Airbus A350 900 flying
Air Europa, the Spain-based airline, has formally announced the finalization of its Airbus A350-900 order. The carrier and Airbus previously signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for up to 40 A350-900s late last year.
On January 22, 2026, Air Europa formally confirmed its order for up to 40 A350-900 aircraft at FITUR, an international tourism fair held in Madrid, Spain, between January 21 and 25.
The airline detailed that the MoU, signed during the Dubai Airshow in November 2025, was signed in December 2025. The A350-900 will become the “cornerstone of the airline’s long-haul fleet renewal project,” representing an opportunity for its continued expansion by utilizing the widebody renowned for its next-generation technologies and passenger experience.
“The A350-900 will allow us to continue offering the best onboard service, especially on routes to Latin America, which are the most distinctive part of Air Europa’s offering.”
The passenger and cargo capacity provided by the Airbus widebody, combined with “exceptional operational performance and efficiency,” will guarantee that Air Europa will continue providing a high-quality service, the airline said.
Cirium’s Diio Mi showed that currently, Air Europa has scheduled 83 weekly flights from Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD) to destinations in Latin America, all of which will be operated with Boeing 787 aircraft, either the 787-8 or the 787-9.
The Spanish airline currently has 10 787-8 and 18 787-9 aircraft, which are, on average, 9.7 and 6 years old, respectively. Considering that all of its 787s are leased, it could be that the A350-900s will replace the 787-8s that are approaching the 12-year mark, providing a capacity boost as well as potential to grow its fleet even further.
Airbus’ latest orders and deliveries filing showed that Air Europa firmed up orders for 20 A350-900s on December 23. During the year, the European planemaker added a total of 83 orders for the A350-900.
Meanwhile, Boeing’s filings indicated that the Spanish airline does not have any unfilled orders for 787s, with 16 deliveries remaining from its own backlog, which does not include any potential deliveries from lessors’ order books.
Boeing delivered its last 787 to Air Europa, a 787-9, registered as EC-OMB, on June 25, 2025. The aircraft was stored for several years after its first flight, with the airframe having departed for the first time on August 16, 2021, per planespotters.net.
Air Europa will, undoubtedly, look to expand in the next few years. In addition to appointing a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Richard Clark, the airline has struck a deal with Turkish Airlines, which will purchase a stake in the Spanish carrier for around €300 million ($352.4 million), “the vast majority of which will be in the form of a capital increase.”
In November 2025, Turkish Airlines said that it should obtain regulatory approval for the transaction within six to 12 months.
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