Airbus To Offer A350-900 Regional This Year

Although Airbus has been talking with individual airlines
about what it is calling the A350-900 regional, and it says
some have firmed up commitments already, it plans to
formally offer the aircraft toward the end of this year. "[The
airlines] have kept it quiet for awhile because they want to
see how exactly we position it," Airbus Chief Operating
Officer-Customers John Leahy says. The -900 regional is
going to be structurally identical to the baseline aircraft, but
its engines will be derated to 75,000 lb. thrust, the same as
those powering the smaller -800. The regional variant will
also be limited to a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 250
tons, compared to 268 tons for the long-haul version.

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