ATW Daily News
Airbus considering further revisions, delays to A350
Wednesday October 25, 2006
Airbus is moving toward another radical rethink of its A350 XWB that may include a composite fuselage that will combat the 787 and leapfrog the 777-200ER.
According to Airbus insiders, the latest revision will push the A350's entry into service to at least 2014.
The manufacturer unveiled a radical upgrade of its A350 offering at the Farnborough Airshow (ATWOnline, July 18) with a cabin 12 in. wider than the A330 cabin cross-section and an all-new carbon fiber wing capable of Mach 0.85 cruise. However, key customer ILFC flagged caution. Chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy told ATWOnline that Airbus has "pretty much done what we had asked but we haven't seen guarantees or pricing."
At the time, Udvar-Hazy also questioned whether the plane-builder would be able to take on both the 787 and 777 with a single platform. And he warned that "there are challenges for [just] one engine and one wing and there are still [engine] issues for the A350-1000 as airlines want two engine choices."
Early this month, then-CEO Christian Streiff admitted that Airbus was a decade behind Boeing (ATWOnline, Oct. 6), while parent EADS co-CEO Tom Enders conceded that the feasibility of the A350 XWB program was in doubt. EADS co-Chairman Louis Gallois backed the program on Oct. 11, a day after he replaced Streiff, saying on Europe 1 radio, "I believe that Airbus has to be present across the whole market, and the A350 is the middle of the market." He added that the midsize category accounts for "40% of the market" by value.
Insiders say the company will use the upheaval surrounding its massive Power8 restructuring plans--aimed at rectifying design and production inefficiences that have bedeviled the A380--to relaunch the A350 XWB with a composite fuselage after key customers told the manufacturer it "still [has] not done enough" to combat the 787. It had been looking at a larger XWB to better match the 777-300ER but that initiative, as alluded to by Udvar-Hazy, was taking the weight of the aircraft too far away from the 787-8.
by Geoffrey Thomas
Airbus considering further revisions, delays to A350
Wednesday October 25, 2006
Airbus is moving toward another radical rethink of its A350 XWB that may include a composite fuselage that will combat the 787 and leapfrog the 777-200ER.
According to Airbus insiders, the latest revision will push the A350's entry into service to at least 2014.
The manufacturer unveiled a radical upgrade of its A350 offering at the Farnborough Airshow (ATWOnline, July 18) with a cabin 12 in. wider than the A330 cabin cross-section and an all-new carbon fiber wing capable of Mach 0.85 cruise. However, key customer ILFC flagged caution. Chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy told ATWOnline that Airbus has "pretty much done what we had asked but we haven't seen guarantees or pricing."
At the time, Udvar-Hazy also questioned whether the plane-builder would be able to take on both the 787 and 777 with a single platform. And he warned that "there are challenges for [just] one engine and one wing and there are still [engine] issues for the A350-1000 as airlines want two engine choices."
Early this month, then-CEO Christian Streiff admitted that Airbus was a decade behind Boeing (ATWOnline, Oct. 6), while parent EADS co-CEO Tom Enders conceded that the feasibility of the A350 XWB program was in doubt. EADS co-Chairman Louis Gallois backed the program on Oct. 11, a day after he replaced Streiff, saying on Europe 1 radio, "I believe that Airbus has to be present across the whole market, and the A350 is the middle of the market." He added that the midsize category accounts for "40% of the market" by value.
Insiders say the company will use the upheaval surrounding its massive Power8 restructuring plans--aimed at rectifying design and production inefficiences that have bedeviled the A380--to relaunch the A350 XWB with a composite fuselage after key customers told the manufacturer it "still [has] not done enough" to combat the 787. It had been looking at a larger XWB to better match the 777-300ER but that initiative, as alluded to by Udvar-Hazy, was taking the weight of the aircraft too far away from the 787-8.
by Geoffrey Thomas
