Qatar Airways has taken delivery of the first A350 from Airbus

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus delivered its first A350 XWB (extra wide body) to Qatar Airways on Monday. The A350 is the new long-haul aircraft and will mainly compete with Boeing's Dreamliner.

The A350 is the European answer to the American rival Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. Both long-haul aircraft promise a quarter less fuel consumption compared to older aircraft. When purchasing new aircraft, airlines pay particular attention to the consumption of kerosene because the costs for this largely determine the operational costs.

In a typical three-class configuration, the twin-engine A350 seats 369 passengers and can fly 14.800 kilometers. At the end of November, Airbus had already sold 778 aircraft to 41 customers worldwide.

Air France-KLM has also ordered 25 A350s, plus an option on a further 25 aircraft. The first aircraft should be put into service in 2018. Air France-KLM has also ordered 25 Dreamliners, with the option to purchase a further 25 of that type.

Airbus hopes that the success of the A350 will make up for the disappointing sales of the super jumbo A380, the world's largest passenger jet. This year it was not possible to find a buyer for the device.