The first A350 XWB for Japan Airlines (JAL) has rolled out of the Airbus paint shop in Toulouse, France. The A350-900 is the first ever Airbus aircraft to be produced directly for JAL and features a special A350 XWB red logo on the fuselage.
The aircraft will now proceed to ground and flight tests, before delivery to JAL in early summer.
In total JAL has ordered 31 A350 XWB aircraft, comprising 18 A350-900s and 13 A350-1000s. The A350-900 will initially be operated on major domestic routes, with a three-class configuration seating 369 passengers.
The A350 XWB is the world’s most modern and eco-efficient aircraft family shaping the future of air travel. It is the long-range leader in the large widebody market (300 to 400+ seats). The A350 XWB offers by design unrivalled operational flexibility and efficiency for all market segments up to ultra-long haul (15,000 km).
The A350 XWB features the latest aerodynamic design, carbon fibre fuselage and wings, plus new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce engines. Together, these latest technologies translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency, with a 25% reduction in fuel burn and emissions. The A350 XWB’s Airspace by Airbus cabin is the quietest of any twin-aisle and offers passengers and crews the most modern in-flight products for the most comfortable flying experience.
At the end of March 2019, the A350 XWB Family had received 890 firm
orders from 50 customers worldwide, making it one of the most successful
widebody aircraft ever.
Air Mauritius has taken delivery of its first A330-900, on lease from ALC during a ceremony held in Toulouse. The national carrier of the Republic of Mauritius is the first A330neo operator based in the southern hemisphere, and the first airline in the world to operate a combination of both the A330neo and A350 XWB.
Benefiting from the A330neo’s unbeatable operating economics and award-winning Airspace cabin, the aircraft (named Aapravasi Ghat in reference to Mauritius’ history) will feature a two-class cabin with 28 business class seats and 260 economy class seats. The carrier will deploy the aircraft on routes connecting Mauritius to Europe (mainly London and Geneva), India and South East Asian routes and on regional destinations including Johannesburg, Antananarivo and Reunion Island.
Air Mauritius CEO Somas Appavou stated: “I am delighted to welcome our first Airbus A330neo, another milestone in our fleet modernisation programme. The addition of two A330neos to our fleet will bring more flexibility and efficiency to our operations while supporting our network strategy. The A330neo offers similar levels of comfort as the A350 XWB, which has received very favourable feedback from our customers. I strongly believe that with the addition of the A330neo to our fleet, Air Mauritius will further reinforce its focus and emphasis on the customer who are at the very core of our business model.”
“Sugar and spice and all things nice! Like its namesake, inspired by the island’s history in developing the sugar industry, their first A330neo will pioneer Air Mauritius into a whole different level of efficiency and flexibility by operating both the A330neo and the A350 XWB, our latest generation widebodies”, said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer. “Passengers will enjoy unmatched levels comfort in our award winning ‘Airspace by Airbus’ cabins on both aircraft. Well done to our trusted partner on being the world’s first airline to operate the A330neo and the A350 XWB together – a sweet combination!”
Air Mauritius currently operates nine Airbus aircraft, of which two A350-900s, three A340-300s, two A330-200s and two A319s on its regional and long haul services.
The A330neo Family is the new generation A330, comprising two versions: the A330-800 and A330-900 sharing 99 percent commonality. It builds on the proven economics, versatility and reliability of the A330 Family, while reducing fuel consumption by about 25% per seat versus previous generation competitor aircraft and offering an unrivalled range capability. The A330neo is powered by Rolls-Royce’s latest-generation Trent 7000 engines and features a new wing with increased span and new A350 XWB-inspired Sharklets.
With an order book of more than 1,700 aircraft from 120 customers to date, the A330 is the most popular widebody family.
Uganda Airlines, the national carrier of Uganda,
has firmed up its order for two A330-800 airliners, the latest version
of the most popular A330 widebody airliner.
