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Aviation History
1999
1999 - 1740.PDF
16% was created to manage the programme. In the meantime, Boeing's merger with McDonnell Douglas was under way, with the MD-9S - by then renamed the 717 - adopted for die US company's direct assault on the 100- seat market. This, combined with the existence of die similarly sized -600 derivative of the 737, increased the pressure on Airbus to establish its own presence at the small end of the market. Although the concept of die AE3IX family was straightforward, other aspects of the new project were more complex, particularly the drawing up of a business case to justify the huge investment required for the programme. There were also concerns that the benefits of an all- new design, aimed specifically for the regional market (eg, a narrower five-abreast fuselage, new wing and engines), were outweighed by die lack of any direct commonality with the six- abreast A3 2 0 family. "One of the clear require ments that came out of the market studies we undertook witii AVIC was the need for com monality with existing [Airbus] aircraft", says A320 family product manager Stuart Mann. By late 1997, amid growing concerns that die AE31X project faced too many obstacles to suc ceed, Airbus launched secret studies of a 107- seat A319 derivative shortened by five fuselage frames (and dubbed "A319M5 "). AIA and AVIC still decided to move forward with the pre- development phase of die AE3IX, despite die lack of support from Singapore Technologies, and still with no formal business agreement. At Singapore Aerospace in February last year, Jean Pierson, then Airbus managing director, hinted that the future of die AE3IX was still not assured, saying that die issue of projected devel opment costs versus selling price "still gives us ,ome headaches". It quickly became apparent tiiat Airbus' future in the small jet market lay with an A3 20- based derivative, rather than a new aircraft. "We would have to have engineered commonality into the new aircraft. It became clear that it would be more cost-effective to base the design on our existing [A3 2 0] family," says Mann. "The AE3IX wouldn't have provided the 'seamless- service' that we wanted," he adds. By die middle of last year, the AE3IX pro gramme had stalled, with die two sides "unable ro put togedier a programme that would gener- ite enough margin to make it worthwhile mak- mg the heavy investment necessary", said one industry source. It is known that the revelation that Airbus had its own 100-seat project in par- illel with the AE3IX angered the Chinese, and the Europeans have pledged to develop other ;oint ventures to fill the void. The A320-based 100-seater was formally unveiled during the Farnborough air show in September last year. Officially designated the A318 ", it incorporated a 4.5-frame shrink over the A319 and was equipped with the all-new Pratt & Whitney PW6000. The commercial launch provided Airbus with "the authority to >ffer" it to customers and to take commitments to support a full programme go-ahead by the IMlEMlIBMMaMEMM Fin tip extension 0.8m Airbus A318 changes from A319 Forward fuselage shortened by 0.8m (one and a half frames) Pratt & Whitney PW6000 engines rated at 20-23,000lb thrust Narrower cargo door _. f^*ajw (no containerised FLIjUrl I cargo option) GARETH BURGESS 99 Dimensions Overall length Wingspan Height Wing area Weights Max. take-off (baseline) Option 1 Option 2 Max landing weight Option Operating empty Maximum zero fuel Option Fuel capacity 31.45m 34.10m 12.56m 123m2 59t 61.5t 66t 56t 57.5t 38.9t 53t 54.5t 23,9001 Powerplant Engine Thrust Accommodation Two-class seating One-class seating High density Underfloor cargo Performance Range (baseline) (MTOW option 1) (MTOW option 2) Takeoff requirement P&WPW6122/PW6124 20,000lb/23,000ib 4/103 117 (32in pitch) 129 (29/30in pitch) 21.9m3 2.775km 3,700km 5.180km 1,430m (107 pax/925km mission/2,000ft ISA +15°C) Landing requirement 1,980m Source: Airbus Industrie May 1999 end of last year. In the end, the new model did not get its full launch approval until 2 6 April this year, but the delay enabled the sales tally to mushroom well beyond the 50-commitment target set by the Airbus supervisory board. The go-ahead, which came a week after Airbus delivered the 1,000th A3 20, was under written by 109 orders and commitments from six customers, including Air France, Egyptair, International Lease Finance, TWA and two odier undisclosed customers, believed to be Air China and Lufthansa. WORKSHARE BATTLE At the launch, it was revealed that the A318's final assembly will be undertaken by Dasa Airbus in Hamburg, alongside the A319 and A321. Production start-up, however, is being hindered by an internal battle between the part ners over workshares. Aerospatiale believes that it is facing an unreasonable financial commit ment because the aircraft is unlikely to generate adequate returns to cover the investment need ed to perform the fuselage modifications that account for the major portion of work. The new programme is expected to cost "a (MLW/sea level/ISA) few hundred million dollars", which helps over come the "cost versus selling price" dilemma facing the $2 billion AE3IX programme. The A318 is being offered at a sticker price of $36 million - about the same as the rival 737-600, but about $3-5 million ahead of the 717. With the market for 100-seat aircraft sitting on the cusp of both the regional airlines' and major carriers' territories, which market is cen tred in the Airbus cross-hairs? It forecasts a demand for more than 1,300 aircraft in the A318's size category over the next 20 years. Wth the consortium's self-stated target of win ning no less than half of each market in which it fights, Airbus apparently aims to produce an average of at least 30 A318s a year from late 2 002, when deliveries begin. According to Airbus, 194 airlines worldwide operate with five or more aircraft in the 70 to 124- seat category and die total fleet represents more than 4,000 aircraft. "About 20 airlines accountfor 50% of this fleet [over2,000 aircraft], and more than half of these carriers already oper- atetheA320 family aircraft," says Mann. These 20 major airlines include carriers such as American Airlines, Continental Airlines, LIGHT INTERNATIONAL 9 - 15 June 1999 153
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