Airbus A350-900

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A359 Airbus · Airbus A350 XWB

Airbus A350-900 at a glance

What it is: the Airbus A350-900 is a long-haul widebody built by Airbus, first flown in 2013.
On the radar: it shows up as type code A359. How to spot it overhead.
How far it flies: about 15,000 km without stopping, cruising near 903 km/h.
How many it carries: 300–350 passengers, depending on how the airline fits out the cabin.
Power: 2× Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-84, with a 64.8 m wingspan.

15,000 km

Range

903 km/h

Cruise speed

300–350+

Passengers

2013

First flight

Airbus's carbon-fibre flagship and the 787's direct competitor, in service with Qatar Airways since 2015. The ULR version operates Singapore Airlines' 18-plus-hour nonstops to New York. Over 60 airlines have ordered the type, making it the standard large twin of the 2020s.

The story of the Airbus A350-900

The A350 had a rocky start. Airbus first offered an improved A330, and key customers rejected it publicly in 2006. Airbus needed something genuinely new to answer the Boeing 787. It went back to a clean sheet and launched the A350 XWB that same year. The letters stand for extra wide body, which is the whole point of the design. The redesign cost years but won the customers back.

It became the first Airbus airliner with a fuselage and wing built mainly from carbon-fiber composite, a plastic stiffened with woven carbon threads. Composites resist corrosion and fatigue better than aluminum. The only engine is the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB. The A350-900 first flew on June 14, 2013, and Qatar Airways began service on January 15, 2015, from Doha to Frankfurt. The jet was a genuine leap forward.

The -900 became the heart of the program and the direct rival to Boeing's 787-9. Singapore Airlines, Delta, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa and Air France made it their standard long-haul twin. An ultra-long-range version let Singapore Airlines relaunch the world's longest nonstop flight to New York, at nearly 19 hours. Well over 1,000 A350-family jets have been ordered so far. A freighter model, the A350F, is now in development.

Design and engineering

About 53 percent of the airframe by weight is composite. The carbon-fiber wings flex dramatically in flight, and moving trailing-edge panels reshape the wing's curve during cruise to save fuel. Power comes only from the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-84, among the most efficient large engines flying today.

Six large screens fill the fly-by-wire cockpit, and Airbus commonality allows a short transition from the A330. The wide cabin fits nine seats across at 18 inches, stays quieter, and holds more humidity than older metal jets. Passengers notice the difference on long flights.

How to recognise the A359 in the wild

Look for the black 'raccoon mask' around the cockpit windows and the sharply blended, curved winglets; the A350-900 has four-wheel main gear bogies, distinguishing it from the longer A350-1000 with six-wheel bogies. More tells in how to identify any aircraft overhead.

Variants and close relatives

Variant	What sets it apart
A350-900	The baseline model and best seller, typically seating 300 to 350 passengers.
A350-900ULR	An ultra-long-range version with a modified fuel system for 18-plus-hour nonstops.
A350-1000	The stretched sibling with six-wheel main gear and more powerful Trent XWB-97 engines.
A350F	A freighter derivative in development with a large main-deck cargo door.

Major operators: Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, Lufthansa - Find them in the airline database and watch their A359s on the live map.

Facts about the Airbus A350-900

Airbus scrapped its original A330-based A350 design after airlines publicly criticized it, relaunching the program as the all-new A350 XWB.
The airframe is roughly 53 percent composite materials by weight, the highest proportion of any Airbus airliner.
The A350-900ULR version flies the world's longest nonstop route, Singapore Airlines' service between Singapore and New York.
Every A350 is powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB; no other engine has ever been offered on the type.

ICAO type code

A359

Manufacturer

Airbus

Capacity

300–350 passengers

Range

15,000 km

Cruise speed

903 km/h

MTOW

280,000 kg

Engines

2× Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-84

Wingspan / length

64.8 m / 66.8 m

Aircraft related to the Airbus A350-900

Comparable types selected by family, manufacturer, capacity, range and generation.

A35K Airbus A350-1000 Airbus · 350–410 passengers A339 Airbus A330-900neo Airbus · 260–300 passengers A333 Airbus A330-300 Airbus · 277–440 passengers A332 Airbus A330-200 Airbus · 246–290 passengers A346 Airbus A340-600 Airbus · 326–475 passengers A388 Airbus A380-800 Airbus · 525–853 passengers

Tracked flights using the Airbus A350-900

These existing flight profiles list the Airbus A350-900 as typical equipment. Airlines can substitute another type on the day.

Flight	Route
DL200	ATL → JNB	Track DL200 →
DL41	LAX → SYD	Track DL41 →
DL26	ATL → ICN	Track DL26 →
DL89	ATL → CDG	Track DL89 →
AF276	CDG → HND	Track AF276 →
AF990	CDG → JNB	Track AF990 →
IB6845	MAD → EZE	Track IB6845 →
IB6275	MAD → JFK	Track IB6275 →

More aircraft and tracking guides for the Airbus A350-900

Spot one overhead using our aircraft identification guide. Telling this maker apart from its rival is easier than it looks, as Boeing versus Airbus shows. Long-haul jets like this cruise high and far, explained in narrowbody versus widebody.

Data sources and review

Reviewed 2026-07-29 by Flight-Tracker.net Editorial Team

Airbus commercial aircraft information - manufacturer specifications and family information.
Airbus A350-900 type identity reference - model history and identity cross-checking.

Range, seating, speed and weight describe the aircraft type, not a specific airline configuration. Published figures vary by engine, weight option and cabin layout.

Read our aircraft specification sourcing and review process, or inspect the machine-readable reference dataset.

Airbus A350-900 frequently asked questions

What is the range of the Airbus A350-900?

The Airbus A350-900 has a published range of about 15,000 km, cruising at roughly 903 km/h. Real-world range depends on payload, winds and reserves.

How many passengers does the Airbus A350-900 carry?

A typical Airbus A350-900 seats 300–350 passengers, though the exact number depends on how the operating airline configures its cabin.

What is the ICAO type code for the Airbus A350-900?

The Airbus A350-900 uses the ICAO type designator A359. That is the code you will see when you click this aircraft type on a live flight-tracking map.

What engines does the Airbus A350-900 use?

The Airbus A350-900 is powered by 2× Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-84, with a maximum takeoff weight of about 280,000 kg and a wingspan of 64.8 m.

How do you identify an Airbus A350-900?

Which airlines operate the Airbus A350-900?

Major operators in this reference profile include Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, Lufthansa. Fleets change as aircraft are delivered, stored, leased and retired, so confirm current fleets with the airline.

Which tracked flights use the Airbus A350-900?

Selected scheduled services in this tracker that typically use the Airbus A350-900 include DL200, DL41, DL26, DL89, AF276. Equipment can change on the day, so the aircraft shown for each flight is a typical assignment, not a guarantee.

Is the Airbus A350-900 a narrowbody or a widebody?

The Airbus A350-900 is a widebody, meaning two aisles and a cabin built for long sectors. With 300–350 passengers seats and 15,000 km of range it is typically flown on intercontinental routes.