Why is A350 grounded?

Qatar Airways grounded Airbus A350s over what it described as fuselages “degrading at an accelerated rate” in the long-range aircraft. The airline had raised questions about the A350s' carbon composite fuselage, designed to make the twin-aisle aircraft lighter and cheaper to operate by burning less jet fuel.



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The Boeing 777X is a larger aircraft For twins, Boeing will dominate in terms of capacity. The larger 777-9 offers a typical two-class capacity of 426 seats; this compares with 369 for the A350-1000. The 777-8 will be in a similar league as the A350-1000, with a capacity of around 390.

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The problem is that it's almost the exact same size as the 777–300 and most of the airlines that are interested already have the 777–300 in their fleet. Airbus also said that for roughly the first ~2 years of A350 production that they would only build -900's, which scared off a lot of potential -1000 buyers.

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A better design. Winging it: The curves at the end of modern airplane wings are all about efficiency. As air flows around a plane's wings, it generates high pressure on the bottom surface and low pressure on the top one, which creates lift.

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The A350-900 has a 665 nautical mile advantage in range, while the 787-9 has a lighter maximum take-off weight by 62,408 pounds. The A350-900 offers more seating in a typical configuration, which we would expect to result in a lower seat-mile cost.

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The aircraft incorporates advanced noise reduction technologies and sound-insulating materials to minimize engine noise and vibrations. The result is an overall remarkably quiet cabin environment.

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Range and flexibility. Surprisingly, for all its size, the A380 can't go as far as the A350. The A350-1000 can travel more than 1,000 km (540 NM) further than the A380. Singapore Airlines has a special 'ultra-long-range' (ULR) A350-900, which operates on the longest route in the world, from Singapore to New York JFK.

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More sustainable. The A350 is designed to be a quieter, cleaner aircraft delivering 25% less fuel burn and CO2 emissions per seat. The quietest in its class the A350 has reduced its noise footprint by 50% vs previous generation aircraft as well as lowering NOx emissions.

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The emblematic “Ray-Ban” like black windshield eases the window's maintenance and contributes to harmonising the thermal condition of this temperature-sensitive window area.

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The global A350 fleet had completed more than 1,175,000 flights on more than 1070 routes without accidents. It succeeds the A340 and competes against Boeing's large long-haul twinjets: the Boeing 787, the Boeing 777, and its successor, the 777X.

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The Bottom Line: The Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 787-9 are very similar aircraft, suited for similar missions. As one would expect, the slightly larger A350-900 has a seat-mile cost advantage, while the 787-9 has an advantage in cost per block hour. These aircraft are competitive, and nearly tie in economic performance.

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