Airbus A350

The Airbus A350 XWB was launched in 2006, following airlines’ rejection of an earlier Airbus proposal to re-engine the A330 in response to the Boeing 787; Airbus instead developed a clean-sheet, majority-composite widebody intended to render the Boeing 777 obsolete. The A350-900 made its first flight on 14 June 2013, and the first A350-900 entered service with Qatar Airways on 15 January 2015, with the larger A350-1000 following into service with the same launch operator on 24 February 2018.

As of May 2026, Singapore Airlines is the largest A350 operator with 65 aircraft in its fleet, while Turkish Airlines is the largest customer by order book, with 110 aircraft on order. A freighter derivative, the A350F, has had a more complicated path to market: Air Lease Corporation was originally the launch customer at the 2021 Dubai Air Show, but cancelled its order in August 2025; Airbus separately delayed the freighter’s entry into service to 2027 due to supply chain issues with fuselage supplier Spirit Aerosystems. Singapore Airlines and CMA CGM Air Cargo have both been linked to the launch operator role, and in March 2026 Atlas Air placed a firm order for 20 aircraft.

The A350 fuselage is built around a 3-3-3 nine-across economy cross-section, wider than the eight-across A330/A340 layout, with select operators flying a denser 3-4-3 ten-across economy configuration. Seating totals vary by airline and variant: the A350-900 typically carries 300 to 350 passengers, while the A350-1000 accommodates 350 to 410 passengers, with high-density operators such as Air Caraïbes reaching around 480 seats on the A350-1000.

Dimensions

In-seat amenities vary by operator and cabin refurbishment status. The A350’s Airspace cabin is designed to reduce jet lag through wider seats, high ceilings, and customisable ambient lighting, with HEPA-filtered cabin air renewed every 2–3 minutes. Composite construction also allows a lower effective cabin altitude of around 6,000 feet, versus roughly 8,000 feet on older-generation metal widebodies, reducing the physiological toll of long-haul flights.

Premium cabin standouts include Qatar Airways’ QSuites and first/business suites on carriers such as Japan Airlines and Etihad-comparable products elsewhere in the market. As with any widely-operated type, standards differ markedly between an airline’s oldest and most recently delivered A350s.

Airbus assembles the A350 at its Toulouse, France facility, with structural sections manufactured across multiple European sites before final assembly.

On 2 January 2024, a runway collision occurred at Tokyo Haneda Airport between Japan Airlines Flight 516, an Airbus A350, and a Japan Coast Guard De Havilland Canada Dash 8. Notable details:

This was the first hull loss for the A350 and for the broader generation of carbon-fibre composite widebodies from Airbus and Boeing; the evacuation of all 379 people aboard the A350 (all of whom survived) has since been studied as a benchmark for cabin crew performance.

Beyond this event, no A350 passengers or crew have died in commercial service, and the type continues to be positioned by Airbus and operators as one of the most technologically advanced and efficient widebodies flying.

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