Following fresh discussion about stretched twinjets between 
Emirates and Airbus in the opening hours of the 
Dubai Airshow 2025, it was once again hinted that a new A350 variant may be in the works. The extra-long A350-2000 would be the largest aircraft in Airbus’ lineup should it go into production.
The CEO of the European aerospace titan, Christian Scherer, remarked that the company is studying the potential for a larger variant, according to Reuters. The comments came shortly after Emirates made a similar statement regarding a possible stretch model of the 
Boeing 777X, as it is pushing the US planemaker for a feasibility study into a potential 777-10 model.
Airbus At The 2025 Dubai Airshow
Boeing sealed a deal for 65 of its upcoming 777X widebody twinjet with Emirates on day one of the Dubai Airshow. Emirates’ strong interest in jumbo jets has not succeeded in persuading Airbus to restart production of the Airbus A380, of which the airline owns over 100, forcing the carrier to seek alternatives. A potential 777-10 would still not match the capacity of the A380, but would at least be closer.
Emirates owns roughly half of the A380s ever made, with a fleet of 116 according to Planespotters.net. The airline also flies 139 Boeing 777s and just started taking deliveries of new A350-900s, with a total of 13 on the roster right now. Emirates has the largest fleet of widebody jets in the world, and its current backlog for the 777X is 270 deep, but it has not ordered any of Airbus’ A350-1000 so far. Reuters recounted that, on day one of the airshow, Scherer was asked if the A350-2000 was currently in development, to which he replied:
“Yes. (…) A number of our customers are telling us (…) please look at stretching it because it could be a formidable solution for us as we grow, and that is what we are looking at.”
A New Heavyweight Airbus
The demise of four-engine jets in the modern era of commercial aviation has left a handful of customers in a difficult position, especially Emirates. As the economics of flying were already making it difficult to justify quadjets before the COVID-19 travel lockdown, the effects of the air travel bans sealed their fate. The A380 production line was shuttered in 2021, and the Boeing 747 followed shortly after in 2023.
That didn’t leave any options for carriers to achieve the extremely high seat capacity that the jumbo and super jumbo allowed them to have on every departure. Currently, the largest aircraft in the Airbus production lineup is the A350-1000. Compared to the two-class configuration of the A380, which seats 615, the highest capacity of the -1000 is 480.
In a typical three-class configuration, the total capacity drops to 410 passengers in the -1000. The 777-9 can slightly surpass the -1000 with a maximum seating capacity of around 426 in a two-class configuration. However, the future Boeing jet has the advantage of fleet commonality, since Emirates has a huge number of legacy 777 airliners.
Extra Stretched, Extra Widebody
The absence of an equivalent platform to the 777X is where the A350-2000 comes in. Boeing’s upcoming widebody will be the largest twinjet ever made, and will also have folding wingtips and a host of other innovative technologies. The technology and performance of the Airbus A350 family are also exceptional, with it proving itself well in the field for years now, as the 777X languishes and certification is several years behind schedule. Ultimately, the key is capacity.
While many airlines are not concerned with maximizing capacity on every single sortie, for some, it is a critical capability. Flying to and from some of the busiest airports in the world means high slot restrictions for takeoff and departure, which means that it’s extremely important to have as many flyers on board every time a plane departs. Also, when you fly long-haul like Gulf carriers such as Emirates, you actually achieve the best operating cost per seat on larger jets.
Airbus still has some time to get a potential A350-2000 out to production, as the certification process should be much faster as a variant of an existing family compared to the 777X. The announcement that it is once again being looked at seriously by the company is a major development. Airbus has had an exceptionally good year in 2025, keeping up a track record of outperforming Boeing with both delivery and sales. The A320 family even passed the 737 family to claim the record for best-selling airliner ever made.
