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Aviation History
1994
1994 - 1453.PDF
HEADLINES Airbus selects A3XX concept. ect Airbus A3XX concept: conventional configuration BY KIERAN DALY IN TOULOUSE Airbus Industrie is to talk to airlines on its proposed 500- to 800- seat airliner, known as the A3XX, for entry into service in 2003. The European consortium has selected a relatively con ventional working configura tion for the aircraft with two passenger-decks above a cargo- hold in an ovoid cross-section. It forecasts non-recurring developmental costs of $8-10 billion — markedly less than previous predictions. The company says that it "cannot wait" for the mid-1995 outcome of the Very Large Commercial Transport (VLCT) study by .the Airbus partners and Boeing to see if a joint pro gramme is desirable. Airbus Industrie's vice- president for strategic plan ning, Adam Brown, says that the A3XX and VLCT will proceed in parallel, noting that "...it appears that Boeing have come to the same con clusion and will also be run ning their own very-large- aircraft studies, including possible 747 derivatives, at the same time". He adds: "Whatever the out come of the VLCT exercise, our partners remain determined to find a way not to leave Boeing alone in such an important sec tor of the market". Airbus predicts that the 747- 400 and upwards size-class will account for almost 40% by value of airliner sales over the next 20 years. The head of the commercial directorate, Charles Masefield, says: "If the VLCT does not come to fruition, then Boeing will undoubtedly do the 747-500 and the one all-new aircraft will be the A3XX. If that is the route, then we believe the aircraft can live togeth er in the market." The proposed aircraft would be "a little longer overall than a 747" with a wing-span below 80m and a maximum take-off weight of 471t. It could contain 530-570 three-class seats, depending on comfort levels, and about 840 single-class seats for Japanese domestic opera tions. Maximum range with a "full passenger-load" would be 13,700km (7,400nm). A stretched version would be 6.5m longer and seat 630-680 three-class passengers, or about 1,000 people in single-class. The "vertical" configuration is a "refined" version of a pro posal drawn up by the Airbus partners and selected over a "horizontal" double-bubble layout floated by Airbus. It is lighter than the horizontal con cept, permitting the use of "...the same type of engines as used on the A330" . General manager of research and technology, Joachim Szodruch, says: "The advantages of the horizontal layout, especially in terms of fuselage commonality with the current models, were not as great as we thought." Brown says: "We believe that, to compete efficiently, the A3XX will have to offer a sav ing of around 15% in direct operating costs per seat relative to the 747-400." Production efficiencies will be one of the most important contributors to reducing costs, he says. Airbus is "now refining the concept" before starting dis cussions with prospective customers in "the Asia-Pacific region, USA and Europe". Pre-development work is scheduled to start at the end of 1995 to lead to the 2003 service-entry date. Brown says: "There is already some airline pressure for an earlier date. It's evident that to meet this schedule requires serious feasibility analysis, including inputs from the airlines, to start now." • ...and works to fill gaps in product line Airbus Industrie is nearing crucial decisions on deriv atives of its current products in an effort to squeeze more value from some and, with others, to move into classes where Boeing is still dominant. One of the most likely to go ahead is the A340-"8000" derivative of the A340-200, with "...increased take-off weight, a thrust bump on the existing engine and auxiliary fuel tanks underfloor". Vice-president for strategic planning, Adam Brown, says that it could carry a three-class load of 260 passengers for more than 14,800km (8,000nm). The type could be available in early 1997 and, by by-passing hubs, "...could lead to the same type of origin-and- destination fragmentation across the Pacific that has led to such an explosion of traffic over the North Atlantic". One possibility is a version with just 140 high-yield pas sengers, with extra fuel and passenger beds, to allow non stop Europe-Australia services. By the end of the year, Airbus hopes to "...reach at least a technical choice" on which new 178kN (40,0001b)- thrust class engine to pursue for the A340, following the consortium's request to manu facturers for proposals. "Our engineers are most excited about Pratt & Whitney's advanced ducted- propulsor concept," says Brown, but he notes that CFM International is proposing CFM56-5 derivatives and a new so-called CFMXX. Rolls- Royce is proposing an engine called the RB.411 (SeeP6). Any of those could lead to a stretched A340-300 carrying 50 more passengers with marginally more range, to be offered from 1996; an A340-300 Advanced, also on offer in 1996, which could take a full- 300 load the same distance as the existing - 200; and an A340-200 Advanced, with "virtually one stop around- the-world potential". The A340 developments would use the existing wing with structural reinforcement. The same wing, with increased-thrust versions of the current engines, could lead to new A330 versions, with seats traded for range in differ ent combinations. One candi date would carry 50 more pas sengers over the current range, but a more radical "super- stretched" model would have underfloor seating — with windows — ahead of the wing. Airbus says that it would carry a 747-load of passengers over shorter stages, but "at far lower direct operating costs [DOC]". Brown says that the consor tium is "actively studying" re- duced-capacity/enhanced-range versions of the A330, which would go some way to challeng ing Boeing 767 ER models. "Current indications," he says, "are that the optimum con figuration might involve a fuse lage reduction of around 14 frames," permitting 240 three- class passengers to be carried for the same distance as that cov ered by the Boeing 767-300ER. Airbus is "...working up the business case for proceeding" with a growth A321, which ,"with minor modifications and little more than a throttle-push on the CFM56s", could have a 50% range increase and only a marginal increase in DOCs. • FLIGHT INTERNA TI0NAL 15-21 June, 1994 5
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