AIRBUS A330 Civil (Passagers & Fret)

• Le GEnx-2B ? Trop lourd, ... même avec un "cropped fan" (soufflante à diamètre réduit) adapté ; inadaptable de manière économique (la nacelle serait à refaire ; US$300 à 350 millions ; impossible de boucler le "Business Case").
  
• Performances décevantes sur B747-8 (ratage de l'aile, et, donc, de l'airframe, ... et impossible d'intégrer le moteur de manière satisfaisante, d'où inefficacités notoires et criardes. "Out" Et le marché ne le voudrait pas, ... ne voudrait surtout pas d'un GE !
  


• GTF de P&W ? "Non starter" ! Trop gros, trop lourd, besoin d'une nacelle nouvelle (US$ 300 millions de développement au bas mot; sans doute, plutôt US$ 350 millions). Coût d'intégration-moteur onéreux, voire prohibitif.
  
• PW 4100 'évolué' ? Rien à tirer de ce moteur (technologie à sa limité).
  


• Pas de temps pour faire un moteur GE ou un moteur P&W adaptés, susceptibles de pouvoir "faire le job".
  
• Comme dans le cas de GE, impossibilité pour P&W de boucler un "Business Case" pour un marché de niche de ce genre, dans la perspective de l'arrivée des A350-XWB !
  


• Même pour RR, .... "Business Case" peu séduisant.
  
• Mais, une version légèrement améliore du RR Trent 772B-EP, sans doute possible, quasiment sans frais.
  
• Aucun besoin de refaire une nacelle.
  
• Réserve de poussée : 3,800 lbs unitaire ; soit 7,600 au total !
  
• Si MAS voulait attendre un peu, ..... le RR Trent 1700 pourrait être disponible, et offrir une remotorisation "plus moderne" et efficace, comme nous l'avons déjà écrit !
  

• (a) Il n'y aura pas de GEnx-2B adapté sous un délai rapproché (par exemple, ... pour les dates auxquelles MAS pourrait souhaiter une version d'A330 à rayon d'action allongé, pour remplacer ses B777-200ER).
  


• (b) Le GE GEnx-1B, qui est un moteur "bleedless", incorporant les mêmes générateurs que ceux placés dans le RR Trent 1000 (et qui ne sont pas considérés comme appartenant aux moteurs, mais à Boeing -- qui les fournit -- , et donc, comme constituant des éléments "d'airframe" ; si, si ! ****** voir (d) ci-après ) n'a aucune place sur l'aile d'un Airbus, quel que soit le modèle, et surtout pas sur l'aile d'un A330 !
  


• (c) On répète : il serait impossible, sur le plan technique, d'adapter un RR Trent XWB, détaré ou non, pour le monter sur l'aile d'un A330 (trop grand & trop lourd pour l'aile, .. qu'il faudrait refaire, avec d'autres modifications onéreuses concomitantes, à tel point qu'il vaudrait mieux refaire un avion tout nouveau !), .... et, sur le plan financier / économique, impossible de boucler le "Business Case" pour une telle opération !
  


• (d) ****** (voir (b) ci-dessus). Les générateurs, situés dans les moteurs RR Trent 1000 du B787, sont identiques à ceux fournis par Boeing à GE pour le GEnx de celui-ci, sur le B787. Ils ne sauraient être dans un quelconque moteur d'A330, qui ne supporte que des moteurs "bleed-air", ... sans générateurs, donc.. RR pourrait parfaitement bien adapter un RR Trent 1000, pour une opération de remotorisation. Mais cela ne serait ni utile ni nécessaire. Dans les cartons, RR a déjà un RR Trent 1700, "bleed-air", qui contient déjà des technologies des RR Trent 1000 et Trent XWB (technologies que RR pourrait, le cas échéant, remettre à jour, ... facilement). Ne pas oublier que l'A350-d'origine n'était rien d'autre qu'un A330 amélioré, avec les RR Trent 1700 déjà définis, et les aspects de nacelle déjà prévus, y compris le coût de développement de ladite nacelle.
  
