The Airbus A350F (freigher) is rolled out in Toulouse, France, home of Airbus.
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Airline traffic rules the skies. The International Airline Transport Association (IATA) forecasts that about 5.2 billion people will fly worldwide in 2026, a record high that is up 4.4% from 2025’s 4.99 billion. The near death of the airline industry during COVID is in the rear-view mirror, with passenger travel up 15% since 2019.
The Airbus A350 is one of the new generation of twin-engine widebody airliners that can carry up to 400 passengers and transport them great distances. The A350-900 offers 332 to 352 seats in a typical 3-class configuration. The A350-1000 offers 375 to 400 seats in a 3-class configuration, including up to 40% more premium seating.
Other variants are optimized for fuel economy. Singapore Airlines operates its long New York to Singapore flights using the Airbus A350-900ULR, with 67 business class seats and 94 premium economy seats for what is currently the world’s longest flight of 9,500 miles (15,288 km).
In June, Airbus rolled out an even longer-range version of the versatile A350, the A350-1000LR. In 2027 Qantas will fly the aircraft from Sydney to London. The plane will make the 10,000 mile, 20-hour trip with a more open layout for just 238 passengers in three classes.
Airbus has taken 1 595 orders for the A350 from 68 customers. At this point, 718 A350s have been delivered to 41 operators.
However, jetliners are complex beasts, and there are only two major builders of large aircraft, Boeing and Airbus. So that crowded flight you were on? It’s par for the course.
The ultra-long range A350-1000ULR Airbus is building for Qantas. The so-called “Project Sunrise” aircraft is expected to fly non-stop from Sydney to London, a distance of 10,000 miles, starting in 2027.
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Due to long delays in building new aircraft, airlines are experiencing the highest load factor on record, with nearly 84% of seats filled. Both Boeing and Airbus have 12-year delivery backlogs, which they blame on the usual culprit, supply chain issues
But a closely related industry is making demands on the already extended delivery schedules of Boeing and Airbus. Meanwhile the global air freight market size is expected to grow from USD $389 billion in 2026 to $642.20 billion by 2035, according to Precedence Research.
Airbus has taken orders for 107 freighter versions of the A350F for this growing market.
As Lars Wagner, CEO Commercial Aircraft at Airbus, said in July during a business update on the A350 platform, “We have a superior platform. We’re serving the market with the -900. We’re serving the market with more demand now on the -1000. We have the A350 freighter having its first flight… And we flew the A350-1000ULR, the ultra-long range, on June 2. And both of these new platforms will see the entry into service in the course of the year 2027.”
While freighter demand can cut into passenger aircraft manufacture, it is also a lucrative and growing market. The air freight market has played a major role in keeping the Boeing 747 flying, more than 55 years after its commercial debut with Pan Am in 1970. A total of 1,574 Boeing 747 aircraft were built , with roughly 380 to 400 factory-built freighters produced across different variants, plus hundreds more converted from passenger airframes.
Out of the final 155 aircraft built in the 747-8 series, 107 were factory-built freighters. In fact, largely due to freighter orders from FedEx, UPS, Atlas and others, the Boeing 747 production line ran from 1968 to 2023, extending two years past the end of Airbus A380 production.
A UPS Boeing 747-8 freighter aircraft takes off from Hong Kong International Airport with mountainous terrain in the background on March 16, 2026. Hong Kong International Airport is one of the world’s busiest air cargo hubs, serving as a key logistics gateway linking Asia with global freight markets. (Photo by Cheng Xin/Getty Images)
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Unfortunately, a freighter version of the Airbus A380 never came to be. A freighter version was designed and developed but never built because of long A380 program delays, resulting in cancellation by freight operators. This eventually affected the total number of A380 aircraft built and operated.
Although the size of the A380 would seem to make it perfect for cargo use, none have to date been modified for use as a freighter. The planned A380F retained the double-deck design limiting the size of freight it could carry, and it had a poor weight to volume ratio. The aircraft could easily reach its massive 575 tonne/1,268,000 takeoff weight long before it was filled with cargo. It also lacked nose-loading capability like the Boeing 747 and Antonov An-124.
The limited market for a 500-seat aircraft has led many airlines to mothball or scrap the A380, less than 20 years after its first commercial flight with Singapore Airlines. But the lack of a freighter version also did not help in keeping the production line open. With so many otherwise obsolescent Boeing 747s used as freighters, it is entirely possible that the 747, a design that is 25 years older, will still be flying when the last A380 leaves the commercial skies.
However, the 747, the Boeing 767F (introduced in 1995) and other older freighters, like the McDonnell Douglas MD-11, need to be replaced by more efficient newer aircraft.
Airbus has clearly learned from the A380 experience how important a companion freighter product is. As the company puts it, “Designed to be the world’s most advanced cargo aircraft, the A350F meets the evolving demands of the global air freight market.”
Operated according to what Airbus calls “best economics” the A350F can carry up to 111 tonnes of payload up to 4700 nautical miles or 8700km. With no passengers on board, there is little need for a 20-hour non-stop flight, but there is plenty of range for many key international long-haul routes.
Farnborough, UK – July 21, 2014: Airbus A380-841 large four engined commercial airliner aircraft F-WWOW taking off from Farnborough Airport.
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Powered by the latest Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines and made of over 70% advanced materials, the A350F is 46 tonnes lighter than competitors. Airbus claims a reduction in fuel consumption and carbon emissions of up to 20% when compared to previous generation aircraft with a similar payload.
Airbus says that A350F is the only freighter that fully meets the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) 2027 CO₂ emission standards. Interestingly, the A350F can fly with up to 50% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) as it enters service, with the aim for 100% capability by 2030. Hopefully, by that time SAF will no longer cost five times as much as conventional jet fuel.
With the first deliveries penciled in for the second half of 2027, Airbus recently completed the first A350F Freighter main deck cargo door in Spain. The largest main deck cargo door in the industry, it features a 4.3-meter width and a 3.15-metre height opening.
The door is designed to make loading and unloading operations easier, faster, and safer. Located in the rear fuselage to maintain an optimal center of gravity during loading, the door is made from composite materials and features an electrical open/close actuation system.
The market seems to be responding to the mix of capacity, range and economy offered by the A350F. The aircraft has a backlog of 107 A350F orders from 14 worldwide customers. Airbus has announced several orders during 2026, including Cathay Pacific, Air China Cargo and Atlas Air. Atlas became Airbus’ largest A350F freighter customer with a 20 aircraft order in March.
The first main deck cargo door for the Airbus A350F, manufactured in Spain for delivery to Toulouse for the first of the A350 cargo aircraft.
Airbus Industries
The A350 is already a successful aircraft and probably won’t require any help. But Airbus’ focus on its freighter version is an insurance policy that will protect the longevity of the type.