The Airbus A350-900 is a modern long-range widebody seating about 300 to 350 passengers, built largely from carbon-fiber composites. Delta is the US operator, and airlines such as Qatar, Singapore, Lufthansa, Air France and Cathay Pacific bring A350s to US gateways every day.
A350-900 at a glance
- First flight
- 2013
- Length
- 219 ft 2 in (66.8 m)
- Wingspan
- 212 ft 5 in (64.8 m)
- Engines
- 2 × Rolls-Royce Trent XWB turbofans
- Seats
- ~300–350
- Cruise speed
- ~488 kt (562 mph) / Mach 0.85
- Service ceiling
- 43,100 ft
- Range
- ~8,100 nmi
How to recognize the A350-900
The A350 is one of the easiest widebodies to identify once you know its signature: a black "mask" painted around the cockpit windows.
- Cockpit: the dark painted surround on the windows looks like sunglasses or a raccoon mask, visible from a long way off.
- Wingtips: long wings that curve upward smoothly at the tips into a curled, sharklet-style winglet.
- Engines: large Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines with smooth exhausts and no chevrons.
- Nose: rounded and smooth, slightly more pointed than the A330's.
- Landing gear: two four-wheel bogies on the -900 (the larger A350-1000 has six-wheel bogies).
- Wing flex: like the 787, the composite wing bends upward in flight.
- Sound: quiet for its size, with a smooth hum on approach.
The 787-9 is its closest rival: the 787 has four cockpit windows without the mask, chevron engines and raked rather than curled wingtips. The 777-300ER is longer, with enormous engines and six-wheel gear.
At altitude its two contrails start well outboard of the fuselage, and the curled wingtips give the wing a smooth, swept silhouette. On a close approach, the six cockpit windows inside their black surround, the big engines and the gently tapered tail cone all point to an A350.
Where and when you'll see it
Delta (callsign DAL) is the US operator, flying A350-900s from Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, Seattle, Los Angeles and New York to Asia, Europe, South America and Africa. Foreign A350 operators flying to the US include Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Air France, Cathay Pacific, Ethiopian, Turkish, Iberia, Japan Airlines, China Airlines and Philippine Airlines.
Typical cruise is FL350 to FL410 on long routes. On ADS-B the type code is A359 (A35K for the A350-1000) and the emitter category is heavy. Expect them at New York, Seattle and other gateways, often on very long flights.
Many A350 routes are among the longest in the world, so you may see one climbing out of a US gateway on a flight of 15 hours or more. They also fly shorter transatlantic and Pacific routes.
Easily confused with
- Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner: The 787-9 has no black cockpit mask, chevron engines and raked wingtips.
- Boeing 777-300ER: The 777-300ER is longer, with giant GE90 engines and six-wheel gear.
- Airbus A330-300: The A330-300 has upright winglets and no black window mask.
Quick facts
- More than half of the A350's structure by weight is carbon-fiber composite.
- Singapore Airlines uses special ultra-long-range A350-900s for nonstop flights between Singapore and the New York area of roughly 18 hours.
- The longer A350-1000 uses six-wheel main landing gear and carries its own type code, A35K.
A350-900 questions
Why does the A350 have a black mask around its cockpit windows?
It is a styling feature of the A350's standard paint scheme rather than a structural part. It has become the type's signature, making it easy to identify from a distance.
Does any US airline fly the A350?
Yes. Delta Air Lines flies the A350-900 on long international routes.
Cities where it's a regular
Los Angeles · Atlanta · San Francisco · Detroit
Spot one live
Open the live sky tool and look for A359 in the type column, or browse the live map on airplanes.live.