With more than a year and a half of commercial service under its belt, the newest member of Airbus’ market leading widebody family is living up to this reputation as an increasing number of these highly efficient jetliners enter commercial service.
To date, more than 3.5 million passengers have flown on the global A350 XWB fleet since commercial operations began with the twin-engine aircraft in early 2015. The A350 XWB is constantly receiving positive reviews from enthusiastic passengers – including while travellers are flying thanks to the aircraft’s advanced on-board connectivity capabilities – underscoring the high levels of comfort and well-being offered by this next-generation flying experience.
The globe-trotting A350 XWB
Eight airlines currently operate the A350 XWB – Qatar Airways, Vietnam Airlines, Finnair, LATAM Airlines Group, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Ethiopian Airlines and Thai Airways International – with China Airlines scheduled to take delivery in the coming weeks.
China Airlines will be the fifth carrier to receive its first A350 XWB this year. Airbus provided 21 A350-900 jetliners to customers during the initial eight months of 2016, bringing total deliveries for this type to 36 aircraft as of 31 August.
In commercial service, the global A350 XWB fleet is stretching its wings. It currently is performing approximately 2,000 flight cycles per month and, since its debut, has flown on 50 regular service routes in a network that reaches around the globe.
A smooth entry into service
Facilitating this smooth early in-service phase is the close relationship of Airbus’ support teams and local field service representatives with operators, backed by the aircraft’s advanced on-board systems to better monitor and anticipate technical issues, as well as the extensive testing performed by Airbus during the development and certification stages.
Airbus’ A350 XWB already is one of the most successful widebody aircraft ever in terms of bookings, recording 810 total firm orders to date from 43 customers.