• 
  

Airbus SAS will start offering an improved version of its twin-engine A330 wide-body that extends its range or payload, two people familiar with the plan said.

Airbus management has signed off on the proposal, which may be unveiled at the Farnborough Air show starting next week, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plan hasn’t been announced yet.

The new version would have a maximum takeoff weight of 240 metric tons, extending the range by about 400 nautical miles, the people said.

The company completed a detailed resource study this month and determined it could go ahead with the A330 enhancement, overcoming concerns that it may stretch its engineering capabilities too far.

Airbus has already said it’s talking with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] about incremental improvements to the engines on the A330.

“Airframe makers always believe you can never have enough range, and they’ve largely been proved right,” said Paul Sheridan, the head of consultancy Asia at Ascend Worldwide Ltd., an aviation advisory company in London.

Airbus is working to boost production of its A330 to 11 a month from 9.5, as airlines buy more of the aircraft partly because [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] was late with its competing 787 Dreamliner.

Airbus and Boeing have both announced improved versions of their best-selling single-aisle aircraft to make them more fuel efficient, and Airbus is also extending the range of its A321 jets with so-called sharklets that sit on the end of the wings.

Airbus, based in Toulouse in southern France, declined to comment.

Boosting the maximum takeoff weight to 240 tons from 238 would allow airlines to accommodate more fuel or passengers and let them book additional revenue from more seats or new destinations.

AirAsia X, the long-haul arm of Malaysian budget carrier [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], is one airline interested in such a plane, as it would allow direct flights from [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] to Paris, Chief Executive Officer [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] said in May.

Airbus wants to maintain the momentum of the A330 after the Boeing Dreamliner entered service. The U.S. company is studying plans to extend the 787 family with another version, the 787-10. Airbus has won 1,199 orders for the A330, and delivered 871. The A350-900, seating 300 passengers instead of about 250 on an A330, is scheduled to enter service by mid 2014.

A330 customers include AirAsia X, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, a unit of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] KLM Group, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and Iberia, a unit of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrea Rothman in Toulouse at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] To contact the editor responsible for this store: Benedikt Kammel at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

• (a) le CF-6 de GE n'est pas vraiment dans le coup (il serait idiot, .. mais, peut-être, 'politiquement correct' d'accepter que GE fasse un certain "upgrade" de ce moteur CF-6, d'autant plus qu'il a fait un effort récemment dans ce sens ; mais il souffrira toujours de ses défauts dans les décollages dans les aéroports "hot & high" , et son problème chronique de manque relatif de poussée 'au sommet de la montée' ;
  
• (b) le PW4100, de P&W, est à la limite de sa technologie ; mais, dans l'état actuel des choses, sa performance est bien meilleure que celle du CF-6, que, franchement, on ferait mieux d'oublier ;
  
• (c) le RR Trent 700 (variante 772B-EP, notamment) dépasse déjà (dans le bon sens du terme) de la tête et des épaules -- en matière de performance technique et de "cost performance"-- qu'Airbus pourrait justifier la sélection unique de ce moteur pour la version à rayon d'action allongé de l'A330, sans offrir le choix des GE & P&W mentionnés respectivement en (a) et (b).
  

• (a) lui-même (Airbus SAS) et / ou ses ingénieurs ;
  
• (b) ses motoristes, tout en reconnaissant que les améliorations demandés et / ou nécessaires seront plus problématiques pour GE et son CF-6 (malgré les efforts consentis récemment sur ce moteur, ... dépassé) que pour P&W & RR, ....
  


• et sachant que ...
  
• (c) les limites technologiques du PW4100 ont été quasiment atteintes, et que
  
• (d) seul RR reste avec des réserves largerment suffisantes / de la marge confortable en terme de possibilités de gain d'efficacité sur le plan de la consommation et de la poussée.
  

SEVRIEN a écrit:Bonjour, chers tous.
Il paraît qu'Airbus va décider du "upgrade" de l'A330 (Sevrien : A330-300 ? ) pendant le 2ème semestre du 2012.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Airbus to decide on A330 enhancement in second half of 2012.......

