircraft comprising all three family members: from the shorter-fuselage A350-800 version to the cornerstone A350-900 and higher-capacity A350-1000 variants. Whether it can deliver up to the high expectations of the airline industry, however, remains to be seen.
Who’s ordered the most A350 XWBs?
Qatar Airways 80
Emirates 70
Singapore Airlines 70
Etihad 62
Cathay Pacific Airways 46
United Airlines 35
Japan Airlines 31
Asiana Airlines 30
Qatar Airways B787
Airbus hopes the A350 XWB family of mid-sized wide-body airliners will shape the efficiency of medium- and long-haul airline operations globally by overcoming the challenges posed by volatile fuel prices while addressing increasing environmental concerns and meeting rising passenger expectations.
Under the pretext of continuing to develop “one market-matching aircraft family”, the A350 XWB family consists of three passenger versions capable of reaching truly long-range distances of up to 8,500nm/15,580km. The shortest among the three versions is the A350-800 that, in a typical two-class configuration, will offer 276 seats. The medium-length A350-900, so far the most popular model with airlines, will seat 315 passengers, while the A350-1000 will have room for 369 passengers.
Dreamliner challenger: A350-800
The A350-800 variant is designed to directly replace Airbus’ A330-200 aircraft and, more importantly, to compete head-to-head with Boeing’s B787 Dreamliner. Both aircraft offer similar seating capacity and range, but the internal diameter of the cabin is 5.61 metres wide at armrest level in the Airbus compared with 5.48 metres in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, opening up additional space to passengers.
Passengers will further enjoy more headroom, wider panoramic windows and larger overhead storage space. Most important for Airbus, however, is the A350’s fuel efficiency, which is expected to better the Dreamliner by as much as six per cent. Airbus says it is confident to meet this target as a result of using more composite materials which will reduce the aircraft’s weight, as well as having had more lead time in developing more efficient engines with
its partners.
It has been noted that Airbus appears to be quietly moving away from the current design of the A350-800 and is considering changes that would make the aircraft larger and likely more economical to operate. The manufacturer is currently saying that while the A350-800 will still be more economical to operate than the B787, a slightly larger version (i.e the A350-900) will be more economically “optimal” in passenger service by offering up to 40 additional seats at very similar operating costs.
It is rumoured that Airbus has been lobbying its customers for years to drop orders for the -800 in favour of commitments for the larger -900. This strategy seems be working for the Toulouse-based manufacturer: Both Qatar Airways and American Airlines have recently changed parts of their orders from the -800 to the -900.
The cornerstone: A350-900
The A350-900 will be the first A350 variant to enter commercial airline operations with launch customer Qatar Airways in October 2014. The -900 variant is a stretched version
of the -800 variant with seating for up to 315 passengers in a typical two-class configuration, rendering it the perfect replacement aircraft for ageing A340-300 and B777-200ER fleets, with improved fuel efficiency of up to 27 per cent compared with these older-generation jetliners.
Of the 814 orders Airbus had secured as this issue went to print, 579 are for the A350-900. The rationale for the skew lies in the aircraft’s seating capabilities. The majority of long-haul aircraft in operation today seat around 300 passengers but these aircraft are past their prime.
The A340-300, seating an average of 295, first entered passenger service in 1993 and the B777-200, seating an average 315, was introduced in 1995. Many of these aircraft will soon have been in service for some 20 years, and will reach the end of their life cycle and cost-effective operations. It looks like the A350-900 will come at just the right time to replace these jetliners.
The long-haul: A350-1000
Seating up to 369 passengers, the A350-1000 is the largest variant of the A350 XWB family and will be the last variant to enter service when it launches in 2018. The -1000 variant will have a range of 8,500nm/15,580km and is designed to compete with Boeing’s successful B777-300ER – its best-selling 777 variant – and replace Airbus’ less successful A340-600 series. Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Qatar Airways and United Airlines have all placed significant orders for the A350-1000 to replace and add to their existing long-haul fleets.
With one aircraft available in three different sizes, airlines can best match their A350 XWB fleets to route capacity demands, guaranteeing optimum revenue potential. Once certified on the A350 XWB, pilots can fly all three versions with the same certification, maximising airline profitability by applying economies of scale, an initiative introduced by both Boeing and Airbus in the 1990s. Its presence in the A350 XWB family will offer flexibility to airlines flying more than one variant of the aircraft, and this flexibility will help to significantly offset flight crew payroll costs and assist in mitigating the impact of ever increasing oil prices.
