The Airbus A350 is a revised version of the A330-200Lite, intended to increase range and decrease operating costs. It is being developed as a competitor to the Boeing 787. The cost to develop the A350 is estimated at around € 3.5 billion.

History

When Boeing announced their 7E7 Dreamliner project (now known as the 787), the claimed lower operating costs of this airplane would make it a serious threat to Airbus' A330.

On September 16, 2004, Airbus president and CEO Noel Forgeard confirmed that a new project was under consideration, but did not name it, and would not state whether it would be an entirely new design or a modification of an existing product. Forgeard indicated that Airbus would finalise its concept by the end of 2004, begin consulting with airlines in early 2005, and aim to launch the new development programme at the end of that year.

On December 10 2004 the boards of EADS and BAE Systems, the shareholders of Airbus, approved the launch of the project, and formally named it the A350.

The launch of the A350 project was not without controversy, as it comes in the middle of a trade dispute between the US and the EU about government support for Boeing and Airbus. An agreement dating back from 1992 and rules laid down by the World Trade Organisation govern what are allowable government subsidies to aircraft manufacturers. The US contends loans given to Airbus under favorable conditions by European governments violate these rules, and has filed a complaint with the WTO. The EU has responded by filing its own complaint about subsidies received by Boeing for the development of the 787.

On 11 January, 2005, the United States and the European Union announced their agreement to settle the Airbus-Boeing subsidies conflict through bilateral talks. Both the US and the EU have refrained from giving new aid to the respective companies.

Orders

Airbus signed its first customer for the A350 in December 2004; Air Europa, a Spanish airline, will receive the first of 10 A350-800s in 2010. While small compared to the 787's initial 50 aircraft order it is significant as Air Europa currently operates an all Boeing fleet.

Technology

The A350 is not a completely new aircraft, but an updated version of the A330-200Lite. It features a new cabin, new wings and incorporates some A380 technology regarding composite materials (GLARE).

Airbus plans to use bleed-air versions of the bleedless engine technology (Trent 1000 and General Electric GENX engines) developed for the 787.

There is precedent for updating an older airliner to compete with a newer offering. Boeing updated their 737 product which resulted in the Next Generation 737 (737NG) in order to achieve similar operating costs to Airbus' A320 Series.

Specifications

There are two versions of the A350 proposed: The A350-800 and A350-900. They differ in the number of passengers they can accommodate, and their respective range capability.

^✝ Source: The Wall Street Journal, December 15, 2004

External links

• Airbus' plans for new plane hint of vapor trail
• Airbus to launch Boeing 7E7 rival
• Airbus and WTO