In the 2000s, Airbus faced a problem. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a plane that it initially dismissed as a plastic fantasy, proved to be unbelievably popular. Airbus, caught up in the $25 billion+ A380 project, aimed to woo back customers by adding 787 engines, a new wing, new empennage, and a new cockpit to the A330 and calling it the A350, but airlines didn’t want it. At the same time, the company was under intense pressure from the Boeing 777, which crushed Airbus’s own long-range A340. Airbus was forced back to the drawing board and turned out perhaps its most remarkable aircraft ever.

The new A350 XWB was a clean-sheet majority-composite widebody that would use all the technologies introduced by the Dreamliner, but sized up to render the 777 obsolete. With a wider fuselage than the 787, bespoke Rolls-Royce engines, along with an enormous wing that could change shape mid-flight, Airbus was able to deliver a plane that burned three-quarters of the fuel that the A340 used, while flying further and carrying more payload than either the A340 or 777. The A350 entered service in 2015 and quickly backed up Airbus’s ambitious claims, while its grand order count of nearly 1,600 sales across all models has made it one of the most successful widebodies in history.

The Airbus A350’s Wing Features

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Because the wings and much of the fuselage are made out of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP), the Airbus A350 is far lighter than prior-generation large widebodies; roughly 20 tons in the case of the A350-1000 versus the similarly-sized Boeing 777-300ER regarding Operating Empty Weight (OEW). At the same time, its wing is larger than the 777’s, dramatically lowering fuel burn during cruising altitude, further boosted by its advanced 21st-century aerodynamics. But with the A350, Airbus didn’t just set out to make the plane aerodynamic; they also aimed to develop the world’s most technically advanced airliner.

The A350 features two systems, called Variable Camber (VC) and Differential Flap Setting (DFS), which work together to make gradual adjustments to the aircraft’s flap settings during cruise. Typically, planes fly with their flaps fully retracted at cruising altitude, but the subtle adjustments made by VC and DFS shift the center of lift ever so slightly to reduce the aircraft’s angle of attack, decreasing fuel burn. This is particularly beneficial during the early part of the flight and when the aircraft is heavily loaded.

The two systems primarily adjust the aircraft’s inboard flaps, which are deployed asymmetrically to the outer flaps in this case, and only by a few degrees. It’s not a process that’s typically noticeable in-flight, but optimizing the plane’s aerodynamics helps lower fuel burn. The DFS system is unique to the A350, and the two systems are fully integrated into the aircraft’s flight control laws.

Biomimicry And The A350’s Aerodynamics

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In its never-ending pursuit to increase lift and cut down on draw, Airbus turned to nature with the A350. The shape and design of the wing is meant to mimic those of birds, while the curved sharklet reduces the generation of wingtip vortices. With a wingspan of 212 feet five inches (64.75 meters), it fits within essentially all standard widebody gates, and the wings have been tested to flex by as much as 17 feet (five meters). While wings typically flex to a much less dramatic degree in commercial service, this nonetheless further optimizes the aircraft’s aerodynamics and offers greater comfort.

The A350 features a droop nose device on the inner part of its wings, rather than the slats featured on the outer parts. This was to accommodate the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB, which is mounted extremely close to the wing to reduce drag. Given the positioning of the engine and the aerodynamic effects of this design, a droop nose device was deemed the superior choice. The aircraft’s hatchet-shaped belly fairing is streamlined with wings to reduce interference drag, while the engine nacelles are also optimized to reduce drag.

The forward section of the A350 is highly streamlined, retaining a largely continuous shape from the nose to above the flight deck windows rather than having two distinct shapes. This is partially enabled through the use of curved flight deck windows, a first for an Airbus. In recent years, the manufacturer has also continued to tweak the plane’s aerodynamics, adjusting the wing twist and sharklets on the A350-900, while also removing three side-slip angle probes located just below the cockpit windows after it was determined they were redundant.

The Other Innovations With The A350

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Like the 787, the A350 is also a majority CFRP airliner, with the material making up approximately 53% of the aircraft’s weight and about 80% by volume. Considering the weight savings offered by CFRP compared to metal, the A350 is actually a fairly heavy aircraft (as is the 787), but the weight savings offered by CFRP have allowed Airbus to give its CFRP airliner true ultra-long-haul capabilities. The A350-900 is essentially the same size as the Boeing 777-200ER and weighs substantially less, but has nearly all the capabilities as the far heavier 777-200LR.