Streamlined design
An innovation to counter fuel prices, an aircraft’s design plays a key role in determining its financial viability to the operator. A poorly designed aircraft will result in drag and poor aerodynamics which, in turn, will lead to higher fuel consumption. Similarly, an aircraft constructed with heavy materials will invariably become a fuel guzzler, too.
Airbus’ engineers applied the lessons learned when designing the A380 superjumbo to the A350 XWB family, and the A350 XWB will be built with 53 per cent composites, 19 per cent aluminium, 14 per cent titanium, 6 per cent steel and 8 per cent miscellaneous materials. To compare: The B787 Dreamliner is made up of 50 per cent composites, 20 per cent aluminium, 15 per cent titanium, 10 per cent steel and 5 per cent miscellaneous materials. As a result of the A350 XWB Family’s design and materials composition, the Toulouse-based manufacturer expects to achieve 10 per cent lower airframe maintenance cost and 14 per cent lower empty seat weight on the A350 XWB models compared with the B787 Dreamliner.
Cabin comfort
In terms of aircraft design and passenger comfort, X-tra Wide Body (XWB) is the key term to set all three A350 variants apart from current Airbus aircraft like the A330 and A340, as well as Boeing’s rival B787 Dreamliner.
“The A350-900 has a much wider cabin than the Airbus A340, which will give us new opportunities to improve comfort for our customers when designing the cabin interior,” says Carsten Spohr, chief executive of Lufthansa airlines and member of the board of the Lufthansa Group, which has ordered 25 A350-900s.
Spohr – who will become group chief executive in May when Christoph Franz departs – adds, “positive feedback from customers about the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8 shows that investing in new, wider, types of aircraft that offer more room and comfort to passengers pays off”.
Air France-KLM has also placed an order for 25 A350-900s, listing added comfort for passengers as a main purchase reason in addition to cost savings achieved by the aircraft’s advanced technology.
The A350 is a tall plane with a more oval-shaped cabin than any of its competitor models, providing passengers with extra room where it counts: from hip to shoulder. There will also be plenty more stowage space on-board as Airbus ditches the old slam-door style in favour of super-sized swing bins similar to those introduced by Boeing, but up to 10 per cent larger. This focus on passenger comfort seems to be resonating well with the target audience as future operators of the aircraft have been stepping forward to praise Airbus for its innovative cabin design.
Inside the cockpit during the A350 XWB MSN4 developmental aircraft’s maiden flight
With 70 orders for multiple A350 variants, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has made a big commitment to the A350 XWB programme. One of the deciding factors when placing these orders was the Singapore-based legacy carrier’s assessment that premium travel is here to stay and that rising passenger expectations across all classes have to be met to secure future business for the airline.
“These new aircraft will provide opportunities to grow and renew our fleet and enhance our network, benefiting customers by offering more travel options and the latest in-flight cabin products,” says SIA chief executive Goh Choon Phong. “They demonstrate our commitment to the Singapore hub and our confidence in the future for premium full-service travel.”
SIA’s vice president of public affairs, Nicholas Ionides, says the A350 will serve as a potential replacement for the airline’s older Boeing 777s and Airbus A330s on both medium- and long-range routes, but firm decisions have not yet been made about the specific destinations they will serve.
SIA recently unveiled the next generation of its cabin products, which will see improved cabins across all classes, including the industry’s widest full-flat bed at 30 inches (76.2cm) in business class and 11.1-inch (28.2cm) personal monitors in economy class. This new generation of cabin products will be installed across all its upcoming A350 XWB aircraft.
Switching allegiances
Another Asian legacy carrier now closely associated with the A350 XWB line is Japan Airlines (JAL). Tokyo-based JAL surprised the aviation world in October 2013 when it placed its first ever Airbus order for 31 A350 XWBs – 18 A350-900s and 13 A350-1000s – plus options for an additional 25 aircraft. In JAL’s 63-year-long history, Boeing served as the carrier’s sole supplier of aircraft but with mechanical problems plaguing the B787 Dreamliner and Japanese passengers expressing their dissatisfaction with the plane’s reliability, the Japanese national airline appears to have made a strategic decision to end its devotion to Boeing and give Airbus the long-awaited opportunity to outperform its archrival.
JAL and national competitor All Nippon Airways (ANA) were among the first airlines to take delivery of the B787 Dreamliner in 2012, but suffered severe financial losses from the FAA-imposed grounding order for the jets, which lasted several months and caused large-scale flight disruptions and cancellations.