Having decided against re-engining the twin-aisle medium to long-haul A330 aircraft which is likely to undermine the business case of its A350-800 sibling (“[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]“, 5th Mar, 12), Airbus is adopting the least risky option of offering new, higher gross weight variants of the A330 aircraft family that not only will see the A330 being more capable than it has ever been, but also provide a natural hedge against further A350 delays as the carbon-composite aircraft ramps up in its development ahead of first flight in 2013 and service entry in mid-2014.

Airbus will offer a 240-tonne (529,109lbs) maximum take-off weight (MTOW) variant of the 300-seat A330-300 by mid-2015 first, from today’s 235 tonnes (518,086lbs), followed by the smaller A330-200 and A330-200F freighter thereafter.

The 240-tonne 300-seat A330-300 will see its range being extended by up to 400nm (nautical miles) to 5,950nm (11,020km) with 5 tonnes more payload, whereas the 240-tonne A330-200 will have its range being extended by 270nm to 7,050nm (13,060km) with 246 passengers and 2.5 tonnes more payload than the 238 tonnes variant.

Airbus said the latest incremental improvements being rolled out on the A330 aircraft will see a 2% reduction in its block fuel burn, with aerodynamic improvements contributing 1% of the fuel burn reduction, while engine improvements contribute to the remainder.

Airbus chief operating officer (COO) customers John Leahy said the improved 240-tonne A330-300 will be able to cover 94% of the 777-200ER missions, versus the first 212-tonne A330-300 production examples which only covered 65% of the Boeing 777-200ER markets with a range of 3,900nm.

“The A330 has come a long way in the last 10 years, and we are delighted to bring to more airlines the advantages and reliability of A330 economics over ever wider markets. This aircraft is the most popular aircraft ever in its category and looks set to hold this position for years to come,” Leahy said.

The latest improvements will bode well for the sales of the A330-300 as the 240-tonne upgrade enables airlines to operate the twin-engine aircraft on new routes such as London-Tokyo, Frankfurt-Cape Town, Beijing-Melbourne, Beijing-San Francisco, Kuala Lumpur-Paris, etc.

This would enable carriers such as long-haul, low-cost carrier (LCC) AirAsia X to replace their ageing gas-guzzling A340-300 aircraft by returning the quad-engine jets to lessors, standardise its fleet while reducing fuel costs, which typically account for over 40% of an airline’s operating costs in 2011.

Besides AirAsia, the 240-tonne A330-300 will be particularly attractive for Chinese carriers expanding internationally on transpacific routes and on routes to Australia, where a natural resources boom has seen Chinese carriers seizing the opportunity to grow with direct flights between the two countries. China Southern Airlines, which is anchoring for its “Canton Route” strategy as the Chinese version of lucrative “Kangaroo Route”, has seen a whopping 85.8% increase in the number of passengers transported from 277,427 in 2010 to 515,370 in 2011, whereas China Eastern Airlines (CEA) and Air China saw an increase of 26% and 8.1%, respectively (“[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]“, 19th Jun, 12).

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is the frontrunner in becoming one of the launch customers for the 240-tonne A330 aircraft, which intends to decommission its 777-200ER within 3 years and its 9 remaining 747-400s by November this year, Bloomberg [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

“We’ll be looking at Airbus’ announcement to see if it can do the job of the 777s. We’d love to have new models like the 787 or the A350, and maybe one day we will, but right now we need to simplify the fleet and operate four types of plane instead of maybe six or seven,” Malaysia Airlines chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said.

Kuala Lumpur-based AirAsia X, Air China, China Eastern Airlines (CEA), China Southern, Hainan Airlines and Singapore Airlines (SIA) are also likely customers for the 240-tonne A330-300 aircraft, Aspire Aviation‘s sources at the European plane-maker said. Singapore Airlines (SIA) has already leased 19 Airbus A330-300s from Airbus to replace its Boeing 777-200 and -200ER aircraft and has another 15 additional examples to be delivered between 2013 and 2015

Any additional order from the Singaporean flag carrier is possibly for its newly-launched long-haul low-cost carrier (LCC) Scoot Airlines which will streamline its operations with economies of scale regarding maintenance and training along with its parent’s strong A330-300 fleet.

