It would remove only little of the weight, but reducing drag and therefor fuel burn could be a consideration. The MLG of the -900 is maxed out at 280 t.Ī shrink should be easy, using the MLG, wings, engines and, if it is different, the wing box of the -1000, with the fuselage panels of the -900. To go to a MTOW of 316 t you need the MLG of the -1000. One would rather look at a shrink of the A350-1000.
Sure it would have a much higher pavement loading but its not like its going places other than big airports. If the A351 wing is similar enough to the A359 one (as in the trailing edge extension does not affect the external geometry of the structural part) could there be an opportunity to have a 316t MTOW wingbox put on to the A359 to give much higher takeoff weights.
