Airbus Has 107 A350F Orders & The 1st Delivery Is Already Under Pressure

Published Sep 12, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT Louis is a military historian and the staff writer for History of War magazine, a leading military history monthly. He also has an interest in private and commercial aviation. Airbus' media team told Simple Flying in a statement that the A350F's "first flight will be later in 2026 and the first delivery will be in H2 2027." However, Reuters reported that industry sources said flight trials typically take 12 to 15 months. As a result, there appears to be a discrepancy. The flight trials will have to be rapid, with little going wrong, to have the aircraft ready for commercial service during the second half of 2027. Airbus currently has 107 orders for its Airbus A350Fs. If the flight trials can't happen quickly and on schedule, the first delivery could be delayed. An aircraft already delayed from its planned 2025 entry into service could be delayed even further. Leeham News has reported that 2028 may be a more accurate date for the first delivery. Why The A350F Has Quickly Gained Orders Credit: Airbus There was always going to be pressure on Airbus' construction of the A350F aircraft because the manufacturer achieved such an impressive number of orders. Of the 107 orders placed, Atlas Air has by far the largest at 20 jets. It is followed by cargo carriers like Air China Cargo and Starlux Airlines with half as many. If the A350F can enter service smoothly, it is expected to continue to attract a large market share. That's because it brings the bonuses of the A350, a carbon-fiber composite airframe and Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, to the cargo market. Airbus says the jet will deliver a 20% improvement in fuel efficiency over comparable widebodies, or 40% compared with Boeing 747 freighters. These benefits will arrive before the Boeing 777X freighter, with cutting-edge widebody airframes and supremely powerful, efficient engines. The table below breaks down the size of the order made by each carrier according to ch-aviation data, as reported by Simple Flying's Aaron Bailey: Customer Number Ordered Atlas Air 20 Air China Cargo 10 AviLease 10 Etihad Airways 10 Starlux Airlines 10 Cathay Pacific 8 CMA CGM Air Cargo 8 Korean Air 7 Singapore Airlines 7 Turkish Airlines 5 Silk Way West Airlines 4 Air France 3 Martinair 3 MNG Airlines 2 Once both the A350 and 777X freighters are in service, carriers will face increasing pressure to decide between the two. The Azerbaijani cargo airline Silk Way West has shown a novel way to address the dilemma. It has placed orders for both A350F and Boeing 777-8F planes. How Has The A350F Already Been Delayed? Credit: Airbus Airbus initially planned to begin first deliveries of its A350F jet in 2025. Yet, as reported by Air Cargo Week, Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus, said: "On the A350, we continue to target rate 12 in 2028, and we are adjusting the entry into service of the A350 freighter variant, which is now expected in the second half of 2027, so that’s a delayed entry into service.” Faury had previously indicated that a delay could happen due to supply chain challenges and geopolitical challenges. The delays and ongoing difficulties stem from the Airbus Aerosystems Kinston plant, formerly owned by Spirit AeroSystems and acquired by Airbus in December 2025. This plant has a huge floor space of 500,000 square feet (46,450 square meters) and employs around 1,000 people. For Airbus, it serves as a center of excellence focused on advanced composite manufacturing. It builds fuselage panels and wing spar structures, which are then sent to France for aircraft assembly. As a result, any delays at the Kinston plant will have a substantial impact on aircraft assembly in France. Airbus has warned that the overall A350 program could face further delays, as reported by Aerospace Global News. This is because of delays in sourcing fuselage components and a large number of former Spirit employees at Kinston seeking roles associated with Boeing. Spirit's commercial aviation business has been split between the two manufacturers. Why The Current Schedule Indicates Further Delays Are Possible Credit: Airbus Airbus is confident it will meet its schedule for a first flight later this year and first delivery in the second half of 2027. "This has been the timeline for a while now," it told Simple Flying. Both the media and the industry are skeptical. Even if Airbus can complete its first test flight this month, it will have just 15 months to go from first flight to first delivery before the end of 2027. Industry voices have suggested that 15 months is the longest possible, but any slight delays or issues will lead to further embarrassing delays. As reported by Air Cargo News, Airbus' customers are less sure. Cathay Pacific's chief operations and service delivery officer, Alex McGowan, said the airline's expected delivery will be delayed by six months, although he expects deliveries to "catch up as the order book progresses." McGowan did not give a specific date that the airline was expecting delivery. It will still land within the 2027 to 2029 delivery window Cathay Pacific gave when it first placed the order. The airline's freight division first ordered six jets in December 2023 and added two more earlier this year. The table below shows Cathay Pacific's current freight fleet according to the World Airline Guide 2025, demonstrating how the carrier is hinging its cutting-edge cargo aircraft capabilities on the A350F: Aircraft In service On order Airbus A350F 8 Boeing 747-400ERF 6 Boeing 747-8F 14 Total 20 8 Cargolux is another airline that has prepared for uncertainty in A350F deliveries. Cargoluxchief executive, Richard Forson told Air Cargo News that it had bought the aircraft due to 777-8F delays, but wouldn't expect to receive it until 2029. “It might be an overplay, but at least we will be in a position that if it becomes an extended delay, we are properly covered,” he said. The A350F Isn't The Only Delayed Freighter Much of the A350F's success will depend on how it performs against Boeing's upcoming 777-8F, starting with the efficiency and timeliness of deliveries. The saving grace for the A350F amid the uncertainty will be that it is unlikely to be delayed more than its rival. The 777-8F backlog crossed 80 jets this August with new orders from MSC Air Cargo for five of the planes at the Farnborough International Air Show. This order first appeared in Boeing's backlog data as an unidentified customer in December 2025. Like the A350F, the 777-8F is yet to complete its first flight. The progression of the 777-8F entirely depends on the overall success of the 777X project. Projections now put the Boeing 777-9 entering service in early 2027. The 777-8F will then follow two years behind, ahead of the Boeing 777-8, the smaller passenger variant. If the 2029 entry into service is achieved, it will be two years delayed from the originally planned 2027 date. Boeing also faces a 2028 legislative deadline to replace the 777F with the 777-8F, because no more examples of the latter can be certified from that date due to new ICAO emissions rules. Boeing currently supplies over 90% of the world's dedicated freighter fleet. That number will drop every day the A350F is in service and the 777-8F is not. The 777X also faces unexpected competition from Boeing 777-300ER aircraft that have been converted into freighters. With a longer fuselage, this jet can carry more cargo by volume, although not by weight, than the 777-8F. Although the 777-8F will offer far better fuel efficiency, and therefore operational profitability, the purchasing cost is far higher than a 777-300ER. The A350F's Features Make It Worth Waiting For Credit: Airbus Airbus is unlikely to lose in the battle of delays against Boeing, given the shambolic nature of the 777X program. However, even if it does, it may offer customers strong enough features to still succeed. An example is its main deck cargo door. With 14 feet, 1 inch (4.3 meters) in width and 10 feet, 4 inches (3.15 meters) in height, it is the largest in the industry. This will allow the aircraft's operators to easily load awkwardly shaped cargo. The door is located at the rear of the fuselage to maintain an optimal center of gravity. The first of these doors arrived at the facility in Illescas, Spain, this April. "Delivering the first main deck cargo door is the result of years of preparation and extensive teamwork, showcases the deep expertise and technical maturity that Illescas plant has refined over decades in composite materials," said Ricardo Rojas, President of Airbus’ Commercial Aircraft business in Spain. Airbus plans to move the door again to Hamburg. There, it would be integrated into the jet's aft fuselage. That section of the fuselage would then be transported to Toulouse for Airbus production.