Orders and commitments for the A350 have topped the 250 mark following last week's deal with Aer Lingus for six XWBs, but Airbus still faces the issue of renegotiating 91 orders for the old variant.
This Flight International rendition shows the A350
with the A380-derived nose shape that is under study
Meanwhile, the likelihood of a second engine manufacturer joining the programme - General Electric - looks as far away as ever.
Aer Lingus is to take three A350-800 XWBs and three -900 XWBs for delivery from 2014, as part of its decision to acquire 12 Airbus aircraft for its long-haul fleet renewal.
The deal also includes six A330-300s for delivery from 2009 and options for six more A350s for delivery during 2016-18.
As the accompanying table shows, Airbus has 161 orders and commitments for the XWB from seven customers, of which 13 are firm (from Finnair and Pegasus Aviation).
The airframer's firm backlog also includes 91 orders for the original A350 from nine customers.
John Leahy, Airbus chief operating officer customers, says that "by the end of this year, they will either have to be converted to XWB or they'll have to be cancelled".
The Rolls-Royce Trent XWB remains the only engine on offer for the A350, and Leahy rules out an early resolution to the long-running talks with GE about the development of a rival powerplant, saying that "nothing is imminent".
The airframer has discounted GE's GEnx that powers the rival Boeing 787 and the 747-8 and is seeking a new, more-powerful engine that is "a generation beyond", says Leahy. "GEnx engines don't work for us at all."
Sources say that GE has proposed a 78,000lb thrust (347kN) engine for the A350 XWB, which is only really suitable for the smallest -800 version and is marginal on the larger -900.
An 87,000lb-thrust engine that would be suitable for the -800 and -900 has been proposed, but the US engine manufacturer continues to show no interest in offering a 95,000lb-thrust class powerplant suitable for the A350-1000.
Airbus is keen to offer a second engine supplier on the A350 as "the airlines prefer to have two, so we prefer it too", says A350 programme manager Didier Evrard.
However, there is industry speculation that the airframer could have longer-term ambitions to adopt the A350's engines for the A380 to enable it to offer a choice of more powerful, new-generation engines on new versions of the ultra-large aircraft.
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Source: Flight International
