European Aircraft Industry: It's Airbus' A350 vs. Boeing's Dreamliner in the 'War of the Wide-bodies'

787 Dreamliner reeling from recent and well-publicized setbacks, the commercial airline industry is no doubt eagerly awaiting the first flight of Airbus' next new airplane, the A350 XWB.

Airbus-A350

With Boeing's

Although Airbus isn't saying when it will unveil the all-new A350 XWB (the XWB stands for "extra-wide body"), there is plenty of speculation that those attending this summer's Paris Air Show will get to see the plane in flight.

This would be big news for a number of airlines, who no doubt are wondering if they can afford to tie themselves to the Dreamliner, given that aircraft's global grounding in the wake of battery fires aboard some of the next-generation planes.

For Airbus, the A350 XWB presents a wealth of opportunity, since the plane was designed to compete directly with both the 787 Dreamliner and Boeing's 777 and 777-X. It is, as Airchive.com wrote, the "War of the Wide-bodies."

Already, reported Airchive.com, Airbus has taken 617 orders for the three different variants of the A350. By comparison, Boeing has 890 orders for the Dreamliner (not counting the 50 it has delivered already) as well as 1,500 deliveries and orders for 777s.

Airbus designed the A350 XWB to be highly fuel-efficient, thanks in large part to its use of composite materials in 53 percent of the plane. It is also using titanium and advanced aluminum alloys, Airbus said, bringing the total of the plane's airframe that is made with "advanced materials" to more than 70 percent.

Read more: It's Airbus' A350 vs. Boeing's Dreamliner in the 'War of the Wide-bodies' | Tech Culture - CNET News