Summary

• The Airbus A350 is a popular widebody aircraft in Europe, with 14 carriers currently operating the model and offering 851 weekly flights.
• Air France, Lufthansa, and Iberia are the European carriers with the highest number of weekly A350 flights.
• Non-European carriers also operate the A350 to Europe, with Qatar Airways leading the way with 119 weekly flights from its hub in Doha.

The Airbus A350 is one of the most popular widebodies currently. According to its website, the European manufacturer has totaled 1034 orders for the model and delivered 550 aircraft so far. There are 150 active aircraft operated by 14 carriers in Europe at the moment, so there’s plenty of chance for you to experience flying onboard this bird.

Who operates the Airbus A350 in Europe?

According to data from ch-aviation, Aeroflot, Air Caraibes Atlantique, Air France, British Airways, Finnair, French bee, Iberia, Iberojet, ITA Airways, Lufthansa, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and World2Fly are the European carriers currently flying the Airbus A350.

The widebody family (which has two primary models, the A350-900 and the A350-1000) is prevalent due to its efficiency, capacity, and range. According to a recent study, four of the ten longest non-stop routes globally are currently operated by the A350-900.

Aeroflot has five A350s; Air Caraibes Atlantique has six; Air France has 20; British Airways has 15; Finnair has 16; French bee has six; Iberia has 16; Iberojet has two; ITA Airways has six; Lufthansa has 20; SAS Scandinavian Airlines has four; Turkish Airlines has 14; Virgin Atlantic has ten, and World2Fly has three.

These 14 carriers jointly operate 851 weekly flights offering 278,632 seats (or about 327.4 per departure) from Europe to different destinations. According to data from Cirium, Air France is the European carrier currently operating the largest number of weekly flights with the A350. It has 124 weekly flights, followed by Lufthansa (110) and Iberia (101).

Some flights in which you can most likely travel onboard an A350 operated by a European carrier include (as of August 2023):

Air Caraibes Atlantique, Air France, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, ITA Airways, Lufthansa, Martinair, SAS, SWISS, Turkish Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic are still expecting to receive new Airbus A350s in coming years. CMA CGM Air Cargo and Silk Way West Airlines also have orders for the A350F. Finally, Aeroflot used to have orders for the widebody, but European sanctions on the Russian regime have temporarily paused them.

Non-European airlines operating the A350 to Europe

The A350 is just as popular in Europe as it is outside. Therefore, it is pretty easy to end up onboard one of the 550 active aircraft globally. In addition to the 846 weekly A350 flights operated by European airlines from Europe, 18 non-European carriers operate 495 extra A350 flights to Europe each week. They offer 151,865 seats (306.8 on average per departure).

Qatar Airways is the leading non-European airline flying the A350 to Europe. The Doha-based company operates 119 weekly flights from the Middle Eastern hub, serving destinations such as Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Rome, London, and more. Qatar Airways and Airbus had a lengthy legal duel over the A350 in recent years.

Other non-European companies that currently fly with the A350 to Europe are Singapore Airlines (72 weekly flights), Ethiopian (62), Delta Air Lines (42), Cathay Pacific (35), Air China (30), China Southern Airlines (23), Asiana (20), China Airlines (19), Air Mauritius (15), Thai Airways (14), Malaysia Airlines (14), Vietnam Airlines (11), China Eastern Airlines (seven), Azul Linhas Aéreas (six), Etihad Airways (four), and Sichuan Airlines (two).

About the A350

In conclusion, when traveling onboard an Airbus A350 in and out of Europe, the most likely scenario is that one will fly onboard the A350-900 (1,070 flights). Airbus developed two primary variants of the A350, the A350-900 and the A350-1000.

About the A350-900, the manufacturer states,

“As the cornerstone member in Airbus’ A350 Family, the A350-900 accommodates 300-350 passengers in a standard three-class configuration and flies efficiently on everything from short-range segments to ultra-long-range routes of up to 9,700 NM (18,000 km) non-stop.”

Meanwhile, about the A350-1000, which can accommodate between 350 and 410 passengers in a standard three-class configuration, Airbus says,

“The A350-1000 flies efficiently from short to ultra-long-range operations up to 8,700 NM. Its versatility is underscored by the aircraft capability to service longer-range routes connecting emerging markets, such as Shanghai-Boston or Paris-Santiago, as well as more traditional flight segments as Manchester-Los Angeles or Dubai-Melbourne.”

Have you traveled onboard the Airbus A350? On which airline did you do it? How did you find the experience? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: ch-aviation, Cirium.

• 

  Airbus

  Stock Code:

  AIR

  Date Founded:

  1970-12-18

  CEO:

  Guillaume Faury

  Headquarters Location:

  Toulouse, France

  Key Product Lines:

  Airbus A220, Airbus A320, Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Airbus A350, Airbus A380

  Business Type:

  Planemaker