Ethiopian Among Top 5 Airbus A350 Operators in 2021

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopian Airlines was the fifth-largest operator of the Airbus A350 during 2021, a report reveals.

While some decided to pull the plug on wide-body, others have been making good use of Airbus’ newest clean-sheet design, despite the ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic which has particularly hit long-haul carriers.

Around 30 airlines have flown the Airbus A350 during 2021, reported Simply Flying, aviation news media, after investigating schedule data from airlines in the global.

The Ethiopian flag carrier had 6,437 flights scheduled with its Airbus A350’s for the year 2021, it said.

Ethiopian Airlines became the first African carrier to operate the A350 when it took delivery of the first of 12 aircraft in order in 2017.  Today, the carrier operates 16 fleet of A350s across its network.

It is also the first global airline that converted A350 passenger aircraft to cargo in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic to focus on transporting medical supplies – a decision applauded by the European planemaker as “creative solution” of resilience.

Other top users A350

Qatar Airways clocks in as the type’s largest user for the year according to schedule data from aviation data experts Cirium.

The Doha-based carrier eclipsed all other A350 carriers with a staggering 28,134 A350 flights scheduled during 2021, roughly 77 each day.

Singapore Airline which owns the largest fleet of Airbus A350s, has scheduled 21,163 flights with the extra-widebody jet throughout the year.

This feat has placed it as the second top user of the jet, making it one of only two carriers to plan more than 10,000 flights with the type during 2021.

Japan Airlines and Lufthansa, respectively, had 9,977 and 6,437 flights scheduled for the 12 months from January to December, making the third and fourth most users of the plane.