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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 2164.PDF
Directory: world airliners SECONDS OUT With the A380 prototype soon to roll out, the 7E7 progressing and the A350 on the horizon, the Airbus/Boeing duel is about to heat up MAX KINGSLEY-JONES / LONDON The past 12 months have seen some of the most significant developments in the main line airliner sector in a generation, with the evaluation, launch, construction and entry into service of key new projects, and the elimination - either from service or pro duction - of some household names. While Airbus has been making head lines as it gradually prepares A380 airframes for the flight-test sched ule due to start in Toulouse early next year, its US rival has been readying an impressive counter attack with its first all-new airliner design for more than a decade. While last year saw the burial, for the time being at least, of the quest for greater speed with the demise of the Sonic Cruiser and the retire ment of Concorde, 2004 has witnessed the new dawn of "super-efficient" designs. Boeing got the ball rolling with the Sonic Cruiser's successor, the 7E7, which it launched in April with an order from All Nippon Airways. But just when it looked like Boeing was going to have it all its own way in the mid size market as the opposition concentrated on getting the A380 air borne, Airbus has responded strongly with an A330-based offering, the A350, that could get a green light by the end of the year. The proposal from Toulouse for a rival to the 7E7 appears to have hampered Boeing's efforts to sign up most blue-chip customers before 2005, with the anticipated list of launch customers yet to materialise. It remains to be seen if Airbus can steal any of the prime targets to launch its A350. As the 7E7 was being launched, Boeing's Renton plant near Seattle was putting together the last examples of the original Boeing "economy jet" - the 757. It remains to be seen if civil sales of its 767 stablemate - which are yet to reach 1,000 - will surpass the 1,048 achieved by the "lean machine". Boeing's latest 777 derivative, the -300ER, began earning money this year and will be joined next year by the ultra-long-haul derivative, the -200LR, which is to begin flight testing in the first quarter. By then, Airbus should also have flown the industry's new giant. The ceremonial roll out of the prototype is set for 18 January, but Airbus is cautious about a first flight The A380 date, saying only that it will be "early next became a year". By then, there could be another new reality this airliner programme running and we will be year, as taking ring-side seats to watch the next Airbus instalment of the manufacturers' battle for prepares to supremacy - hopefully without arguments fly the giant over subsidies clouding our view. in early 2005 www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 26 OCTOBER - 1 NOVEMBER 2004 47
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