According to Aspire Aviation‘s sources at Singapore Airlines (SIA), Airbus and SIA had held a private dinner during this year’s Singapore Airshow in which an upgraded A330 version was pitched to the carrier. Separately, the third European Union-China Strategic Dialogue has commenced on Tuesday in Beijing, though the sparring row over the controversial EU emissions trading scheme (ETS) has already put 45 A330 orders from Chinese carriers worthing €9.6 billion on hold, along with 10 Airbus A380 orders from Hong Kong Airlines, which may diminish the near-term sales prospect of 240-tonne A330 aircraft in the Chinese market.

Meanwhile, the minimal change required for the higher maximum take-off weight (MTOW) A330s means it will free up scarce engineering resources for the A350 XWB (Extra Wide Body) programme, which has had a 6-9 month delivery slip that sees its entry into service (EIS) being postponed to mid-2014, in addition to being a natural hedge for airlines against further A350 delays.

Airbus said it has decided against adding the A320 sharklets to the A330 and that the increase in maximum take-off weight (MTOW) is achieved through adding the load alleviation function to its fly-by-wire system.

In doing so, the manufacturer’s empty weight (MEW) of the aircraft will not increase much since the need of strengthening of outer and centre wing boxes is eliminated.

As a software update of an A330′s fly-by-wire system could be achieved fairly easily, Aspire Aviation thinks Airbus should make a retrofit programme available earlier than the mid-2015 timeframe and enable airlines to enjoy a 1% reduction in fuel burn from improved engines, as another 1% fuel burn saving comes from shorter flap fairings. All three engine-makers have said there will be retrofit programmes available that trim 1% off engine specific fuel consumption (SFC).

This is consistent with Airbus’ approach in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] the A330 aircraft, with a retrofit programme for the 238 tonnes A330-200 being available and another retrofit programme for 235-tonne A330-300 due to be available from third quarter of this year onwards. China Eastern Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines have already taken up the A330-200 retrofit programme while Korean Air, China Southern, China Eastern, Turkish Airlines and Aircastle are receiving 238-tonne -200 production aircraft. Swiss International Air Lines, China Southern, Air China and General Electric Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), in the meantime, are customers of the 235-tonne A330-300.

Therefore this bodes well for the A350 XWB programme, particularly so for the smallest 270-seat A350-800 variant whose entry into service (EIS) is delayed by 2 years from 2014 to 2016.

The A350-800 is the variant with the most serious overweight issue in the aircraft family with an around 5 tonnes overweight (mon post 11 / 07 /2012 : 4.0 à 4.5 tonnes) and has already missed its fuel burn target by “a few per cent”, ....

whereas the baseline -900 model is around 3 tonnes overweight (mon post 11 / 07 /2012 : 2.3 à 2.5 tonnes), according to Aspire Aviation‘s sources at Airbus. Had Airbus pressed ahead with re-engining the A330 along with sharklets, it would have diluted(mon post 11 / 07 /2012 : "diverted") scarce engineering resources from the A350 XWB and A320neo (new engine option) programmes that would otherwise have worked at trimming the weight of the A350 and ensuring the smooth execution of the crucial aircraft programme.

Simply put, while the A350 programme has performed better-than-expected in execution so far, with the amount of travelled work still being manageable, significant risks nevertheless remain, especially during testing times where a potential weakness in the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner’s side-of-body area prompted the Chicago-based plane-maker implementing a costly fix with titanium fittings; ordering both the A350 and 240-tonne A330 with the latter providing interim lift from mid-2015 onwards makes the most sense.

“We’ve already had three airlines and one leasing company saying ‘Can’t you get it for early 2015′. We could maybe get it a few months early but summer 2015 is target for now,” Airbus chief operating officer (COO) customers John Leahy said.

Aircraft lessor CIT Aerospace placed an order for five more A330s at the Farnborough air show today, including the first commitment for the newly launched longer-range A330.

