How much fuel can the A350 hold?

The A350 XWB is what Airbus says an “eco-efficient aircraft”. A350 XWB “burns 25% less fuel than the previous generation of comparable long-range twin-aisle aircraft.”

The fuel consumption is typically an airline’s largest cost. The new-generation Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines are key for this high efficiency, as well as the optimized weight, aerodynamics and advanced systems.

Source: © Airbus

But when talking about the usable fuel capacity, how much fuel can the A350 hold in their tanks?

A350-900 has a capacity for 138.000 litres (36,456 US gallons.) that implies 108,3 Tns (238827 lb) with typical density of 0.785 kg/l considered. 

Source: © Airbus

The A350-1000 has more capacity: 156.000 litres (41,211. US gallons)

Rolls said a year ago that “initial results from testing of the Trent XWB-84s delivered to Toulouse for installation on the first A350-900 show fuel-burn performance meets specification and is slightly improved over that seen on earlier flight-test units.”

But considering the fuel burn a critical performance discriminator between A350 and it´s competitors, both Rolls and Airbus has declined to give specific numbers and they only remark that “the A350-1000 will have up to a 25% fuel-burn-per-passenger advantage over the current Boeing 777-300ER, and up to an 8% operating cost advantage for the other versions over the initial Boeing 787”.

Source: © Airbus

The Trent XWB’s main selling point is its efficiency, burning fuel at 2,000⁰ C, Rolls-Royce says that the XWB has a 16% advantage over the first Trent engines of 1995 and is 10% more efficient than the previous generation of engines. Rolls estimates it will give customers US$2.5 million in fuel savings per plane, per year.

Based on the article “A350 Trent XWB Fuel Consumption Improves In Tests” published in Aviation Week.