Julian Moxon/PARIS
Major differences of opinion are emerging between French manufacturer Aerospatiale and its principal partner in the Airbus Industrie consortium, Daimler Benz Aerospace (DASA), over future aircraft development strategy.
Aerospatiale is seeking German support for investment in a supersonic transport, for which it believes there will be enough demand in the next century to justify the unit cost of "between $300 and $350 million". Germany remains cool on the idea, instead strongly supporting the development of a new 600-seat aircraft for which Aerospatiale's president, Louis Gallois, said recently there was "not enough demand".
Talks between the four Airbus Industrie partners and Boeing on developing a Very Large Commercial Transport (VLTC) have come to nothing - leaving the consortium with the choice of going it alone, or allowing Boeing to continue its market monopoly with a stretched version of the 747 (Flight International 24-30 May).
Claude Terrazoni, general manager of Aerospatiale's Aviation division, doubts that there is a market for a new ultra-large aircraft, which he says will cost "at least" $20 billion to develop. "There are many questions about this market. Financing will be extremely difficult, even with the foreseen growth in traffic. Even if we win 25% of the market, it is risky. Where is the money coming from?" he asks.
On the supersonic transport, however, Terrazoni believes that there is likely to be a major demand for an aircraft to cut the 14h flight times now becoming reality with the latest long-range subsonic aircraft.
"We must prepare for that," he says. Studies so far indicate that the aircraft should seat around 350 passengers, and fly at Mach 2. "The problem is that we are thinking supersonic, and our European partners are not," says Terrazoni.
The two also differ on regional-aircraft policy, and have to agree a formula for a European alliance to compete with Boeing on a joint 100-seat aircraft programme with China and South Korea. DASA remains committed to its regional-jet subsidiary Fokker, twhich wants to launch an all-new 100- to 120-seat twin-engined FAX.
Aerospatiale, its existing ATR regional turboprop partner Alenia, and British Aerospace, are close to finalising the "NewCo" regional-jet consortium, and say that they are open to German involvement once it is established. Gallois is adamant that Europe must present a unified front. "The market does not justify two assembly lines," he says.
Source: Flight International
