A cut above
A cut above: "A cut above
The Boeing 787 has forced Airbus to reinvent its A330 as the A350 long-range twinjet family. And the manufacturer is convinced that the �4 billion it is spending will enable it to create a more than worthy rival
To the uninitiated, the A350 may seem like a knee-jerk reaction from Airbus to tackle the Boeing 787 with a warmed-over A330. The truth, however, is that the European manufacturer has been pushed by the market into spending �4 billion ($5 billion) to re-invent the current benchmark long-haul 250-seater as a demonstrably better aircraft than its predecessor in every measurement.
Not only is Airbus confident it can match Boeing's promises for the all-new 787 with a derivative aircraft, but it is also sizing the larger member of the two-model twinjet family to attack the smaller 777 model � the -200ER � by offering similar capacity and performance for a much lower cost per seat. 'We are positioning the 300-seat A350�900 to be a 777-200ER killer, because we are pushing the technology into an area our competitor did not want to go,' says A330/A340/A350 programme manager Olivier Andries.
He says Boeing is under pressure from some potential customers � notably Emirates � to make the stretched 787-9 big enough to replace the 777-200ER. So far, the US manufacturer has politely declined requests to create an in-house successor to a design that has been production for only 10 years.
When Airbus began serious studies into an A330-based counter-attack to the 787 last year, it started with a fairly simple derivative that would have retained much commonality with the A330/A340 family. � but the market told Airbus to try harder.
Speaking at the formal unveiling of the A350 last December, however, Airbus chief commercial officer John Leahy revealed that the launch conf"
The Boeing 787 has forced Airbus to reinvent its A330 as the A350 long-range twinjet family. And the manufacturer is convinced that the �4 billion it is spending will enable it to create a more than worthy rival
To the uninitiated, the A350 may seem like a knee-jerk reaction from Airbus to tackle the Boeing 787 with a warmed-over A330. The truth, however, is that the European manufacturer has been pushed by the market into spending �4 billion ($5 billion) to re-invent the current benchmark long-haul 250-seater as a demonstrably better aircraft than its predecessor in every measurement.
Not only is Airbus confident it can match Boeing's promises for the all-new 787 with a derivative aircraft, but it is also sizing the larger member of the two-model twinjet family to attack the smaller 777 model � the -200ER � by offering similar capacity and performance for a much lower cost per seat. 'We are positioning the 300-seat A350�900 to be a 777-200ER killer, because we are pushing the technology into an area our competitor did not want to go,' says A330/A340/A350 programme manager Olivier Andries.
He says Boeing is under pressure from some potential customers � notably Emirates � to make the stretched 787-9 big enough to replace the 777-200ER. So far, the US manufacturer has politely declined requests to create an in-house successor to a design that has been production for only 10 years.
When Airbus began serious studies into an A330-based counter-attack to the 787 last year, it started with a fairly simple derivative that would have retained much commonality with the A330/A340 family. � but the market told Airbus to try harder.
Speaking at the formal unveiling of the A350 last December, however, Airbus chief commercial officer John Leahy revealed that the launch conf"
posted by Tom Bucceri at 12:07 PM
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