FARNBOROUGH (England), July 17: The European aircraft maker Airbus unveiled on Monday a revamped version of its long-haul A350 passenger jet, promising a wider, more fuel-efficient plane to lure customers unhappy with its initial design.
The new jet is also intended to compete more effectively against Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner and 777 long-haul planes, but its development costs are set to double to 10 billion dollars (7.9 billion euros), Airbus’ parent company EADS said at the weekend.
Airbus’ new boss Christian Streiff, speaking at the Farnborough International Airshow in southern England, said he would seek shareholder approval in October to begin production of the mid-sized A350 XWB (Extra Wide Body), which will carry between 270 and 350 passengers.
The original design had seating capacity of 250-300.
“XWB is for extra wide body, for extra comfort, for extra efficiency, and for always going the extra mile for our customer,” Streiff said at the airshow, a traditional battleground between aerospace firms competing for orders. He added that Airbus was on course to deliver the A350 XWB in mid-2012.
“I intend to seek approval of both our shareholders (EADS and BAE Systems) for a launch in the early days of October,” the Airbus chairman said.
The new A350 will make greater use of composites materials, resulting in a lighter plane that consumes less jet fuel, the company said.
The original A350 had won 100 firm orders, against roughly 360 orders for the 787.
Airbus Chief Operating Officer John Leahy conceded that Airbus might lose ‘one or two’ of the 14 customers that placed the firm orders and 82 additional commitments.
All orders are to be renegotiated.
Rolls-Royce said meanwhile that it planned to revise its engine design for the A350 in light of the changes.
The British aerospace giant said it has concluded a preliminary agreement to supply a new, unnamed next-generation Trent engine for the mid-sized aircraft.
The engine will replace the Trent 1700 engine that Rolls-Royce had been developing up till now.
Airbus has faced a torrid time in recent months, in part owing to production problems with its A380 superjumbo jet.
Those problems led to a management shake-up at Airbus and its parent company EADS — including the resignation of two top directors and the appointment of Streiff.—AFP
