While Airbus may be smarting about the success of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, it believes the delays to its XWB programme may have
given it a competitive advantage. Mike Martin reports.
Airbus received a major boost to its A350 XWB (Extra Wide Body) programme just ahead of Paris air show: Qatar Airways and Aer Lingus signed deals for the type, as manufacturer Airbus continues to refine designs for the aircraft towards a concept freeze at the end of 2008.
Though significantly behind the rival Boeing 787 programme – both in terms of the development timescale and orders to date – Airbus said that delays to its own programme have enabled it to come to market with a better product.
Qatar Airways signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to buy 80 A350XWB aircraft. The agreement supersedes an earlier one signed in 2005 for 60 of the original A350 aircraft with the deal made up of 20 A350-800s, 40 A350-900s and 20 of the largest in the family, the A350-1000. Deliveries will begin from 2013.
Agreement
The agreement was signed at the Elysée Palace in Paris in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, and Nicolas Sarkozy, the new president, by Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al-Baker and Airbus president and chief executive Louis Gallois.
This will make the airline the largest customer for the A350XWB to date and the first one in the Middle East region.
However, discussions are ongoing with Emirates which has a similarly large requirement for long-range twins.
Aer Lingus become the latest airline to select the type with its biggest ever commitment for long-haul aircraft, the Irish airline decided to buy six A350 XWBs along with six additional A330-300s.
The A350 XWB family of aircraft was conceived as a comprehensive medium-capacity aircraft family with an extra-wide fuselage cross section. The long range twin will be available in three basic passenger versions - all with cruise speeds of Mach 0.85.
The A350-800 can fly 270 passengers up to 8,500 nm/15,750 km in a three-class configuration. The A350-900 will have a range of 8,400 nm/15,540 km, while the A350-1000 version can fly a distance of 8,300 nm/15,400 km., with seating capacities for 314 and 350 passengers, respectively.
The operating reach of the A350-900R version will provide ultra long-range performance, and a freighter configuration designated the A350-900F will complement the passenger models.
The latest innovations in terms of advanced technologies will be incorporated in the A350XWB, including all-new, easy to maintain, and much lighter Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) paneled fuselage skins. Over 60 per cent of the airframe will be made of advanced materials.
The race for space in the new generation of long range twins – which pits the A350 XWB family of aircraft against Boeing’s 787 family – has seen more work on the Airbus aircraft’s diameter. Airbus said that at 559 centimetres, the A350 XWB’s internal diameter is well ahead of its rivals, but the work has had an interesting result from the airlines.
According to Airbus chief operating officer customers John Leahy some airlines are exploring the possibility of high-density ten-abreast seating configurations to make the most of the additional space.
category
“Some are looking at it,” he said. “We are looking at it. At nine-abreast, we will offer the widest economy class seat and the widest premium class seat. However, some airlines are looking at this and asking is we can squeeze another seat in. We are looking at it.”
He added: “There is no doubt that Boeing started this whole category of product and that we came to the party late. But if you come to the party late, you have to have a better product.”
The most recent design work on the aircraft has seen not only work on the fuselage to create a slightly wider cabin, but studies into a more conventional nose profile for the aircraft derived from the A380. Airbus is also looking at a variable camber wing to improve cruise efficiency.
One of a number of design studies, the possible reconfiguration of the nose profile would see the landing gear positioned much further forward than in previous Airbus widebodies and see it located directly under the cockpit. A result of the change was the shifting of the flightcrew rest area from below the cockpit to the ceiling area.
Meanwhile, talks continue between Airbus and General Electric aimed at getting GE to offer its GEnx engine for the A350 XWB. Rolls-Royce, with its Trent XWB is already on the programme, but no agreement has been reached yet with GE, which would offer airlines a choice of engine.
While GE is thought to have plans for an engine that would cover the two smaller A350 variants, it is believed to be reluctant to offer a powerplant for the larger A350-1000 aircraft. This is because the type would compete head-on with members of the Boeing 777 family where GE has exclusive engine supply deals.
“It has always been our intention to have more than one engine supplier,” said Didier Evrard executive vice president, A350 programme.
Evrard said that the A350XWB programme is the first to be carried out under the Airbus Power 8 restructuring exercise, put in place after the costly and embarrassing delays to the A380 programme. This will involve new ways of working and a rethink on relationships with suppliers.
“We want to involve our suppliers at a much earlier phase,” he said, adding that the key risk-sharing partners will be known by this summer.
Airbus is extending its civil aircraft market leadership in terms of the use of advanced materials in the A350 XWB programme. Some 60% of the airframe will be made with advanced materials and the aircraft will feature an all-composite wing.
“We went down this route after careful consideration,” said Gordon McConnell, A350 XWB chief engineer. “The decisions were based on 20 years of experience in putting carbon onto the primary structure.
Source: Flight Daily News
