The Delta Air Lines fleet strategy looks extremely messy at first glance. Airbus and Boeing models are both featured in the fleet, and a broad range of brand-new jets and 25-year-old workhorses. Aircraft have multiple cabin standards, and the airline operates a massive in-house maintenance division. The throughline, however, is fairly consistent. Delta Air Lines is trying to grow internationally and in a premium-heavy capacity while lowering overall unit costs and emissions, without betting the company on any single aircraft program. The airline continues to refresh its long-haul backbone with premium-heavy Airbus A350s while keeping a flexible mid-size widebody mix through the Airbus A330 family and existing Airbus A350-900s. The airline is now going to be adding the larger Airbus A350-1000 to the mix as well.
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Airbus To Begin Testing A350-1000ULR & Freighter Variants Next Year
- Guest authors
- June 24, 2025
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On June 13th, 2025, it was reported that Airbus would begin flight tests for the next two variants of its best-selling wide-body jet, the Airbus A350. The next two variants of the Airbus A350 to enter service will be the A350F and the A350-1000ULR. The former, a next-generation freighter, and the latter, developed for a very specific ultra-long-haul application. Let’s take a deeper look at these variants and exactly what the announcement of flight tests could mean for Airbus.