Summary

  • Eight airlines use the Airbus A350-1000 on 179 routes between July and September.
  • Qatar Airways, the launch customer and largest operator of the variant, has nine of the 10 shortest routes.
  • The sole exception is one roundtrip service by Cathay Pacific between Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City.

Despite being ordered by multiple other carriers, eight airlines currently use the Airbus A350-1000: Air Caraïbes, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Etihad Airways, French bee, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Virgin Atlantic. They have 85 aircraft and will use them on the 179 routes between July and September 2024, even if it is just once.

The world’s shortest A350-1000 routes

According to an analysis of all services using OAG data, the very large twin-aisle variant’s average July-September flight will cover 4,337 nautical miles (8,032 km). That is more than two-thirds longer (67%) than a typical widebody aircraft anywhere globally. After all, many of them (especially the 787, 767, and 777) are used on short-haul domestic and regional flights, especially in Asia.

Cathay Pacific A350-1000 landing1 shutterstock_1281227488

Photo: Phuong D. Nguyen | Shutterstock

As shown below, Qatar Airways operates nine of the A350-1000’s 10 shortest routes. That is more a function of its Doha hub and how, on many airport pairs, it deploys multiple aircraft types, including widebodies. Notice how many routes have very few flights on the large twin-aisle.

As of July 10, the details for July-September are correct but certainly may change.

Nautical miles (km)

Minimum block time

Airport pair

Airline

A350-1000 use: July-September only

121 (225)

1h

Doha-Dammam

Qatar Airways

22 one-way flights; generally weekly to four weekly

174 (321)

1h 5m

Doha-Abu Dhabi

Qatar Airways

July 6 and 7 only (left at 19:10 and returned at 22:50)

204 (378)

1h 15m

Doha-Dubai

Qatar Airways

59 one-way flights; generally twice-weekly to daily

267 (495)

1h 30m

Doha-Riyadh

Qatar Airways

43 one-way flights; generally weekly to daily

306 (567)

1h 30m

Doha-Kuwait

Qatar Airways

July 2, 14, 22, August 1, 5, 13, 19, September 26

379 (702)

1h 30m

Doha-Muscat

Qatar Airways

July 25 and 28, August 3, 10, 22, 29, September 14

608 (1,125)

2h 5m

Doha-Tehran Imam Khomeini

Qatar Airways

July 11, August 2, 9, 18, 23

650 (1,205)

2h 20m

Doha-Medina

Qatar Airways

July 1 only

719 (1,332)

2h 30m

Doha-Jeddah

Qatar Airways

43 one-way flights; generally twice-weekly to eight-weekly

804 (1,488)

2h 45m

Hong Kong-Ho Chi Minh City

Cathay Pacific

August 2 only

* Either direction, even if just once

A look at Doha-Dammam

This Saudi Arabian route covers less distance in the examined three months than any other A350-1000 airport pair globally. With a minimum block time of 1h (to Dammam), it is also first in this sense, too.

Qatar Airways Airbus A350-1000

Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock

Block time reflects taxi time at both airports, flight time (including winds), a period for short delays, and, if relevant, slot possession. It also partly reflects the degree of ‘padding’ to help with punctuality, especially at busy airports, counterbalanced by the need for competitive elapsed time and aircraft productivity.

Hence, while Doha-Dammam has a block time of as little as 1h, Flightradar24 shows that the flight (regardless of equipment) usually takes under 40 minutes. Without the longer block time, it’d always be late.

Qatar Airways DMM-DOH

This article was researched and written on July 10. The A350-1000 will next be flown from Doha to Dammam on July 11, when it will depart from Qatar at 08:25, as shown below. The airline’s largest number of inbound flights from Asia-Pacific will feed it.

  • Departure from Doha at 02:30: 777-200LR
  • 08:25: A350-1000
  • 14:20: 737 MAX 8
  • 20:00: 787-8

Booking data for April 2024 shows that more than 30,000 people flew from Dammam to Doha and then somewhere else. Beijing was the most popular origin-destination, followed by Jakarta, London Heathrow, Bangkok, Dhaka, Islamabad, Beirut, Colombo, Seoul, and Tunis. Surprisingly, no Indian market made the top 10.

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