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Aviation History
1996
1996 - 2204.PDF
>^g^f^ S ^^flHfcflE *^t Ww^^^^l^r j^E^0^ V ^^9 Seven-year countdown Airbus makes progress towards a launch of its vitally important new large aircraft. JULIAN MOXON/TOULOUSE THIS AIRCRAFT "...will be the biggest challenge in civil-aviation history", says Jurgen Thomas, head of the new large-air craft division of Airbus Industrie charged with developing the A3 XX. While such words invite instant disagree ment from those versed in almost a century of civil-aviation development, there is little doubt that, if measured in terms of the resources needed to develop the A3XX, he is right. In recent months, the programme has taken on a momentum of its own as Boeing roller- coasters towards the launch of its higher-capac ity 747-X. The Airbus partners, long aware that the European consortium has lacked a competi tor to the 747, and encouraged by feedback from the market, have finally swung into line, and are preparing to offer the A3 XX in late 1998 for service entry in mid-2 003. Airbus, like Boeing, is remaining in touch with the major airlines about their ultra-high- capacity requirements, and recently convened a meeting of 13 carriers in the medieval city of Carcassonne, in the south of France, to discuss the project. The consortium has identified four principal A3XX markets: intra-Asia, transpac ific, transatlantic and Europe-Asia. Three of these four feature Asia, where Airbus predicts traffic growth of 5.7% over the next 20 years, and where, uniquely in the Asia/Pacific region, it finds a capacity requirement which grows from today's average figure of 243 seats per air craft, to 356 by the year 2014. Against this, the European requirement grows from today's 179, to 225, while that of the USA is even lower, reaching211 seats. In his analysis of what this means for Airbus and the A3 XX, senior vice-president, commer cial, John Leahy, points to a global demand for 13,360 aircraft, worth around $1,000 billion, over the next 2 0 years. "One-third of this will be for aircraft of more than 400 seats, where Airbus does not now compete. That is why we can't afford not to be there," he says. A3XX ADVANTAGES While it will be delivered at least three years later than the 520-seat Boeing 747-600X, Airbus is promoting strongly the advantages which will accrue from an all-new design lead ing to a family of aircraft covering eventually the 500- to 656-seatrange (in typical three-class configuration). Of greatest value, says Thomas, is the lower operating costs possible with the new design. "We'll be able to offer 17% lower seat-kilometre costs than the 747-400 with the initial A3XX-100", he says, "and 23% below with the stretch -200 version". The abandoned attempt to agree a common Very Large Capacity Aircraft programme with Boeing arguably lost Airbus two years of A3 XX development time. Thomas says that the tech nologies needed for the aircraft are ready. "There are no show stoppers," he says. Several technology programmes have been launched to respond to specific concerns, such as the need to reduce approach noise, but areas such as the all-important wing present little problem for the partners, since they are merely new applica tions of technologies already in hand. Airlines have also, according to Thomas, "...made it quite clear that they wanted only those new technologies that were cost effective. "The key, as always, is the engines", says Thomas. The requirement is for 320-356kN [72,000-80,0001b] thrust, which leaves a dilem ma. "The A3 3 0 engines are adequate for the ini tial versions of the A3XX, but not for the growth variant, whereas the Boeing 7 7 7 engines would need to be de-rated,".. .and would be too big, heavy and costly". The thrust requirement is similar to that of Boeing for its 747 deriva tives, and will be almost certainly be met with a new powerplant from the General Electric/ Pratt & Whitney joint venture, and by the Trent 900 development of the Rolls-Royce Trent 800 Flight International, 12-18June, P8). With the stretched A3XX-200 taking seat ing in single-class high-density layout to almost 1,000 passengers, one of the principal concerns is meeting the certification requirement of a 56 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 28 August - 3 September 1996
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