Airbus found itself in unfamiliar territory last year, having to play catch-up to Boeing in aircraft technology development. But after some initial indecision on how to react to the 7E7, Airbus's response is the €4 billion ($5.3 billion) A350 programme, which was unveiled in December and "put a hole in Boeing's Christmas stocking", says Airbus chief commercial officer John Leahy.
Analysts say that if the 200- to 300-seat market is as big as the two manufacturers forecast - ie over 3,000 aircraft in the next 20 years - then there will be enough room for the two rivals to succeed side by side.
Leahy expects the A350 to get a full industrial go-ahead by mid-year: "I'd be disappointed if we haven't launched at or by the Paris air show in June with 50-60 orders," he says.
The first customer for the A350 was announced before the end of last year, with Spanish charter carrier Air Europa signing commitments for 10 aircraft. Key potential customers that both companies are fighting for are believed to include Northwest Airlines, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines. Leahy says that Airbus is talking to "most of the airlines that have commitments for the 7E7" about the A350.
Based upon the successful A330 platform, the size of the two-pronged A350 family mirrors that of its forebear. The smaller A350-800 is the same size as the 250-seat A330-200, while the larger A350-900 has an identical capacity to the 290-seat A330-300.
This pitches the new models at the higher end of the 7E7 family's size spectrum, which Airbus believes will give it a seat-kilometre cost advantage, as well as enabling the larger model to compete strongly with the 777. Until now, the shorter range of Airbus's largest twinjet has meant that the 777-200ER has generally been the competitor for the four-engined A340 in sales campaigns.
Airbus is still finalising the definition of the new aircraft, which will enter service in the first half of 2010, and expects to reach design freeze by the middle of this year. The current configuration is the third and most advanced iteration since the A330 derivative was conceived in mid-2004, with the major changes centred on a new wing constructed largely of composites, and new-generation engines derived from those being developed for the 7E7 (see diagram). The new wing, along with a major weight-saving effort, will give the A350 the equivalent of an 8t weight improvement over the A330.
Given that the aircraft is a derivative rather than an all-new design, Airbus is keen to emphasise the commonality with the existing aircraft, and the A350 will be certificated as a variant of the A330 under the existing type certificate. The weight-saving plan - partly to offset the fact that the new engines add around 2.5t to the empty weight compared with the A330 powerplants - sees an increase in the use of lightweight materials, such as composites, aluminium-lithium and titanium.
Airbus vice-president marketing Colin Stuart says that despite the heavier engines and strengthened structure to boost maximum take-off weight by 9t, "we have still achieved a slight improvement over the existing aircraft". The wing is dimensionally similar to that of the A330, but is almost entirely composite, with carbonfibre used for the front, centre and rear spars, and the upper and lower panels. The wing ribs remain metallic. The centre and outer wingboxes are fabricated from carbonfibre.
Stuart says that aerodynamic revisions to the wing will yield a 1% reduction in cruise drag. The A330's inboard slat has been replaced by a more efficient "droop nose" design borrowed from the A380, which provides "a 3% drag improvement for take-off and landing", he adds.
General Electric was first past the post to reach agreement with Airbus to power the aircraft, offering a 72,000lb-thrust (320kN) non-bleedless derivative of the 7E7's GEnx engine. A similar offering from Rolls-Royce based around the 7E7's Trent 1000 is expected to be confirmed as an alternative aboard the A350 in the coming months.
MAX KINGSLEY-JONES / LONDON
Source: Flight International