Fitted with the new Airspace by Airbus cabin, the
A330neo will bring a range of benefits to Uganda Airlines and its
customers, offering unrivalled efficiencies combined with the most
modern cabin.
Uganda Airlines plans to use the A330-800 to build its medium and
long-haul network with the aircraft offering cutting-edge technology
along with more efficient operations
Launched in July 2014, the A330neo Family is the new generation A330, comprising two versions: the A330-800 and A330-900 sharing 99 percent commonality. It builds on the proven economics, versatility and reliability of the A330 Family, while reducing fuel consumption by about 25 percent per seat versus previous generation competitors and increasing range by up to 1,500 nm compared to the majority of A330s in operation. The A330neo is powered by Rolls-Royce’s latest-generation Trent 7000 engines and features a new wing with increased span and new A350 XWB-inspired Sharklets. The cabin provides the comfort of the new Airspace amenities including state-of-the-art passenger inflight entertainment and Wifi connectivity systems, amongst others.
Lisbon-based TAP Air Portugal has taken delivery of its first of twelve A321LRs on order, becoming the first airline to operate a combined A330neo and A321LR fleet. The A321LR is the world’s most flexible and capable large single-aisle aircraft. Powered by CFM engines, TAP’s A321LR is configured with 171 seats (16 full flat Business, 48 Eco Premium and 107 Ecomomy seats).
The combination of the A321LR and the A330neo within a single fleet provides operators a powerful lever to cover the needs of the medium- to long-haul market. With both newest-generation single-aisle (20% fuel burn reduction) and widebody aircraft (25% fuel burn reduction), airlines benefit from an unrivalled commonality for operations while passengers experience a higher and harmonised comfort standards.
“The A321LR is critical for TAP’s expansion plans. With its superior range we can comfortably explore markets in North America, South America and Africa from Portugal, and it’ll fit in seamlessly with our A330neos,” said Antonoaldo Neves, CEO, TAP Air Portugal. “In North America it allows us to explore markets on the East Coast, such as New York, Boston, Montreal or Washington. In Brazil the A321LR can open new markets in the Northeast and complement existing services to cities like Recife, Natal, Fortaleza or Salvador,” he added. “The aircraft are equipped with the latest-generation full flat business class and high comfort economy seats, a full suite of in-flight entertainment (IFE) and connectivity, as well as free messaging services”.
TAP’s A321LR will be operated on the Lisbon-Tel Aviv route at its entry into service.
“We applaud TAP Air Portugal for becoming the first airline to leverage the benefits of the A321LR and the A330neo in a common fleet. The A321LR and A330neo working in tandem have the middle market segment nicely covered. The ‘Airbus NEO Midsize Aircraft’ – let’s call them the ‘A-NMA’s,’ are a winning, seamless combination – unprecedented capacity and transatlantic range with single aisle cost with the A321LR, and unbeatable unit costs and flexibility for true long haul with the A330neo. Both with the most contemporary technology and cabin comfort in their class,” said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer.
TAP currently operates an Airbus fleet of 75 aircraft comprising five A330neo, 13 A330ceo,4 A340s, and 45 A320 Family aircraft. The single-aisle fleet includes 21 A319ceo, 20 A320ceo, four A321ceo, two A320neo and six A321neo.
The A321LR is a member of the A320neo Family, with over 6,500 orders by more than 100 customers. It delivers 30% fuel savings and nearly 50% reduction in noise footprint compared to previous-generation competitor aircraft. With a range of up to 4,000nm (7,400km) the A321LR is the unrivalled long-range route opener, featuring true transatlantic capability and premium wide-body comfort in a single aisle aircraft cabin.
The A330neo is a true new-generation aircraft building on the A330’s success and leveraging A350 XWB technology. It incorporates the highly-efficient new-generation engines, new wings and new sharklets derived from A350 XWB technology.
