Up To 17 Hours: The World's 10 Longest A350-1000 Flights

The Airbus A350-1000 is currently flown by nine carriers globally: Air Caraïbes, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Ethiopian Airlines, Etihad Airways, French bee, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Virgin Atlantic. As is usual, other airlines have the large-capacity and very long-range variant on order.

Ch-aviation shows that the most recent delivery was on August 30, when A6-XWI joined Etihad’s fleet. The carrier now has eight A350-1000s, with two other frames arriving earlier in the year. I reviewed its A350-1000 business product in July.

The 10 Longest A350-1000 Flights In October

At 17h 00m, the world’s longest nonstop A350-1000 flight is between Doha and Dallas/Fort Worth, which is the world’s third-busiest airport for overall movements. However, Cirium Diio data shows that just one departure on the A350 is timed at 17h 00m in October. It will be on October 29 (the 777-200LR will have that time through the winter). Its block is 2h 20m shorter than the world’s new longest nonstop passenger flight, which is on the Boeing 787-9.

This article focuses on nonstop flights. However, if stopping services were considered, Ethiopian Airlines between Addis Ababa and Washington Dulles via Rome Fiumicino would be first. It is timed at up to 17h 10m this month, which is only marginally longer than Doha to Dallas. Ethiopian stops in the Italian capital because of Addis’ high elevation, which means it cannot fly nonstop to the US with a heavy payload. Stopping means it can be full.

The Longest A350-1000 Flights By The Other 7 Airlines…

Only Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific made the top ten list, which was unsurprising. It begs the question about the longest A350-1000 services by the remaining seven operators.

They’re led by Etihad between its Abu Dhabi hub and Atlanta, which started in July and became its longest service in five years. Due to avoiding Russian airspace, British Airways has a joint entry that’s tied at a maximum of 14h 50m.

Before Russia’s war on Ukraine, BA flew through Russia. While neither Hong Kong nor Tokyo flights then used the high-capacity A350 variant, Hong Kong’s maximum time was 13h 20m, while it was 12h 20m for Tokyo. From the Pearl of the City, BA now flies over China, Central Asia, and the Caucasus back to the UK. From Tokyo, it overflies Alaska en route home.

The Shortest A350-1000 Route Is Just 1 Hour

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Doha to Dammam has the world’s shortest commercial A350-1000 flight. Covering just 122 nautical miles (226 km) each way, it is blocked at one hour. Such city pairs are renowned for seeing many of Qatar Airways’ fleet. In October, the A320ceo, A330-200, A330-300, A350-900, A350-1000, 777-200LR, 777-300ER, 787-8, and 787-9 will all be used.

While it might change, the A350-1000 is only scheduled to appear on October 25. Qatar Airways’ 395-seat configuration will be flown, which is the carrier’s highest-capacity twinjet. It has 24 Q Suites and 371 economy seats. QR1152 will leave Doha at 14:20 and arrive at 15:20. Returning, QR1153 will depart at 16:50 and return at 17:50. Most passengers will continue to/from South Asia.