The Airbus A350 is slowly becoming the flagship aircraft of some airlines

The Airbus A350 is slowly becoming the flagship aircraft of some airlines. Japan Airlines is now shifting from the Boeing 777 to the Airbus A350 as its flagship aircraft. JAL operates both -900 and -1000 variants of the A350. The former will be deployed for domestic routes and the latter for international. They hope to accomplish this by the middle of the decade. The fuel efficiency of the A350 is a major factor in the decision.

Airbus A350 as new flagship aircraft

JAL’s “medium-term management plan” is to revise its fleet of aircraft to more efficient and smaller ones. Currently, JAL operates Boeing 777-200 for domestic and the B777-300ER for international routes. However, JAL has decided to move towards the A350 due to its efficiency which is 25% than the 777. JAL currently operates 5 A350s and intends to increase it to 18 by 2023. They have a total order of 31 A350s, 18 -900s and 13 -1000s. The A350-900 will operate domestic sectors while the A350-1000 will be intended for international.

Etihad moves towards A350 and 787 over A380 and 777-300ER

During the World Aviation Day 2021, Etihad had announced that it is retiring its 2nd largest aircraft, 777-300ER. As a result, they will focus on a widebody fleet of Airbus A350-1000s and Boeing 787s. Etihad now has 5 A350-1000s operating in the fleet. They hope to have 12 of these delivered by 2023. Etihad CEO Tony Douglas explained, “The statement we’ve made clear is that the backbone of our fleet, for the medium term, is the 787 … We operate one of the biggest fleets in the world, and have benefited not only through the operational economics but also the sustainability position that that incredible aircraft presents. We do have A350-1000s in that plan as well. And that is the backbone of that mid-sized carrier.

“You’ll see of us a very focused, a very disciplined operating model, which is heavily built around the fleet type of 787 Dreamliner and the A350-1000.”

British Airways now eyeing the A350 as new flagship

British Airways is somehow “teasing” us of what’s next to come. After retiring its 747 from the fleet and the A380 remains uncertainty, the next aircraft in line to the podium is the A350. In a new TV commercial, British Airways featured an Airbus A350 with the tagline “You make us fly.” This may be a sneak peak of what’s to come in the future for BA.

Other airlines like Lufthansa is looking towards a leaner widebody fleet with A350s as flagship aircraft. Just lately, the airline placed in an order of 5 A350s and 5 Boeing 787s.

Will Philippine Airlines follow the same footsteps towards the A350 flagship?

PAL currently operates a fleet of 6 Airbus A350s in a 295 3-class seating configuration. They have also called the A350 as their “second flagship” aircraft. It is also the airline’s newest widebody in the fleet. However, nothing is made clear yet with regards to the future of the A350s. Earlier unconfirmed mainstream media reports has it that some A350s will be included in the chopping board, yet, nothing has been confirmed by PAL. Based on airfleets.net however, 3 A350s are currently on active flying while 3 others are parked.

PAL’s A350s are actually the most beautiful and modern in the fleet. They also fly ultra-long range routes like Manila to New York non-stop. They are the only long-haul aircraft in the PAL fleet which have premium economy seats.

PAL’s oldest B777-300ERs are between 10 to 11 years old. Will they go the same way too as the others? Only time will tell.

However, the commercial aviation landscape has indeed changed due to this pandemic. Airlines now prefer smaller and a leaner fleet of fuel efficient aircraft. Our prediction is that the A350 and the 787 may dominate the long-haul routes in the near future. Sadly, gone are the days of the jumbo. How about the Boeing 777-9X? We’ll know in 5 years time.