Cork Airport : Airbus A350 XWB

The Airbus A350 XWB is a family of long-range, two-engined wide-body jet airliners developed by European aircraft manufacturer Airbus. The A350 is the first Airbus with both fuselage and wing structures made primarily of carbon fibre-reinforced polymer. It can carry 250 to 350 passengers in a typical three-class seating layout, or maximum seating of 440 to 550 passengers, depending on variant. When it comes into service it is thought that it will replace the A330-200, A340-300, & A340-600.

There will be three variations of the A350.

AIRBUS A350-800

The A350-800 will seat 270 passengers in a 3-class with a 9-abreast layout. It will have a range of 15,400 km (8,300 nmi).vIt is designed to compete with the Boeing 787-9 and to directly replace the Airbus A330-200. In January 2010 Airbus announced that the -800 would be developed as a simple shrink of the -900, incorporating minor changes to the systems and structure and share more hardware with the -900 rather than as an optimised variant as was previously planned. This increased commonality will allow a higher maximum takeoff weight, which will increase the range (or payload) of the A350-800 compared to initial plans. The change will increase fuel burn by "a few per cent", according to the programme's marketing head, Sophie Pendaries.

The -800's fuselage is 10 frames shorter (six forward and four aft) than the -900 aircraft. The baseline -800 will be offered with an MTOW of 248 t (550,000 lb), MLW of 190 t (420,000 lb), MZFW of 178 t (390,000 lb), and 330 kN (74,000 lb_f) thrust engines. An optional 11-tonne (24,000 lb) increase in MTOW, to 259 t (570,000 lb) with a corresponding increase of MZFW to 181 t (400,000 lb), MLW to 193 t (430,000 lb), and a higher thrust 370 kN (83,000 lb_f) engine (common with -900 engine thrust) was announced by Airbus in April 2010 to be made available for customers as an option. While the increased weights compensate for the increased empty weight of the aircraft and associated minor fuel burn penalty due to maintaining commonality with -900, it also resulted in an increase in the aircraft maximum structural payload capability by 3 t (6,600 lb), or 459 km (248 nmi) of additional range. As development continues, Airbus plans to decrease structural weight in the -800, which should be around airframe 20.

AIRBUS A350-900

The A350-900 is the first A350 model and seats 314 passengers in a 3-class cabin 9-abreast layout. It has a standard design range target of 15,000 km (8,100 nmi). Airbus says that the A350-900 will have a decrease of 16% MWE per seat, a 30% decrease in block fuel per seat and 25% better cash operating cost than the Boeing 777-200ER. The -900 is designed to compete with the Boeing 777-200ER and replace the Airbus A340-300.

The -900R variant has been proposed but not yet launched. It would feature the higher engine thrust, strengthened structure and undercarriage of the -1000. Range of the A350-900R was estimated to 17,600 km (9,500 nmi), which would be boosted to about 19,100 km (10,315 nmi) by these design improvements to compete with the Boeing 777-200LR and be capable of non-stop flight from London Heathrow to Auckland. The -900F freighter variant has also been proposed.

Aviation Week reported in July 2013 that Airbus has been discussing with airlines a possible -900 Regional version. This version would be for airlines that fly short to medium routes that do not need the extra range, maximum fuel capacity and weight of the baseline A350-900. Etihad Airways and Aer Lingus have firmly expressed their interest in the regional variant.

AIRBUS A350-1000

The A350-1000 has an 11-frame stretch over the -900 and will enter service after the -800. It is the largest variant of the A350 family and will seat 350 passengers in a 3-class cabin 9-abreast layout. It will have range of 15,600 km (8,400 nmi). It is designed to compete with the Boeing 777-300ER and replace the Airbus A340-600.

The A350-1000 will feature a slightly larger wing than the -800/900 models; a trailing-edge extension increasing its area by 4%. This will extend the high-lift devices and the ailerons, making the chord bigger by around 400 mm, optimising flap lift performance as well as cruise performance.