FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1996
1996 - 2205.PDF
FUTURE PROJECTS 90s evacuation from one side of the aircraft. The design now includes nine doors per side, and studies with the aircraft in various accident configurations, such as a collapsed nosewheel leg (leaving aft-seated passengers some 13 m above ground level) have left no concerns. "We believe we have found a solution with the liferaft manufacturers," says Thomas. The hunt for the right fuselage cross-section continues. Airbus is committed to the belief that it has beaten Boeing consistendy in the battle to get its choice of fuselage section right. "We've studied more fiian 40 cross-sections," says Thomas. "Ifyougetitwrong, it's wrong forever." Lengthy discussions with airlines on the design of what Thomas says will be "die biggest passenger cabin in history", continue, and will go on, he adds, "for many months", not least because the A3 XX will be expected to provide new standards of passenger comfort. Airbus has also been talking to freight companies about their requirements for die cargo hold, and says that it has had "very positive feedback" to date. Airline response has already produced sever al fuselage rethinks, the current favourite including an upper deck with six-abreast seat ing for business-class passengers, or eight- abreast for economy-class. The design foresees ten-abreast seating on the lower deck,, with four seats in the middle and three on the outside, avoiding what Airbus refers to as "prisoners" in difficult-to-access middle seats. The interior has also been redesigned to provide for faster turnaround. The aim is to achieve turnaround in no longer than 1 lOmin. SIZE CONSTRAINED Extensive studies with airlines and airports have led to die decision to constrain the overall length and breaddi of the A3 XX to a maximum of 80m (260ft), in all foreseen versions (this is 10m longer and 15m wider than a 747). "Be yond that, and you begin to have severe prob lems with some major airports", says Thomas. The all-new A3 XX wing will have an aspect ratio of 8, helping achieve die 13,800km (7,450nm) range of both die basic 555-passen- ger A3XX-100 and the stretched A3XX-200. Winglets are not now part of the design, but folding wingtips are a "serious option", says Thomas. An important design constraint imposed by die airports is to keep wingtip-vor- tex disturbance down to 747 levels. While die airlines, says Thomas, have told Airbus that die configuration now being touted is "very close to die right concept", he adds diat the consortium is still a long way from finalis ing the A3XX design. The aim is for prelimi nary design freeze in die diird quarter of 1997, followed by final design freeze a year later, when ".. .itwill be possible to offer a fully specified air craft widi price, performance, guarantees and delivery times". Following an intensive market ing campaign, and assuming sufficient demand, full go-ahead would then be given in the diird quarter of 1999 for delivery in 2 003. FUMT © Reed Business Publishing CD n "Q- -Q 2_^i none, •-Q a 11 / / // Jill 0 "^^^ The A3XX-100 will seat 530 passengers in a three-class layout -100 -200 Dimensions (m) Span Length Height Fuselage maximum dia Passenger Seating Three-class One-class 77.1 69.7 22.8 8.5 530 854 77.1 76.2 22.8 8.5 623 966 Engine thrust (kN) 302 - 325 tilMM'K -100 -200 Thomas admits diat the schedule is "ambi tious", but points to die dangers of committing too early to production. "Some airlines want it earlier," says Thomas, "but we need a demand for 40/50 aircraft a year to ensure diat we make money on the programme as early as possible". He says diat he is "very confident" diat this will be die case from 2 003. "The airlines have told us they are happy to wait two or three years to get die right product." Launching die A3XX depends crucially on several elements, including the not-insignifi cant matter of finding at least $8 billion in fund ing, which, according to Airbus chief operating officer Volker von Tein, has been set as the upper limit of development costs (in today's dol lars). "Why should it cost more, when the com bined A3 30 and A3 40 programmes cost us around $4.5 billion?" he asks. Thomas says diat Airbus will be able to find up to 30% of the money internally, while 33% will come from refundable Government subsi dies or loans. The remaining 40%, says von Tein, must come from "risk-sharing partners or associates", and ".. .should be found before die end of 1997". While Asian manufacturers are looked upon Weights (kg) Maximum take-off Maximum zero fuel Operating empty Max payload Fuel capacity Performance Typical range (km) 476,250 324,200 244,250 79,900 290,000 13,700* 519,400 353,200 262,250 90,800 290,000 13,700 Note: »- 15,540km for-lOOR Source: Airbus Industrie Thomas: "A3XX will be biggest challenge as important candidates for partnership (although China has indicated that it does not want to join the programme), US manufactur ers are also being courted. "We need a significant US partner, that is clear," says von Tein. Not only would serious US involvement improve die aircraft's chances of US sales, he adds, but major US companies such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, which also have plenty of cash in dieir coffers, "...have die expertise just waiting to go". Such companies have the experience needed to achieve die all-important aim of keeping costs down so that die aircraft is affordable. Thomas says diat die A3XX ".. .must not cost customers proportionately more than what diey pay for the 747". Scaling die 747 seating capacity to diat of die A3 XX, and factoring in die reduced operating costs, leaves the Airbus costing around $180 million. "If we can't achieve the price, we won't do it," he says. HIGH-END CHALLENGE Widi die A3XX finally launched, Airbus would at last be able to challenge the monopoly at the high-capacity, end of the market which has been held by Boeing during die entire span of die European consortium's 26-year existence. During this time, Airbus has climbed from a frail enterprise offering a single product—die twin-aisle A300 — to number two in die com mercial-aircraft league, ahead of McDonnell Douglas, with a ten-product line-up. Despite die battle id take market share from Boeing never having-been tougher, Leahy is convinced diat die consortium will be able to grab a 50% share of the world market by 2001. "The A3 XX is a crucial part of diat," die senior vice-president says. Q FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 28 August - 3 September 1996 57
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
