The design for the new Airbus type started as an improved version of the A330, which became rather difficult to sell since Boeing presented the 787. The airlines wanted a more advanced aircraft and forced Airbus to work harder on the new design. At Farnborough 2006 Airbus even presented an all new design, named 'A350 XWB' (eXtra Wide Body). Airbus officially launched the A350 XWB on 1 December 2006.
Several earlier designs based on the A330 still had the fuselage diameter of the good old A300, which allows a 2-4-2 seating arrangement compared to 3-3-3 seating in the 777 and 787. In Spring 2006, urged by criticism from airlines, Airbus started considering a wider fuselage, a larger wing, more powerful engines, a higher cruise speed and many other changes to satisfy the airlines. This resulted in the A350 XWB, but it means much extra development work and the intended in-service-date for the aircraft has slipped from 2010 to 2013, more than four years behind the scheduled introduction into service of the 787.
Airbus has planned three versions of the new airliner: the A350 XWB-800 carrying around 250 passengers in a three-class configuration, the A350 XWB-900, which accommodates around 300 passengers and the A350 XWB-1000 with about 350 seats.
The Airbus A350 XWB will be substantially more fuel-efficient than the A330 and less noisy. About 60 per cent of the A350 airframe will be built of weight-saving advanced materials like carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) and aluminium lithium alloys. In the A330 this is only 15 per cent. The new aircraft will be the first Airbus product with an all-composite wing. The rear fuselage and the tail cone will be constructed from composites as well. An aluminium lithium alloy is used in the forward and aft sections of the fuselage.
The cabin windows will be larger than on the A330. The cockpit crew rest area will be placed beneath the cockpit. This does not only saves space on the main deck, it is also a security precaution to keep the cockpit completely separated from the rest of the aircraft.
The first airline to sign a letter of intent for the A350 XWB was Singapore Airlines. Several other airlines had ordered earlier versions of the A350. Among them are Eurofly, Air Europa (Spain), Kingfisher Airlines (India), Qatar Airways, TAM (Brazil), US Airways, Finnair and several leasing companies
Showing posts with label Airbus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airbus. Show all posts
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
EADS Reports 70% Operating Profit Down
Airbus parent EADS faces a "substantial" earnings hit this summer as it tries to salvage its delayed A400M military aircraft project, compounding concerns over the outlook for its civil plane business.
The prospect of a clear-cut charge to fix the delayed A400M -- which analysts said could be as high as EUR3 billion euros (USD$4.09 billion) -- rattled EADS shares, as the aerospace group also posted a worse-than-expected 70 percent drop in first-quarter operating profit.
But the company said it could give little indication how big the cost of the A400M troop transporter would ultimately be, nor how battered airline markets would evolve in coming months.
Dampened by Airbus, EADS group first-quarter earnings before interest and tax, or operating profit fell to EUR232 million from EUR769 million in the first quarter of last year.
Revenues fell 14 percent to EUR8.467 billion, and the Franco-German group's net profit fell 40 percent to EUR170 million.
EADS said underlying first-quarter operating profit before these items stood at EUR0.4 billion, down almost 50 percent.
Boeing said last month first-quarter profit halved to USD$610 million due to order deferrals by airlines, and cut its 2009 outlook.
The future of the A400M depends on talks with seven European NATO governments which have agreed a moratorium until July.
EADS said the talks on a revised industrial plan could lead to a "substantial" charge once the future of the project is clear and that this could happen with second-quarter earnings.
Finance Director Hans Peter Ring said the coming weeks would be decisive. "A400M is our top priority," he said.
EADS took an interim charge in the first quarter of EUR120 million for A400M costs that can be anticipated now, adding to EUR2.5 billion of provisions written off as the project ran into development problems in the past two years.
The aircraft is now three to four years late, provoking recent warnings from Britain and Germany that they might cut orders.
The A400M is Europe's biggest military project and seen as crucial to EADS's efforts to diversify further away from passenger jets as it approaches its 10th anniversary next year.
The prospect of a clear-cut charge to fix the delayed A400M -- which analysts said could be as high as EUR3 billion euros (USD$4.09 billion) -- rattled EADS shares, as the aerospace group also posted a worse-than-expected 70 percent drop in first-quarter operating profit.
But the company said it could give little indication how big the cost of the A400M troop transporter would ultimately be, nor how battered airline markets would evolve in coming months.
Dampened by Airbus, EADS group first-quarter earnings before interest and tax, or operating profit fell to EUR232 million from EUR769 million in the first quarter of last year.
Revenues fell 14 percent to EUR8.467 billion, and the Franco-German group's net profit fell 40 percent to EUR170 million.
EADS said underlying first-quarter operating profit before these items stood at EUR0.4 billion, down almost 50 percent.
Boeing said last month first-quarter profit halved to USD$610 million due to order deferrals by airlines, and cut its 2009 outlook.
The future of the A400M depends on talks with seven European NATO governments which have agreed a moratorium until July.
EADS said the talks on a revised industrial plan could lead to a "substantial" charge once the future of the project is clear and that this could happen with second-quarter earnings.
Finance Director Hans Peter Ring said the coming weeks would be decisive. "A400M is our top priority," he said.
EADS took an interim charge in the first quarter of EUR120 million for A400M costs that can be anticipated now, adding to EUR2.5 billion of provisions written off as the project ran into development problems in the past two years.
The aircraft is now three to four years late, provoking recent warnings from Britain and Germany that they might cut orders.
The A400M is Europe's biggest military project and seen as crucial to EADS's efforts to diversify further away from passenger jets as it approaches its 10th anniversary next year.
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