“JAL decided to replace [the] current Boeing 777s [with the] A350 from 2019 after the airline evaluated various factors such as safety, quality of aircraft, long-time durability, and support from the maker,” says Jian Yang, public relations spokesperson for JAL.
The A350 XWB will not only become Airbus’ most fuel-efficient aircraft yet but also an extremely comfortable one due to its extra-wide body. Echoing feedback from other future operators, JAL emphasises that passenger comfort plays a vital role in selecting the A350 XWB for long-haul operations. Airbus further adds that the seat width will be 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) greater than a B787 seat in the equivalent nine-abreast standard economy class configuration.
Ultimately, however, it is the airlines that decide on the specific seats they will install on their planes, and the above figures are based on Airbus’ and Boeing’s mock-up designs.
A matter of space
Comfort in the air has become something of a traveller’s prerogative in the 21st century. Expectations are constantly on the rise, especially with new aircraft entering service and carriers – notably those from the Gulf – rolling out upgraded cabins in ever-shorter cycles. The B787 Dreamliner, however, has received little praise from economy class passengers for its lack of space and comfort, which presents an opportunity for Airbus and the airlines to do a better job on the A350 XWB.
But it is not entirely Boeing's fault. The Dreamliner was designed and marketed by the manufacturer as a roomy long haul aircraft in an eight-abreast 2-4-2 configuration, but 14 out of the 15 airlines operating the aircraft have opted for a denser nine-abreast configuration, cutting immensely into passengers’ private space aboard the aircraft.
In a newsletter to staff BA reported: “The Dreamliner has generally been well received. Club World [business class] customers were particularly impressed with the cabin environment, although seat comfort in World Traveller [economy class] is creating a slightly negative theme.”
It is noteworthy that almost all current operators of the B787 Dreamliner have opted against Boeing’s initially proposed 2-4-2 economy class configuration, with JAL being the only exception. While this is most certainly the result of economic considerations, from a passenger’s perspective one might find it regrettable that airlines would make decisions that undermine the ways the aircraft was originally marketed to passengers.
Going green
Less fuel consumption, less CO2 emissions and less noise: the A350 XWB is being positioned as a responsible choice for environmentally conscious travellers. Further to the fuel savings resulting from better aerodynamics and less structural weight arising from the increased usage of composite materials, the new A350 XWB family will also be operated by ultra-modern, powerful, low-noise engines – the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB 84 engine. The noise footprint of this engine will be at least 30 per cent lower than today’s aircraft, an important consideration for airlines operating in and out of airports with noise restrictions.
Busy hub airports like Frankfurt, Heathrow and Amsterdam have restrictions in place for noise abatement that see airlines limited in their choices of aircraft types to operate into these destinations, as well as charging significantly higher fees for noisier jets.
High expectations
The Airbus A350 XWB sounds like a winner in all classes, but only time will tell if Airbus’ prestige project meets airlines’ and passengers’ undoubtedly high expectations. Airbus is obviously hoping that teething problems like we have seen with Boeing’s B787 Dreamliner will not accompany the launch and service inauguration period and dampen the optimism that has been building.
The A350 XWB programme has now had almost three more years in development time over the B787 Dreamliner. Airbus assures us that it has used this additional research time wisely and does not predict any delays to the aircraft’s commercial launch in October. The Toulouse-based manufacturer further emphasises that it has learnt considerable lessons from the structural problems – such as the hairline cracks it encountered – when developing the A380 superjumbo and is adamant this will not be an issue with the A350 XWB. This statement comes amid news that hairline cracks have been detected in early B787 Dreamliner models’ wing sections causing another maintenance re-call of the aircraft. We can only hope Airbus keeps its word.
At any rate, the Asia-Pacific region seems set to embrace the new Airbus A350 XWB airliner, and currently represents the largest customer base by number of airlines, with 11 carriers ordering 244 aircraft comprising all three family members: from the shorter-fuselage A350-800 version to the cornerstone A350-900 and higher-capacity A350-1000 variants. Whether it can deliver up to the high expectations of the airline industry, however, remains to be seen.
Who’s ordered the most A350 XWBs?
Qatar Airways 80
Emirates 70
Singapore Airlines 70
Etihad 62
Cathay Pacific Airways 46
United Airlines 35
Japan Airlines 31
Asiana Airlines 30 