The order takes to 10 the number of commitments for the A330 the lessor has placed this year. Five were ordered earlier this year in conjunction with the cancellation of orders for four A320s and the exercise of an aircraft purchase option.

Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2014.

Pauvre B777-300ER, en état de mort commerciale lente depuis des années, et maintenant en état de mort programmée (mort certaine, mais à échéance incertaine).

Ainsi s'ouvre un 2ème été indien pour l'A330 ! Il sera, peut-être, aussi beau et fructueux que le 1er !
Il y en aura, surement, qui en auront marre !

PARIS (Reuters) - Synergy Aerospace a signé une commande ferme portant sur neuf appareils de la famille Airbus A330, a annoncé jeudi le constructeur aéronautique, filiale d'[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] dans un communiqué.

Cette commande porte sur six A330-200 en version passagers et trois A330-200 en version fret.

La motorisation sera annoncée ultérieurement.

Jean-Michel Bélot

Higher-weight A330 not intended as A350-800 substitute

Airbus insists that the higher-weight A330 will not evolve into a substitute for the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], reiterating that it still intends to develop the shrink variant of its new twinjet family.

Chief operating officer for customers John Leahy stresses that there is "not even an internal review" over the -800's future, although he says slot constraints on the A350 programme are directing the airframer to prioritise sales of the higher-value -900.

Airbus will tweak the A330 family to raise the maximum take-off weight to 240t, giving a consequent increase in range, and is pitching entry into service for 2015, a year earlier than the A350-800.

Lessor CIT has become the first to commit to the improved A330, which will benefit from A350 aerodynamics. The company had previously been an A350-800 customer, with an order for five, but abandoned it in favour of the larger -900. Leahy says CIT is a strong A330 customer and its decision to take the higher-weight type is unconnected to the A350 switch. He says the modified A330 and the A350 will serve "different markets".

The new [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], the first variant to undergo the change, will have a range of 5,950nm (11,000km). That of the A350-800 - which will have a maximum take-off weight of 248t - is intended to be about 8,500nm.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] is one of the primary customers of the -800, accounting for 20 of the 118 on order, and is unconvinced Airbus wants to retain the programme.

Chief executive Akbar Al Baker believes the airframer is quietly trying to shelve the -800. "Officially they are telling us they are still going to make that aircraft," he says. "We don't know."

He says the carrier's commitment to the type depends on its capability. "If it is not head and shoulders above the (Boeing) 787-8, then we will have to reconsider.

In our contract with Airbus we can swap our A350 orders between the -800 and -900."

Qatar has ordered 40 A350-900s and Al Baker says he is expecting the first in mid-2014, adding that this amounts to a six- or seven-month delay to contractual delivery dates.

"We had been expecting that slip and we had already built a buffer into our preparations," he says. "We realise that it is heavier than in our contract with them, but there are ways around this and we are talking to Airbus about how to resolve this."

Airbus acknowledges that the decision not to optimise the A350-800 and instead develop it as a shrink of the -900 does have a weight and fuel-burn penalty of "a few percent". However it denies that the decision to focus on range capability rather than optimum operating costs has irritated some customers wanting to use the aircraft on shorter routes.

"The customers have mostly endorsed that decision (to create the -800 as a shrink of the -900)," says A350 chief engineer Gordon McConnell.

Airbus presented the revised -800 to current and potential customers during April's annual A350 programme progress review in Nantes (Airbus says non-XWB-customer attendees included Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa).

Flight International understands that some attendees have been unhappy with the plan to trade operating economics for range and lower ownership cost with the decision not to optimise the design of the -800 around reduced weights. Airbus denies this, although McConnell concedes that "trying to keep all the airlines happy at the same time is not easy".

He says that Airbus has "to develop an aircraft that everyone wants" and points out that despite the -800's increased weights which boost range by 460km (250nm), it has retained the original basic weights "because they will be more interesting to airlines who are flying regional operations, and we'll probably offer some even lower take-off weights for customers with very short-range activities".

