AIRBUS IS to challenge Boeing’s haulage hegemony by offering a cargo variant of its A350 widebody airliner. The future freighter is understood to be based on the smaller -900 and have a capacity of around 109 tonnes. Following the programme’s approval by the Airbus board, the jet is likely to enter service in 2025 – three years before the introduction of tougher emissions standards that will restrict the deliveries of 767 and 777 examples.
The pan-European aerospace giant hopes to target the larger end of the freighter spectrum, which has been thrown into greater focus during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to a sharp downturn in widebody passenger airliner use on long-haul routes.