Qatar Airways has taken delivery of its 24th Airbus A350-1000 and 58th A350 overall on July 21st. The aircraft, which has been in storage for much of its pre-delivery time, had surface degradation issues that Airbus and Qatar Airways needed to resolve before it could be delivered.

Delivery Details and Test Flights

The A350-1000 registered A7-AOD conducted its delivery flight from Toulouse, France, to Doha’s Hamad International Airport in Qatar. The aircraft departed at 16:28 local time and arrived at its destination at 23:17 local time, according to FlightRadar24.com data. The airframe, with the manufacturer’s serial number (MSN) 444, conducted a total of nine test flights accumulating over 13 hours of time in the air before delivery.

The aircraft was seen fully assembled in June 2020, and in September of that year, it was spotted in its full livery without engines. The jet took its first test flight over the skies of Toulouse on June 9th, 2022, amid the legal battle between Qatar Airways and Airbus. The aircraft was then flown from Toulouse to Airbus storage facilities at Châteauroux-Centre “Marcel Dassault” Airport in October 2022, where it remained on the ground for several months.

In January 2023, as Airbus and Qatar Airways were nearing a resolution to their conflict, the A350 took off from CHR for its fifth test flight. Finally, in April 2023, the jet was relocated from CHR to TLS, where numerous engine runs and taxi checks were conducted during June.

The Airline’s A350 Fleet

With the addition of the 24th A350-1000, Qatar Airways now has a total of 58 Airbus A350s, making it the operator of the second-largest A350 fleet globally, with 12 A350-900s still listed as parked. Qatar Airways previously held the title for the largest A350 fleet in the world but lost it to Singapore Airlines because of its legal battle with Airbus. Singapore Airlines now has 62 A350s, with only two listed as parked by Planespotters.net.

Qatar Airways is expected to receive 18 more A350s, while Singapore Airlines has ten, including seven A350Fs, according to ch-aviation.com. Therefore, Qatar Airways is set to regain its title as the world’s largest A350 operator, as long as no additional orders are placed.

Qatar Airways has received its 24th Airbus A350-1000 after a long wait due to surface degradation issues. The airline’s A350 fleet now totals 58 aircraft, making it the second-largest A350 operator globally. With 18 more A350s on the way, Qatar Airways is set to reclaim its title as the world’s largest A350 operator.

Have you ever flown on an Airbus A350 aircraft before? If so, how was your experience?

Also, you might be interested in reading: Qatar Airways Welcomes First New Airbus A350 After Long Wait