Despite the fuel burn penalty, McConnell says that the A350-800 retains a very strong advantage in operating economics over the airframer's current long-range twin, the A330-200.

"The A350-800 has got about 1,400nm [2,590km] more range with 30 more passengers, but it's burning less fuel too - over a 4,000nm [7,400km] mission the A350-800 burns around 23% less fuel [per seat] than an A330-200," McConnell says.

He also dismisses the notion that the decision to revise the A350-800 into a heavier, longer-range aircraft could leave a niche open for the smaller, lighter A330-200. "The economics mean that once this aircraft is available, people will not probably chose to buy our A330-200 any more," he says.

SEVRIEN a écrit:.Rappel : post du 16 janvier, 2010, à 03h40 (page 05, ci-dessus).
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Jeannot a écrit:Qatar Airwaus aime bien les nouvelles spécifications du 350 XWB 800.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] launch customer [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] has declared itself pleased with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s rethink on the -800 variant, which is now based directly on the -900 to offer greater commonality and more range.
"An [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] with longer range has more appeal as it differentiates it from the 787-8 and allows operation of long, thin routes," says the airline. It adds that it also likes the fact that it now has "a high degree of commonality with the A350-900".

Il parle de l'avion, pas de sa motorisation ! L'enthousiasme du client de lancement est un bon signe !

The rethink was agreed last year in conjunction with the customers, ahead of the second A350 variant reaching its design freeze milestone in December, says the programme's marketing chief Sophie Pendaries. "The planned optimisation of the -800's design - slight changes to the structure and landing gear, tyre and brake changes - was not bringing the expected benefits," she says.
Consequently, Airbus decided to base the shorter model directly on the -900, and trade any penalties against a significant range improvement.

Voilà un point clé ! Contrairement aux dires de certains, qui disaient que l'avion serait un "flop", et qu'il n'arriverait jamais à réaliser la distance franchissable promise initialement, soit 15,400 kms. Il est vrai que, par prudence, Airbus avait annoncé une réduction vers les 15,000 kms, quand le surpoids de 2 à 3 tonnes fut observé sur la variante -1000. Aujourd'hui, Airbus a trouvé une excellente solution !

A350-800 now has identical structure and gear to the lead variant, the -900, while the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines will be offered at two thrusts - a baseline 79,000lb (352kN) and a 74,000lb derate.

Vraiment astucieux !

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

The maximum take-off weight rises by 11t over the previous plan to 259t (with the old variant's 248t still offered as an option). Range (at the higher weight) increases by 460km (250nm) to 15,800km, or payload by 3t.

Très intéresant pour les clients ! Il y en a qui pourront même opter pour un panachage des deux variantes dans la même flotte d'A350-XWB-800, le cas échéant !

Standard three-class seating remains the same, at 270 passengers.

Meilleure capacité que les B787-8 ! Ceci confirme que cet appareil va pouvoir rivaliser avec le B787-9 !

By not optimising the structure and having higher thrust engines, the reworked -800 has a fuel burn penalty of "a few per cent", although Pendaries claims that its advantage over the rival [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] is unchanged as that programme is not meeting its original performance promises.

Voilà un autre point 'clé' ! Compte tenu du rayon d'action décevant du B787-8 (et du-9, aussi), par rapport aux promesses contractuelles initiales faites par Boeing (Randy BASELER & sa bande), il y a, maintenant, beaucoup moins de pression sur l'Airbus, en ce qui concerne cette variante ! Au contraire, Airbus découvre une nouvelle flexibilité de configuration / exploitation pour cette avion !

Airbus says that the new variant offers up to 1,670km more range than any 787 variant. Compared with the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], it has a 1,300km advantage and up to 25% lower block fuel per seat.

Oui ! Parce que, les A350-XWB-900 & -1000 offrent déjà "30% lower block fuel per seat", par rapport à leurs rivaux chez Boeing !

