500 Up – Airbus delivers it’s 500th Airbus A350 to Iberia

For those watching the Airbus A350 programme, it has hit a major milestone as it delivered the 500th of the type to Iberia.

The 500th A350 – an A350-900 – was recently delivered to Iberia. This airline has  20 A350s on order and 14 in service.

For Airbus, it’s another step forward as the family grows and adjusts – with the original A350-900, the A350-900ULR, the larger A350-1000 and the upcoming  Airbus freighter A350F, with over 900 orders, operating with 39 operators worldwide.

But there’s more than meets the eye with this 500th aircraft – with a new production standard now live.

Introducing the A350 new Production Standard

This 500th delivery also marks the introduction of the new Production Standard 2022 which brings additional performance and cabin improvements for both A350-900 and A350-1000.

Compared to previous standards, it brings a weight reduction of up to 1.2 tonnes by optimising systems and structures and increasing the use of advanced materials which already represent more than 70% of the aircraft.

The Maximum Takeoff Weight is also increased by 3 tonnes allowing each model to maintain its maximum range capability, beyond 8,000nm, while carrying an increased payload.

The new standard comes with a wider interior cabin at the armest level. This increase in cabin space allows airlines the flexibility to offer more than 30 additional seats in a typical 3-class configuration. Those who can read between the lines will know what this means in the future – ten across seating.

The focus on sustainability.

Airbus notes that the A350 has a lot better performance than previous generation aircraft, with 25% less fuel burn and CO2 emissions and 50% less noise footprint – and airlines are using these factors to drive forward their sustainability agendas – with  ITA Airways, Frenchbee, Worldf2Fly, Turkish Airlines, Air Caraibes and SAS – have selected the A350 to reach their environmental targets, as they seek to decarbonise and continue the journey to net-zero. 

In Quotes

Philippe Mhun, EVP of Programmes and Services at Airbus said:

“When we designed the A350 and delivered the first one, we were extremely proud to have created a real clean sheet, state-of-the-art aircraft, delivering unmatched performance and economics. It offers outstanding space, comfort and quietness to the passengers, and it contributes significantly to decarbonising aviation. The A350 is providing today a versatile platform to support our customers’ strategy in front of a more and more complex environment”