Airbus to offer more flexibility and longer range to get new A350-900 orders.

The A350-900 will be able to fly even farther from 2020, thanks to increased fuel efficiency and an optional increased maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 280-tonne.

Source: Rami Khanna-Prade

The standard A350-900 (currently offered as a 268-tonne aircraft), will have the same MTOW as the recently launched Ultra Long Range A350-900 ULR version ordered by Singapore Airlines.

Additionally, Airbus has already developed a 278-tonne MTOW higher gross weight version for Philippine Airlines and its transpacific services.

Source: Rami Khanna-Prade

At the same time, the company will give the aircraft 2% reduction in fuel burn, with 1% coming from aerodynamic improvements, while the other 1% will come from changes within the Rolls-Royce XWB-84 engine.

Airbus says the combined MTOW increase and efficiency improvements will nudge the A350-900’s range up by an additional 500 nautical miles  (covering a distance of 8,100 nautical miles), if the aircraft is carrying 325 passengers in a 3-class configuration.

Source: Rami Khanna-Prade

“Airlines have pushed us in two directions on the A350,” Airbus EVP-strategy Kiran Rao said in London, pointing out that the A350-900 is being offered in a regional configuration with down-rated engines as well as in the ULR variant.

Rao said airlines increasingly wanted flexibility within their fleets, with the option of moving regional aircraft into long-haul operations.

By offering the higher-takeoff weight option into the standard A350-900 provides more flexibility depending on airline requirements, Airbus believes.

“We can take a regional aeroplane and turn it into ultra-long range, and vice versa,” said Rao.

“We are creating a flexible aircraft, and airlines buy into flexibility.

Source: Airbus

Rao gave few details about the aerodynamic performance improvements, but the company says they have been flown and tested.

Based on the article “Airbus To Offer 280-tonne MTOW A350-900” published in Aviation Daily