The development timetable remains unchanged, with the -800 due to enter service with launch customer Qatar Airways around a year after the -900, in the second half of 2014.
Qatar Airways, which is launch customer for all XWB variants, has told Flight International that it fully supported Airbus in last year's rethink because "an A350-800 with longer range has more appeal as it differentiates it from the 787-8 and allows operation of long, thin routes". It adds that it also likes the fact that it now has "a high degree of commonality with the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]".

Bien resumé !

Airbus has orders for 182 A350-800s, a further 248 for the -900 and 75 for the -1000 stretch.

Oui !

Voilà !

Le problème est que, tout comme Tim CLARK, Akbar Al BAKER 'en raconte tellement' qu'il ne se souvient plus de la dernière ânerie ou incohérence qu'il émet !

Depuis ces messages de janvier et d'avril, 2010, rien n'a changé en ce qui concerne l'A350-XWB-800 !

De quoi parle, donc, Akbar Al BAKER ? De rien du tout !

Le relatif silence d'Airbus sur l'A350-XWB-800 ne devrait pas être interprété comme une intention d'abandonner le type !

De toutes façons, l'A350-XWB-800 va mettre en pièces les B787-8 & -9 de Qatar !

Mais, en réalité, c'est Qatar qui est en train de penser qu'il ferait mieux d'obtenir des livraisons plus tôt des A350-XWB qu'il a commandés !

Il lorgne, donc, sur les A350-XWB-900 ! En réalité, il aimerait faire une opération 'annulation substitution', en annulant une dizaine des A350-XWB-800, en les remplaçant par des A350-XWB-900, livrables plus tôt !

Et chez Qatar, ce ne sera pas un problème de besoin de PUC !

Non ! C'est que Qatar s'est rendu compte qu'il a accepté de commander trop de B777-300ER / -200LR !

Akbar Al BAKER vient de se rendre compte que l'Airbus A350-XWB, dans es variantes -900 & -1000 va mettre en pièces les B777-300ER, et que les deux appareils "concept" B777-9X / -8X, "revampés" avec une nouvelle aile en carbone, et (plus ou moins ; avec un peu de "stretch") le même fuselage en 'métal' que les B777-300ER / -200LR (mais, Al -Li cette fois) ne pourront pas rivaliser avec les A350-XWB-1000 & / ou A350-XWB-900 !

Mais il veut donner l'impression que c'est Airbus qui est / serait demandeur de cette opération 'annulation-substitution', et non pas Qatar !

Ces derniers commentaires n'engagent que moi !

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s long-haul operation, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], is planning to lease six Airbus [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] from US firm International Lease Finance.
The carrier, which already has nine A330s, has signed a letter of intent to acquire the twinjets, which would be delivered over 2013-14.

As of 27 November 2010, the AirAsia X fleet : following aircraft with an average age of 4.4 years:
AirAsia X fleetAircraftIn ServiceOrdersOptionsPassengersRoutesNotesPYTotal

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]	—	3[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]	—	24	264	288 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]	Europe, Asia, Oceania	Entry in service: 2014[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]	9	16	—	12	365	377	Asia, Oceania	9-abreast economy configuration
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]	—	10	5	TBA		425	Europe, North America	Entry in service: 2016[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
Total	9	29	5

On 14 May 2007, AirAsia confirmed that it had ordered 15 Airbus A330-300 aircraft, 5 more than originally announced. The aircraft are scheduled for delivery from the fourth quarter of 2008. On 27 March 2008, AirAsia signed a firm contract for another 10 Airbus A330-300s bringing the airline's total order to 25.AirAsia X received its first A330 on 31 October 2008 in Toulouse, France

ILFC says the A330s will be fitted with Rolls-Royce Trent 700 powerplants and have a maximum take-off weight of 233t, and are the "same model" which the airline is taking directly from the airframer.

The lessor confirms that [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] X will take six aircraft on a 10-year term and be configured to the carrier's current [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] layout, featuring 12 premium-class and 365 economy-class seats.
"These six aircraft, together with existing delivery orders from Airbus, will see [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s growth develop, with a total of seven deliveries each in 2013 and 2014, with the aim of being the dominant market leader in the low-cost long-haul segment," said [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] X chief Azran Osman-Rani.

