Airbus A350F Delayed By 6 Months

Cathay Pacific expects further delays to Airbus’ new freighter, the A350F, and has become the latest customer to share a negative outlook for the type.

The Hong Kong-based company has added what it expects will be another six months to the programme and first delivery, bringing the timeline to a year-long slip from what was originally put forward.

While Airbus maintains a certification and first delivery are still targeted for 2027, customers eagerly awaiting the new era of freight aircraft have remained more hesitant with this timeframe and expressed their doubts.

Cathay’s A350F Purchase and New Delay?

Cathay Pacific has eight Airbus A350Fs on order for deployment at Cathay Cargo, which follows an initial commitment for six models in late 2023 that was then increased in May this year with a further two, bringing the total to eight.

At the time the contracts were being signed, Cathay Pacific believed the aircraft would be delivered between 2027 and 2029. However, at the recent half-year results briefing, the Chief Operations and Service Delivery Officer, Alex McGowan, said that an approximate six‑month delay to the delivery dates should now be factored in.

Specifics on the revised handover dates were not provided, with the delay concentrated on the first few aircraft as Airbus will then, once these are handed over, be able to play catch-up with the remaining units to limit long-term impact.

Airbus will also be able to play catch-up with the upcoming A350-1000ULR for Qantas, which will be delivered in April 2027, also off the back of a fresh six-month delay. While the initial units will see the delay, Qantas expects the handover of the first batch to be speedy and mean that once the first batch is completely handed over, the planemaker will have adhered to previous guidance.

Despite the fresh A350F delays, the jet remains central to Cathay’s cargo strategy. As such, the airline has not reduced its order, unlike some other customer who have pulled jets from their orderbook. In the cases of cancellations, those have been driven by frustrations over ballooning certification and EIS timeframes.

The A350F Launch Timeline Becomes Clearer

When Airbus launched the A350F in the early to mid 2020s, it was expected to enter service in early 2025; that was later moved to 2026, and is now scheduled for the second half of 2027 as supply chain challenges hit the A350 family.

Most recently, Airbus pushed the first flight of the A350F to the back end of 2026 after previous estimates laid out a Q3 2026 first flight; that timeline is now no longer attainable. While the broader end-of-year target represents a further shift, Airbus remains confident this will not, by their planning, impact the certification programme and this first delivery.

CEO Guillaume Faury reiterated last week that the aim remained for a certification and EIS by the end of 2027, with 2028 then a crucial 12-month window to see delivery volumes ramp up, so any delays encountered between now and late-2027 can be made up for with future batches.

The prototype, which is currently undergoing ground testing, including flight vibration trials ahead of the maiden flight, will be joined by a second test model in the coming months to help speed up the process.

What Other Customers Say and Boeing’s 777-8F Looms

Cathay’s comments on the A350F aren’t isolated, with Air France-KLM being vocal about the slips and their impact on Air France Cargo and Martinair. Deliveries originally expected around now will no longer be possible, and with further delays acknowledged by all parties, it’s a frustrating period for the group.

Air France-KLM has already reduced its A350F order from eight units to six, with that change closely linked to their revised entry-into-service date and planning across the business for future cargo demand.

As a consequence, cargo operators are being forced to keep older aircraft like the 747-400Fs in service longer than planned to create a bridge. However, these workhorses, while holding decades of experience, are older and come with higher operating costs. In the current volatile environment, these aircraft have proved increasingly uneconomical and problematic, thus necessitating their removal.

Additionally, even with the A350F delays, there is the backdrop of the Boeing 777-8F, which is also running behind schedule and is intended to compete with Airbus’s new next‑generation freighter. The 777-8F was originally expected to enter the market next year, but is now more likely for 2027 due to heavy delays to flight testing and the 777-9 certification.

Much of the 777‑8F’s and 777‑8 passenger variant’s fate depends on the approval process for the 777‑9, the first iteration. Given this long-haul jet has been delayed seven years, there are considerable knock-on effects for other models, and freight operators such as Cargolux no longer expect a 2028 delivery, saying that 2029 is more realistic.

That delay leaves both new-gen freighters off their original timeline, and this mirrors passenger models of the 737-7, 737-10 and A321XLR, which also saw their certification blown out this decade under increased regulatory scrutiny.