The Airbus A350 is one of the newest clean sheet widebody aircraft flying in the skies today. First announced in 2005, the A350 program saw its entry into service with Qatar Airways in 2015, with a consistent stream of deliveries taking place ever since. Let’s take a look at which airlines are operating the largest A350 fleets right now.
Who operates the most A350s?
It seems appropriate that A350 launch customer Qatar Airways operates the largest fleet of Airbus A350s. The Middle Eastern carrier has been a strong supporter of this program, being the first in the world to operate both the -900 as well as the longer -1000.
The airline operates a total of 52 A350s at the moment. Data from Planespotters.net shows that this breaks down to 34 -900s and 18 -1000s. Qatar Airways has more A350s on the way and is, in fact, expecting another 24 from Airbus.
The top five
Below Qatar Airways is a list of equally respectable carriers in terms of network and quality of service. Here are the next largest fleets of Airbus A350s:
Singapore Airlines: The Southeast Asian carrier has 52 A350s right now. While all are sized as the -900, seven of these jets are the ULR (ultra-long-range) sub-type, which have an extended range and are configured without an economy class.
Cathay Pacific: In third place is Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific, with a total of 40 A350s. Like Qatar Airways, it operates both the -900 (27) and the -1000 (13).
Lufthansa: German carrier Lufthansa takes the fourth spot with 17 A350s. The airline’s entire fleet of A350s are of the -900 variant, which it first took delivery of in December of 2016.
Finnair and Ethiopian Airlines: Rounding out this section are Helsinki-based airline Finnair and Ethiopian Airlines, which both have 16 A350s. First taking delivery of the type in 2015, Finnair was the first European airline to operate the jet.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian Airlines would have been further down on this list if not for the fact that it took delivery of two A350s in one day this past November, bumping it up on the list.
The top ten
For spots six through 10, it’s really just a slow decline in A350 numbers. Here is where the remaining carriers sit:
Delta Air Lines: The Atlanta-based carrier has 15 A350s. All of them are -900s. The jet first entered service with Delta in October 2017.
Vietnam Airlines: This Vietnamese operator has 14 A350-900s. Vietnam Airlines was actually the first Asian airline to fly the A350 back in 2015, and the second operator in the world.
China Airlines: Taiwanese carrier China Airlines has 14 A50-900s. The airline first took delivery of the jet in September of 2016.
Thai Airways: This Bangkok-based carrier operates just 12 A350s. All of these jets are -900s. These planes primarily find themselves on European routes to cities such as London, Frankfurt, Brussels. The jet has also operated service to Melbourne.
Have you flown on the A350? Did you like it? Share your experience with us in the comments.
