The Airbus A350 XWB is a family of long-range, twin-engine wide-body jet airliners developed by European aircraft manufacturer Airbus. The A350 is the first Airbus with bothfuselage and wing structures made primarily of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer.^[7] Its variants seat 276 to 369 passengers in typical two-class seating layouts.^[8] The A350 is positioned as a successor to the A330 and A340, competing with Boeing's 787 and 777 series.


The A350 was originally conceived in 2004 with new aerodynamics and engines while having a fuselage based on the A330. This was rejected by some prospective customers. In 2006, Airbus redesigned the aircraft and renamed it the A350 XWB (extra wide body). The launch customer for the A350 is Qatar Airways, which ordered 80 aircraft of all three variants.^[9] Development costs are projected to be €12 billion (US$15 billion or £10 billion).^[10] As of January 2015, Airbus had received orders for 780 aircraft from 40 customers around the globe.^[9] The prototype A350 first flew on 14 June 2013 from Toulouse, France. The A350 received type certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency in September 2014 and certification from the FAA two months later. The A350 entered service with Qatar Airways on 15 January 2015 with flight QR67 to Frankfurt