The A350 is only offered with the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB, with the XWB-84 model powering the A350-900 and the XWB-97 model powering the A350-1000 and the upcoming A350F. It features a 118-inch (300-centimeter) fan with a 9.6:1 bypass ratio and a 50:1 overall pressure ratio. To cut fuel burn, it comes with an eight-stage intermediate-pressure compressor powered by a two-stage turbine, as opposed to a single-stage turbine on prior Trent models, as well as a six-stage high-pressure turbine powered by a single-stage turbine.

The A350F will come with the largest main deck side cargo door of any in-production freighter, an attempt to mimic the capabilities offered by the Boeing 747 freighter’s nose door, while the passenger A350s feature higher ceilings and lower cabin altitudes than almost any airliner in service. Newer models are equipped with features like dimming windows and touchscreen flight deck displays, while all A350s are equipped with innovative systems like Airbus’s Brake to Vacate (BTV) and Runway Overrun Protection System (ROPS).

The Impact Of The Airbus A350

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The A350 is not the most successful widebody in service; that would still be the Boeing 777, with the 787 sure to overtake it in the future. But the A350 continues to sell strongly, receiving 1,595 orders, with the A350-900 variant contributing 1,121 sales on its own. The A350-900 was targeted to replace the Airbus A340-300 and Boeing 777-200ER, but has sold more units than both combined, while the A350F has been extremely successful for a new-build freighter that has yet to enter service. Sales of the A350-1000 have been slower, but are starting to pick up as the 777-300ER ages.

The A350 is fuel efficient, as are the A330neo, Boeing 777X, and 787, but what truly sets the A350 apart is its capability. Both models of the A350 have among the longest range of any airliner in history, with the specialized A350-900ULR model currently operating the world’s longest route, from Singapore to New York-JFK. Meanwhile, Qantas is set to overtake Singapore Airlines’ services when it begins taking delivery of the even more capable A350-1000ULR, which will connect Sydney and Melbourne to London-Heathrow and New York-JFK.

But beyond the range, the A350 can also reliably carry large payloads on ultra-long-haul flights. The Boeing 787-9, in practice, has enough range for practically any airline’s needs, but the A350-900 will carry more payload across longer distances. The A350-1000, despite being smaller than the Boeing 777-9, can lift more payload on ultra-long-haul flights. Airbus has also continued to up the A350’s Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW), with the A350-900 going from 268 tons to 283 tons, while the A350-1000 originally debuted with an MTOW of 308 tons and can now be rated for 322 tons.

The Execution Of The A350 Program

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Airbus is making a profit on the A350 program. Boeing, on the other hand, has yet to make money from the 787 program as a whole due to massive cost overruns and developmental challenges. While the 787 remains the industry’s most popular widebody on sale, Boeing ended up spending upwards of $32 billion on the program, whereas the A350 program cost Airbus $15 billion. What’s more, the A350 XWB program was surprisingly smooth for a modern airliner, and the plane has been extremely reliable for its operators, while every A350 delivered today earns Airbus a profit.

The same can be said for the A350’s engines. While Rolls-Royce faced massive durability issues with the Trent 1000 offered on the 787, the Trent XWB has delivered on its promises and then some. Operators have reported nearly no issues with durability or reliability on the XWB-84, and while the XWB-97 has faced some criticism regarding its durability in harsh climates, it’s not catastrophic. Rolls-Royce is working on upgrades to double the XWB-97’s on-wing time in such conditions, while recent upgrades to the XWB-84 that promised a 1% fuel burn reduction actually delivered 1.8% fuel savings.

The A350 is a capable, fuel-efficient airliner beloved by its operators. While the 787 is smaller, burns less fuel, and occupies the sweet spot in the widebody market, the A350 continues to be incredibly lucrative. The fuel burn penalty for operating an A350 over a 787 is small, while it offers more capacity and capability. Against the 777X, the A350 is cheaper to operate and more capable. What’s more, the execution of the A350 program and Trent XWB will stand as the most recent examples of successful widebodies that earn money for the manufacturer and are popular in the market.