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News / These 8 airlines will fly the Airbus A350-1000 to the US this summer
Northern carriers will transition to summer schedules
On March 30, northern carriers will switch to summer schedules based on IATA slot seasons. They will maintain these schedules until October 25. During this period, eight carriers will fly the Airbus A350-1000, the type's largest variant, to the US: British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Ethiopian Airlines, Etihad Airways, French bee, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Virgin Atlantic. Delta Air Lines' examples are coming.
The eight airlines
The following table summarizes them by activity. Cirium Diio data shows that US A350-1000 services have risen by a fifth compared to last summer. This means that this variant accounts for 27% of all A350-operated US flights, up from a quarter year-on-year.
Ethiopian Airlines' entry into Washington Dulles has helped. The Star Alliance member now has three A350-1000s, the first delivered in November 2024. With 395 seats, it is Ethiopian's second-largest capacity equipment after the Boeing 777-300ER (399 seats). About 12% of the A350's seats are in business, a higher proportion than all other widebodies in its fleet.
Yet, the growth is primarily due to greater use by the leading operator, Virgin Atlantic (flights +24%), along with Cathay Pacific (+42%), Etihad (+90%), and Japan Airlines (+51%). The latter received its first example in December 2023 and now has nine.
In contrast, British Airways' A350-1000 services have fallen by a fifth year-on-year. The variant is now only used on four US routes, down from five last summer. It will cease Airbus flights to Austin on March 29, the last day of the northern aviation winter, with the 777-200ER and 787-8 primarily used thereafter. The A350 is due to return on October 26.
| One-way US A350-1000 flights; March 30-October 25 | Airline | US routes on the A350-1000 (fully or partly); March 30-October 25 | % of US flights on the A350-1000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,171 (eight to 11 daily); flights +24% year-on-year | Virgin Atlantic | Edinburgh to Orlando; London Heathrow to Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York JFK, and Orlando; Manchester to Atlanta, Las Vegas, New York JFK, and Orlando | 40% |
| 1,613 (seven to nine daily); +1% year-on-year | Qatar Airways | Doha to Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston Intercontinental, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK, San Francisco, and Washington Dulles (until March 30 only) | 52% |
| 840 (four daily); -20% year-on-year | British Airways | London Heathrow to Denver, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and Phoenix | 8% |
| 792 (six to 13 daily); +42% year-on-year | Cathay Pacific | Hong Kong to Boston, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, and New York JFK | 36% |
| 630 (three daily); +51% year-on-year | Japan Airlines | Tokyo Haneda to Dallas/Fort Worth to New York JFK | 16% |
| 398 (daily until June 23; two to three daily from June 24); +90% year-on-year | Etihad | Abu Dhabi to Atlanta (a brand-new route for the airline, starting July 2), Chicago O'Hare, and New York JFK (A350-1000 replaces the A380 on June 24) | 36% |
| 210 (daily); new variant for the carrier | Ethiopian | Addis Ababa to Washington Dulles (via Rome outbound, nonstop back) | 17% |
| 70 departures (up to four weekly; variant used April 10-September 14 only) | French bee | Paris Orly to Newark (its A350-1000s have 480 seats!) | 10% |
These airports will see the A350-1000
They are shown below. As stated above, Austin will not have flights on the variant during the summer, but Newark will.
Needless to say, New York JFK has the most A350-1000 flights. It has nearly three in 10 of the country's total, with Cathay Pacific, Etihad, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Virgin all flying there.
The Big Apple airport has over two and a half times the second-placed Dallas/Fort Worth flights. The Texas airport's A350-1000 services have risen by 40% compared to last summer due to welcoming Cathay Pacific on April 24, 2025, joining Japan Airlines and Qatar Airways, a true oneworld operation. This has pushed it up two places, overtaking Orlando and Las Vegas.
New York JFK will have as many as 12 daily A350-1000 takeoffs during the summer, occurring on Thursdays between July 3 and September 11. Then, its operation will be as follows:
- London Heathrow: five departures (Virgin)
- Hong Kong: two (Cathay)
- Tokyo Haneda: two (Japan Airlines)
- Abu Dhabi: one (Etihad)
- Doha: one (Qatar Airways)
- Manchester: one (Virgin)
