In the 12 years since it first took to the skies, and the 10 years since it entered commercial service with Qatar Airways, the Airbus A350 XWB family of widebody twinjets has become synonymous with ultra-long-haul travel. This is evidenced by its use on Singapore Airlines’ non-stop flights from Changi (SIN) to Newark (EWR) and New York JFK, as well as Qantas choosing the type for its ‘Project Sunrise’ scheme.
However, if you know where to look, it is also possible to find Airbus A350 flights that are on the much shorter side. Indeed, scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, shows that the type is present on four routes that clock in at less than 150 miles in length this month.
Less Than 50 Miles
The very shortest of these covers just 47 miles (74.64 km), and connects Curaçao International Airport (CUR) and Bonaire International Airport (BON) in the Dutch Caribbean. According to Cirium, Corendon Dutch Airlines flies the Airbus A350-900 twice a week on this route, although the flights themselves are operated by Spanish charter specialists World2Fly, with 432 economy class seats on board the jet.
This leg forms part of a triangular route that actually starts at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS). From here, the A350 flies across to Curaçao, onwards to Bonaire, and then straight back to the Netherlands, thus serving two markets in one go. This is enabled by the Curaçao-Bonaire leg, which can’t be booked on its own. According to Flightradar24, the crossing can take as little as 13 minutes. Corendon explains:
“The air is refreshed every two to three minutes, and there is a higher air pressure in the cabin. This way, you arrive at your destination much more rested – say goodbye to jet lag!”
Other Regular Short Hops
Elsewhere, two African carriers are also major operators of surprisingly short flights with the Airbus A350 family. One such airline is Air Mauritius, which has scheduled 20 flights from Mauritius (MRU) to Reunion (RUN) and 19 coming back with the A350-900 this month. These are clustered around weekends, with up to three flights a day. Per aeroLOPA, these jets have 28 business and 298 economy class seats.
This inter-island route clocks in at just 143 miles (230.14 km) in length, but an even shorter corridor served by an African carrier using the Airbus A350-900 comes in the form of a fifth-freedom service operated by Ethiopian Airlines. Five times a week, the carrier’s A350s link Milan Malpensa (MXP) with Zürich (ZRH) as part of a two-leg flight that originates at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD).
This route is 126 miles (202.78 km) long, and has a block time of one hour and 10 minutes from Zürich to Milan and one hour and five minutes from Milan to Zürich. According to Cirium, the A350-900s that Ethiopian uses on these flights have either 343 or 355 seats, with this capacity spread across two classes. Next month, SWISS will operate even quicker A350 flights, linking Zürich and Geneva in 55 minutes.
Qatar Airways’ Less Frequent Deployments
Qatar Airways is the only carrier to deploy the larger Airbus A350-1000 model on a flight shorter than 150 miles this month. The corridor in question links its main hub at Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH) and Dammam in Saudi Arabia (DMM), which are just 140 miles (225.31 km) apart.
This month, Qatar Airways has penciled in a single round-trip between Doha and Dammam using the Airbus A350-1000, with this rotation set to operate on October 25. These aircraft have a grand total of 395 seats onboard, with this capacity split between 24 QSuites and 371 economy seats.
On the smaller side of things, three round trips on this route are also scheduled to be operated by Qatar Airways’ A350-900s this month. These rotations will take place on October 12, 16, and 21, offering 283 seats each way. This figure consists of 36 business class seats and 247 in economy.
