The Airbus A350-1000 is currently flown by nine carriers globally: Air Caraïbes, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Ethiopian Airlines, Etihad Airways, French bee, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Virgin Atlantic. As is usual, other airlines have the large-capacity and very long-range variant on order.
Ch-aviation shows that the most recent delivery was on August 30, when A6-XWI joined Etihad’s fleet. The carrier now has eight A350-1000s, with two other frames arriving earlier in the year. I reviewed its A350-1000 business product in July.
The 10 Longest A350-1000 Flights In October
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At 17h 00m, the world’s longest nonstop A350-1000 flight is between Doha and Dallas/Fort Worth, which is the world’s third-busiest airport for overall movements. However, Cirium Diio data shows that just one departure on the A350 is timed at 17h 00m in October. It will be on October 29 (the 777-200LR will have that time through the winter). Its block is 2h 20m shorter than the world’s new longest nonstop passenger flight, which is on the Boeing 787-9.
This article focuses on nonstop flights. However, if stopping services were considered, Ethiopian Airlines between Addis Ababa and Washington Dulles via Rome Fiumicino would be first. It is timed at up to 17h 10m this month, which is only marginally longer than Doha to Dallas. Ethiopian stops in the Italian capital because of Addis’ high elevation, which means it cannot fly nonstop to the US with a heavy payload. Stopping means it can be full.
Maximum A350-1000 Block Time In October*
Direction Of The Nonstop Route With That Time
Airline
17h 00m
Doha to Dallas/Fort Worth
Qatar Airways
16h 40m
Dallas/Fort Worth back to Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific (flights began in April)
16h 20m
Doha to Houston Intercontinental
Qatar Airways
16h 10m
New York JFK back to Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific
16h 10m
Doha to Los Angeles
Qatar Airways
15h 55m
Chicago O’Hare back to Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific
15h 50m
Toronto back to Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific
15h 50m
Doha to Miami
Qatar Airways
15h 50m
Hong Kong to Boston**
Cathay Pacific
15h 50m
Doha to San Francisco
Qatar Airways
* Even if just once, as with the first entry
** It is longer from Hong Kong than to the country
The Longest A350-1000 Flights By The Other 7 Airlines…
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Only Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific made the top ten list, which was unsurprising. It begs the question about the longest A350-1000 services by the remaining seven operators.
They’re led by Etihad between its Abu Dhabi hub and Atlanta, which started in July and became its longest service in five years. Due to avoiding Russian airspace, British Airways has a joint entry that’s tied at a maximum of 14h 50m.
Maximum A350-1000 Block Time In October
Direction Of Route With That Time
Airline (Excluding Qatar Airways/Cathay Pacific)
15h 30m
Abu Dhabi to Atlanta
Etihad
14h 50m
Tokyo Haneda and Hong Kong back to London Heathrow
British Airways
14h 35m
New York JFK back to Tokyo Haneda
Japan Airlines
13h 15m
Washington Dulles back to Addis Ababa
Ethiopian Airlines
11h 50m
Reunion back to Paris Orly
French bee
11h 20m
London Heathrow to Los Angeles
Virgin Atlantic
9h 15m
Paris Orly to Cayenne
Air Caraïbes
Before Russia’s war on Ukraine, BA flew through Russia. While neither Hong Kong nor Tokyo flights then used the high-capacity A350 variant, Hong Kong’s maximum time was 13h 20m, while it was 12h 20m for Tokyo. From the Pearl of the City, BA now flies over China, Central Asia, and the Caucasus back to the UK. From Tokyo, it overflies Alaska en route home.
The Shortest A350-1000 Route Is Just 1 Hour
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Perhaps unsurprisingly, Doha to Dammam has the world’s shortest commercial A350-1000 flight. Covering just 122 nautical miles (226 km) each way, it is blocked at one hour. Such city pairs are renowned for seeing many of Qatar Airways’ fleet. In October, the A320ceo, A330-200, A330-300, A350-900, A350-1000, 777-200LR, 777-300ER, 787-8, and 787-9 will all be used.
While it might change, the A350-1000 is only scheduled to appear on October 25. Qatar Airways’ 395-seat configuration will be flown, which is the carrier’s highest-capacity twinjet. It has 24 Q Suites and 371 economy seats. QR1152 will leave Doha at 14:20 and arrive at 15:20. Returning, QR1153 will depart at 16:50 and return at 17:50. Most passengers will continue to/from South Asia.