"We intend to deploy the additional capacity with a vision to solidify our positions in our identified core markets including Australia, China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan."

Jeannot a écrit:Boeing ne voit pas l'EIS du 787-10 avant la fin de la décennie.

Boeing Doesn’t See Stretched 787 Until Late in Decade

Boeing Co feeling no pressure from airlines for an immediate decision on the stretched version of its 787 Dreamliner, said the plane wouldn’t reach customers until late this decade.

The “end of the teens” is the likely target for the new Dreamliner’s entry into commercial service, should Boeing commit to offer the model, Mike Sinnett, chief project engineer on the plane, said today in an interview.

“We’re not in a hurry to come up with an answer” on developing the 787-10, Sinnett said. “We’re not even to the point that we’re telling the board, ‘We’re going to come talk to you by the end of the year.’”

Airbus pushes enhanced A330 against 787-9

Airbus believes its proposed higher-weight and fuel-capacity modifications to the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] will offer certain competitive advantages over the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 787-9.

The A330-300 is built with the same centre tank structure as the longer-range [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] but is unused.

Airbus will modify the aircraft on the production line by sealing the centre section, making the volume available for fuel transport.

It will also install associated pumps as well as the inerting system required by US and European regulators.

Airbus expects the increased fuel capacity, combined with planned aerodynamic tweaks, to bring the maximum take-off weight to 242t and increase the range of the A330-300 by 500nm (930km) to 6,100nm.

It claims that while the 787-9's cash operating costs per seat would be 6% lower its direct operating cost per seat will be 7% higher than the 242t A330-300's. Boeing gives the range of the 787-9 at 8,000-8,500nm.

Airbus is also positioning the type as a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] replacement, claiming the aircraft will increase its proportion of network coverage from 85% to 94% of the -200ER's. Over 400 -200ERs, which have a range of 7,725nm, have been delivered since the first in 1991.

Airbus offers new 242 tonne A330 takeoff-weight capability to extend market coverage


242 tonne option increases revenue payload on longer missions

Extra fuel capacity extends range by around 500nm at full passenger payload

Opening new direct flights with A330-300s between South-East Asia and Europe


Airbus has improved the A330-300 and A330-200 even further by providing operators both with a 242 metric tonne maximum take-off weight (MTOW) capability and, for the larger A330-300, an increased fuel capacity option. These enhancements build on the capability announced earlier this year for an increased 240 tonne MTOW, and will be available for operators in 2015.

The new take-off weight capability combined with the fuel capacity increase enables operators of these new A330-300s to carry additional payload on longer missions. Overall, the full payload range now increases by around 500nm over today’s 235 tonne A330-300, and by around 350nm over today’s 238 tonne A330-200.

The A330-300’s optional fuel capacity increase will be achieved by activating the centre wing tank for the first time on this model. The centre tank and its associated systems have always been present as standard on its longer-range sibling – the A330-200. The additional fuel capacity for the A330-300 allows operators to fly new longer distance routes, such as direct flights between South-East Asia and Europe. For example, it will permit westbound direct flights such as Kuala Lumpur to Frankfurt or Paris, with the ability to carry additional cargo on the eastbound return flight.

Head of the A330 programme Patrick Piedrafita commented: “The A330 is already a highly efficient and reliable airliner and we have taken it as our duty to maximise this even further, along with range and payload increases.” He added: “We are currently delivering more A330s per month than ever before, and this is set to continue, especially given the ongoing improvements we are introducing to the airframe, cabin interior, and engines.”

The A330 Family, which spans 250 to 300 seats, and includes Freighter, VIP, and Military Transport/Tanker variants, has now attracted more than 1,200 orders and around 900 aircraft are flying worldwide. Ever since the original version of the A330-300 entered service, the hallmark has been its very efficient operating economics. Thanks to the introduction of numerous product improvements, it remains the most cost-efficient and capable aircraft in its class and the Family is achieving average dispatch reliability above 99 percent. With headquarters in Toulouse, France, Airbus is an EADS company.