Airbus Adds Eight A350F Orders as the Freighter Approaches Its First Flight

Airbus disclosed a firm order for eight more A350F freighters on August 31, 2026, lifting the cargo jet’s backlog to 115 aircraft. The order, from a customer Airbus has not named, lands as the first A350F is being prepared for a maiden flight from Toulouse that the company is targeting for late September.

The Order and the Backlog

Airbus revealed the deal in its monthly orders and deliveries update, and it was first reported by FlightGlobal. Airbus did not identify the buyer, a common arrangement for freighter deals, where lessors and cargo carriers often ask to stay anonymous until closer to delivery.

The A350F backlog now stands at 115 firm orders. Named customers over the program’s life have included Atlas Air, the largest with about 20 aircraft, along with Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Silk Way West and the freight arms of CMA CGM and Air France-KLM. Some early commitments have since been trimmed or restructured as the schedule slipped.

A new order for an untested aircraft carries some signal of confidence, though an undisclosed buyer limits how much can be read into it. Airbus has repeatedly said freighter demand remains firm despite the delays.

A Late First Flight

Airbus launched the A350F in 2021 and once aimed to fly it in 2025. Supply chain problems, most visibly at the Spirit AeroSystems plant that builds the A350’s center fuselage, pushed the schedule back by roughly two years.

The first of two flight-test aircraft rolled out of the Toulouse final assembly line in August in a special parcel-carton livery. Airbus is aiming for a first flight around September 24, though it has said the date could slip into October. Certification and the first delivery are planned for the second half of 2027.

Why Airlines Are Waiting for It

The A350F is a twin-engine freighter derived from the A350 widebody. Airbus lists a payload of up to about 111 tonnes (245,000 lb) and a range near 4,700 nautical miles, and says it burns around 20 percent less fuel per trip than the Boeing 777F it is meant to replace.

Timing matters as much as fuel burn. A tighter ICAO carbon dioxide standard takes effect for newly built aircraft in 2028, and the current 777F does not meet it, so Boeing plans to end its production. Boeing’s replacement, the larger 777-8F, is not expected to enter service until later in the decade.

That gap is the core of the A350F’s sales case. Air cargo demand has held up, much of the world freighter fleet is built on aging 747s, 767s and MD-11s, and for a stretch of years the A350F may be the only new aircraft in its size class that an airline can order without an emissions problem waiting on delivery.

Airbus is separately running behind on its 2026 delivery target, a reminder that firm orders and a full backlog do not by themselves keep a program on schedule.