Emirates Airline was understood last month to be close to choosing between the Airbus A350-900/-1000 and the Boeing 787-9/-10 after two years’ evaluation. The airline dropped an order for 70 A350s on June 1, 2014. Virgin Atlantic is another carrier thought to be negotiating business that could be announced here at the show. A month ago, Virgin was reportedly close to finalizing a contract covering eight A350-1000s.

The Emirates cancellation followed Airbus’s reengining of the stretched A350-1000 with more powerful Rolls-Royce Trent XWBs that made the aircraft different from that initially contracted with the Gulf operator; meanwhile, the shorter-range 787-10 has entered the fray. Airline president Tim Clark is reported to be looking more closely at the 325-passenger A350-900 than at the -1000 and to have described a not-yet completely defined further stretch as “-1000-ish” rather than a distinctly different variant.

One carrier definitely interested in a future longer “-2000” model is Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways, which in June became the sixth A350-900 operator, introducing its first example of the aircraft–the 24th example so far delivered. The Asian carrier is already a customer for the 366-seat Series 1000 initial stretched model, and has 48 A350s on order altogether, along with more than 20 Boeing 777-9s; Cathay also flies more than 50 777-300ERs.

Cathay Pacific will be able to fly the -1000 to U.S. East Coast destinations, but the aircraft cannot reach southeastern points or potential Latin American destinations. Accordingly, it is talking with Airbus about a new, larger variant that would permit non-stop service to locations such as Miami.

“The beauty of the A350 is its ability to grow,” said Airbus strategy and marketing executive v-p Kiran Rao, who confirmed that the company is talking to airlines about development requirements, although he said “not all” operators need a bigger aircraft. Nevertheless, he claimed that a further stretch to, say, 400 seats “would not need the work Boeing had to do to go from the 777-300 to the planned 777X.”

Apart from A350-2000, other epithets used for potential longer variants of this latest Airbus twin-aisle twinjet include A350-1100 and even -8000. Chief operating officer (customers) John Leahy would like to see an early development decision, perhaps before next year, believing this is vital in a market that might prove to be relatively small.

Leahy, who calls the hypothetical model “the -2000” sees the upcoming Series 1000 as occupying “the sweet spot in the market” that will account for “the majority of sales.” Nevertheless, he acknowledges that Airbus is showing potential customers “a very good [-2000] product on paper.”

Airbus chief executive Fabrice Bregier has said that any A350-2000 decision is unlikely to come as early as this week here at Farnborough. Rather he is waiting for the industry to request the upgrade: “We are ready to develop [it] as soon as we see [a] market [and] with relatively small effort. Should airlines approach us with clear demand, we can get it to market relatively quickly.”

A longer A350—to compete against the planned 777-9—is understood to have been defined, using the existing wing and engines with minor modifications. But a go-ahead also assumes that current aircraft do not fill the bill. Both Bregier and Leahy question Boeing’s decision to launch the 777X in late 2013 with orders and various “commitments” for 259 (an odd number until one reflects that that was exactly the size of the then-total order book for the A380).

“I don’t believe the market changed dramatically two years ago when Boeing added 50 seats [over the capacity of the 777-300ER],” said Leahy. He questioned whether the market could accommodate a third 400-seat design alongside the 777-9 and 747-8.

Indeed, “nose-to-nose” against the 777-9, Leahy sees the A350-1000—which is expected to enter service in December 2017 (at least two years ahead of the 777-9)—as “a pretty good alternative. They have 30-40 more seats, but we have a lower cost per seat.”

Bregier characterized the increased passenger volume in the 777-X as a tacit admission by his U.S. competitor that the 777-300ER is no longer right-sized for the market—Boeing believing that demand had suddenly shifted upwards by about 10 percent.

However, asked about talk of a further stretch damaging sales of the A350-1000, Bregier said: “It is not cannibalization if there is no business case.” He cited Singapore Airlines’ selection of the long-range A350-900ULR (to replace the A340-500) rather than the 777-9: “So the market is very healthy.”

Development of the -900ULR appears to endorse Rao’s view about the basic A350’s adaptability by providing an aircraft to fly 19-hr sectors between Singapore and New York.

Production of the first A350-1000s is said to be on schedule, with the first aircraft, manufacturer serial number (MSN) 59, at Station 18 for fuel-system and radio tests by late May. By that time, the second and third examples (MSN 65 and 71) were in the final-assembly area at Station 30. The first customer aircraft, and 20th A350 for Qatar Airways, is MSN 88.

With the first flight expected in September, the new variant has entered customization. This phase is acknowledged by chief operating officer Tom Williams as offering a challenge and has been causing Airbus headaches because of late delivery of cabin equipment from suppliers: “Customization was the real cause of the ‘meltdown’ on A380,” he said.

Williams also cited planned delivery of 50-plus A350s in 2016 as “a big challenge, a huge step up [representing] dramatic change”— which has already seen “some hiccups.” Nevertheless, he has been encouraged by the “very good” condition of major sub-assembly sections delivered to Toulouse, where there were more than 40 A350s in final assembly before June.

By early June, nine A350s had been delivered this year, including two on the same day. MSN 37, the fourth Singapore Airlines machine, had flown and engine running was under way with Cathay’s second example (MSN 34) and the initial Ethiopian Airways aircraft (MSN 40).

Engines had been installed on MSN 36, one of a number running behind schedule for Qatar Airways (although delivery of another—MSN 21—was described by airline chief executive Akbar al Baker as being “imminent.”)

Aircraft undergoing cabin or engine fitting were said to include MSN 41, 44, 45, and 48, while MSN 50 (the second for Thai Internal) had emerged from the paint shop, according to local sources. Meanwhile supplier Premium Aerotec had begun pre-assembly of the 100th A350 fuselage section.