Airbus promotes its A350 as the "ultimate passenger experience," promising airline operators increased efficiency through advanced materials and advanced engines. But while the European planemaker's largest in-production widebody appears to be a widely-accepted success, some airlines have shed a few A350 airframes from their fleets. Today, we examine which airlines have done so and the reasons behind their actions.
Six airlines, six corners of the world
With over 40 different entities operating the Airbus A350, the number of operators that have removed A350 aircraft from their respective fleets is relatively small - six by our count. Those six are Hong Kong Airlines, LATAM, Philippine Airlines, Qatar Airways, SAS, and South African Airways. Let's examine each carrier and the number of aircraft removed.
Hong Kong Airlines: Data indicates that the airline once had a total of six A350-900s. However, four were removed from service between August 2019 and February 2020. The two remaining A350s are technically still part of the airline's fleet but, according to Planespotters.net, are marked as 'parked.'
LATAM (Brasil): Once operating 13 A350-900s, LATAM Brasil has completely removed the type from service. This move took place between March 2020 and August 2021.
Philippine Airlines: This airline once had a fleet of six A350-900s. Having removed four examples from service between late 2020 and early 2022, Philippine Airlines now operates just two.
Qatar Airways: One of the world's largest operators of the A350, this airline's story with the type is much, much more complicated than other carriers. In terms of numbers, however, the airline has fully said 'goodbye' to seven A350-900s: Two of these went (back) to LATAM in 2017, with the other five also intended to go to LATAM from 2020.
SAS: Originally operating six A350-900s, the Scandinavian carrier very recently removed one A350-900 from service, with another anticipated to follow in the near future (although it is already parked and no longer operating commercial service). Thus, once the 2nd jet is returned to its lessor, SAS will have four active A350s remaining.
South African Airways: The airline previously had four Airbus A350-900s but completely removed this type from its fleet. This took place between late March and early April 2020.
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Why were these aircraft removed from service?
Despite having a relatively good reputation with most airlines and customers, why have airlines given up their A350s? Well, in case you haven't guessed it already, the primary reason most of these airlines have removed the type from their fleets has to do with fleet restructuring prompted by financial difficulties. In most cases, these financial issues were sparked by COVID-19 and the travel restrictions that came with it.
Indeed, the restructurings for most airlines have been due to filings/declarations of bankruptcy, as airlines seek protection from creditors. It's worth noting that even though Hong Kong Airlines' own reasons for removing A350s came from financial challenges, its troubles emerged prior to the pandemic.
The odd airline out is Qatar Airways, which had originally sub-leased a number of its A350s from LATAM. Thus, the reason seven A350s left the Middle East airline is simply that the leased aircraft were being returned. Of course, this is separate from the now-29 A350s (a mix of -900 and -1000) which have been grounded by Qatar's civil aviation regulator due to surface degradation issues.
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New homes for phased-out A350s
It would appear that many of the A350s we've mentioned have since found new homes and new airlines to operate them. The aircraft that Hong Kong Airlines gave up have since gone to (or will go to) Brazilian airline Azul. Meanwhile, Lufthansa has taken up all four of Philippine Airlines' phased-out jets. As for LATAM's former A350s, nine of 13 were picked up by Delta Air Lines, while there have yet to be takers for the other four.
Have you flown on an Airbus A350 operated by any of the airlines mentioned? Let us know by leaving a comment.