F
R

6
-
2
0
0
0

AIRBUS CHALLENGES BOEING SUPREMACY

A relentless string of sales successes by Airbus Industrie is threatening Boeing's supremacy. With innovative ideas and a well balanced product portfolio, the Europeans now have their sights set on the fast lane.

1999 saw firm orders for 476 new aircraft, equivalent to $30.5 billion, for Airbus Industrie, making it the second best year for new orders in the company's history. But even more important to the European consortium than just the number of orders was the fact that that it had achieved a 55% market share and thus beaten arch-rival Boeing. "These results prove that we are Boeing's equal. And what is even more impressive is the fact that we have succeeded in increasing our profit margins at the same time," enthuses Airbus president Noel Forgeard.

In fact, in its 30th year of its existence, Airbus has every reason to be in high spirits. To date the four-nation consortium has delivered no less than 2,188 aircraft, equivalent to $120.8 billion, while its order backlog currently stands at 1,445 aircraft, worth $100.1 billion. These figures may still be some way off the American giant's, but quite clearly the European aircraft are now viewed by customers as a highly desirable alternative to the airliners which roll out of Seattle.

Whether Airbus can stay in the lead in the long-term is another question, for the fact is that both manufacturers offer first-class products which demonstrate their quality 24 hours a day all around the world in heavy-duty continuous airline operations. But it is also true that, due in no small measure to political far-sightedness, Airbus Industrie is Europe's guarantee of an enduring place at the forefront of technology world-wide.

This is evidenced by a product range that is based on leading-edge technology. It was, after all, Europe that came up with the first two-man cockpit and first used composite materials on load-bearing structures.

The technologically most significant and at the same time the most successful Airbus model is the A320, the first subsonic passenger aircraft in the world to be fitted with a fly-by-wire control system. Airbus Industrie also simplified the cockpit layout and replaced the traditional control horns with a sidestick.

Since then the A320 has grown into an entire family ranging from 107 to 185 seats. Altogether the aircraft consortium has around 1,900 orders for the A318/319/320/321 series. This outstanding success compared with the Boeing 737 is partly due to the common flight deck and avionics suites used on the different models, an essential element of the Airbus philosophy. For Airbus customers this has the attraction of making cross-crew qualification possible, i.e. enabling pilots to be retrained from one Airbus model to another in a very short time and hence permitting aircrew to be deployed with the maximum operational flexibility.

This cockpit commonality extends to the widebody A330 and A340 models as well. These two aircraft were developed as a combined programme. Structure and systems are therefore largely identical in order to reduce maintenance costs.

Through the long haul A340-500/-600 versions Airbus plans to extend capability still further. It now offers the airlines an even greater choice both as regards range and capacity, combined with the advantages of operation without ETOPS restrictions (Extended-Range Twin-Engine Operations, 180 minutes' flying time with only one engine). The 313-seat A340-500 will have a range of up to 15,700 km (8,477 nm), only surpassed by the planned Boeing 777-200LR (16,328 km/8,816 nm). The A340-600, at a length of 75,3 m (247 ft.), will be the largest Airbus to date, capable of transporting 380 passengers. Both aircraft should be up and flying next year.

The biggest challenge for the consortium, however, is posed by the giant A3XX, with which Airbus Industrie hopes finally to break Boeing's monopoly in jumbo jets. After many years of working on the technology, high-level exploratory discussions are currently under way with potential launch customers. If the response is good, Airbus plans to present some concrete proposals and get the project, which will cost well in excess of $10 billion, under way at the end of the year. By then it should also have decided on the final assembly location. At present this seems likely to be Toulouse. The first A3XX's could then enter service in 2005.

From FLUG REVUE 6/2000