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Aviation History
1995
1995 - 2575.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT Meeting demands Airbus Industrie rolls out the A319 to complete its present range of airliners. JULIAN MOXON/TOULOUSE cutaway poster by Tim Hall/LONDON IN JUST 25 years since its creation in December 1970, Airbus Industrie has field ed a range of airliners spanning 124-350 seats, knocked McDonnell Douglas (MDC) into third place in the big league of civil-aircraft manufacturers and forced Boeing to completely re-evaluate its approach to the market. The arrival of the 124-seat A319 at the low- capacity end of the market essentially com pletes the Airbus range, although derivatives of existing models will continue to be fielded. The need to compete with Boeing at die high- capacity end of the seating spectrum remains, but talks between Airbus and Boeing on possi ble co-operation on a very-large-capacity transport (VLCT) have not borne fruit, leav ing Airbus with die difficult question of whether to go it alone and invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a product about which die market has yet to give clear signals. FUSELAGE COMMONALITY Airbus prides itself on having based an entire range of aircraft around two specific fuselage sections which can be stretched or shortened to accommodate market requirements. Boeing used the original 707 section in the 727, 737 and 757, while MDC has made almost leg endary use of the old DC-9 section in die sub sequent MD-80 and MD-90 airframes. Airbus, however, was the first to create a range of widebodied (twin-aisle) aircraft based on a par ticular fuselage section. The A300-600 (derived from the original A300 with which Airbus launched itself on to the market with the world's first widebodv twin in May 1969), the A310-300, A330 and the A340 all share the same widebody section. Single-aisle development followed die same route. The original 150-seat A320 was launched in March 1984, to be followed in November 1989 by the launch of the stretched 185-seat A321 (which entered service earlier The 124-seat A319 aimed for the low-capacity market completes the Airbus range this year). Now, the pair have been joined by the shortened A319. Market acceptance of the smallest Airbus yet has been good, with 81 firm orders to date. Perhaps more significantly, the majority of these are with existing operators of single-aisle Airbusses for which the cross-cockpit com monality of the range has been a major decid ing factor. Of the five customers for the A319 so far, four (Lufthansa, Air Inter, ILFC and Swissair) have also ordered A320s and A321s. Airbus also offers the airlines a clause whereby they can swap one type for another to accom modate changing market conditions. With total sales of the A320 and A321 standing at 824, the prospects for the A319 being ordered as an additional family member appear good. Airbus estimates that 2,216 air craft will be demanded in the category over the next 20 years. Assuming its 30% share of the global civil-aircraft market is reflected in this, the consortium can expect to sell around 740 single-aisle aircraft during the period. Commonality has been the byword in the Airbus family philosophy from the beginning, although the concept really took hold with the launch of the A320, the cockpit of which became the standard for all subsequent Airbus aircraft, including the twin-aisle A330/A340. This has given the consortium what it claims is a major marketing advantage in being able to offer reduced training and maintenance costs. The differences between the A320/A321 and A319 have been kept to a bare minimum, Airbus having elected for an approach involv ing the lowest possible risk with the highest possible commonality. According to John Leahy, the consortium's vice-president for marketing, the idea of creating a more spe cialised design for a small aircraft was dis cussed "...but we listened to the airlines...it was a triumph for them to persuade us to do noth ing". He says that the concept of a single-aisle family was driven by the airlines. "When you add the A319 to a fleet containing the A320 or A321 you reap a huge benefit," he says. "They all agree with that." This also kept development costs low: the A319 has cost just $275 million to put on the market, against $480 million for the A321. The difference arose because the larger air craft required a completely revised flap system, a strengthened wing, uprated landing gear and some structural reinforcement. Both aircraft have, however, been entirely funded by the consortium's four partners (Aerospatiale, Daimler-Benz Aerospace, British Aerospace and CASA), and are therefore the first Airbusses not to have required government backing. IDENTICAL WING The A319 wing is identical to that of the A3 20. System changes are limited to software adapta tion to cater for the slightly different handling characteristics resulting from the shorter fuse lage, while the empennage and landing gear are completely unchanged. The powerplants are derated versions of the CFM56-5A and IAE V2500-A5 available for all A320/A321 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 30 August - 5 September 1995 55
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