Exclusive: China’s huge Airbus order padded by old or incomplete deals – source
PARIS
(Reuters) – A landmark order from China for 300 Airbus jets signed
during a state visit last week was bolstered by repeat announcements of
dozens of existing deals and advance approval for deals that have yet to
be struck, two people familiar with the matter said.
Echoing
an umbrella order for 300 Boeing jets awarded during a visit to Beijing
by U.S. President Donald Trump in 2017, the headline figure for the new
“framework order” for European jets was partly driven by political
considerations, the people said.
The
Airbus deal would have been worth some $35 billion at list prices but
the amount of new business is lower, they added. Duplicate announcements
included a deal for 10 A350 aircraft to an unnamed buyer, which
represents a repeat announcement of an order for 10 jets by Sichuan
Airlines at an air show last year.
The
disclosure takes some of the shine off an announcement widely regarded
as the economic highlight of a trip to Europe by Chinese President Xi
Jinping. Nonetheless the deal marked a return to the aircraft market by
China’s state buying agency after a pause of over a year during global
trade tensions.
The
overall figure of 300 was introduced late in the process and after Xi’s
visit was underway, although plane orders typically take months to
negotiate, one of the people said.
Airbus declined to comment on detailed orders but left open the possibility that the large total contained gaps.
The
agreement “creates the approval framework for aircraft ordered by
Chinese airlines, be it existing orders or future orders,” a spokesman
said.
TRADE TIES
Airbus
shares fell 0.7 percent on Tuesday, extending earlier losses after
Reuters reported gaps in the China deal. Airbus’ stock had risen almost
two percent after China’s mega-order, signed in Paris on March 25 in
front of Xi and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Industry
sources say major planemakers play by similar rules when selling to
China, where they face a two-tier system of negotiations with airlines
within a framework of state-backed umbrella deals that may be influenced
by geopolitics.
But
the headline figures for new orders during high-profile diplomatic
visits, which for several years hovered around 150 aircraft for both
Airbus and Boeing, have increased as trade ties between Washington and
China go through highs and lows.
In
November 2017, months before a trade war erupted with the imposition of
tariffs, China announced an order for 300 Boeing jets during a visit to
Beijing by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Analysts
expressed doubts at the time over how much of that was new business,
and said part of the announcement represented renewed government support
for deals already on Boeing’s books.
“The most recent Airbus and Boeing deals followed a similar pattern,” said a China aircraft industry specialist.
Boeing
is now seen as next in line to secure a 200-300-plane order as part of a
possible economic truce being negotiated to end the trade war, but the
recent grounding of one of its jets has cast uncertainty over the timing
of the deal.
Boeing
and Airbus compete fiercely to serve the needs of the world’s
fastest-growing airplane market, while bracing for future competition
from China’s own aerospace industry.
Analysts
say Beijing tends over time to balance U.S. and European purchases,
though recent years have seen the rise of a growing number of
independent Chinese leasing companies and an increase in autonomous
decision-making by several airlines.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Additional reporting by Marine Pennetier; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Richard Lough)
STARLUX Airlines of Taiwan has signed a firm order with Airbus for 17 widebody aircraft, comprising 12 A350-1000s and five A350-900s.
The new airline plans to deploy these aircraft on its premier long-haul services from Taipei to Europe and North America, as well as selected destinations within the Asia-Pacific region.
“We are very glad to sign the official purchase agreement today for Airbus widebodies. The A350’s combination of extra-long range capability, significantly lower operating costs and high passenger comfort were key factors in our decision,” K.W. Chang, Founder and Chairman of STARLUX Airlines said. “STARLUX is committed to becoming one of the best airlines in the world. We are positive that with the A350 XWB, we will be able to spread our wings to further destinations, bringing our best-in-class services to more people over the world in the near future.”
“What K. W. and STARLUX are proving is that when you start from a clean sheet, you make no compromises. Every STARLUX A350-1000 takes off 45 tonnes lighter than its alternative. Imagine the savings! And will fly up to 1,000 more miles than the alternative, enabling STARLUX to serve US-East Coast destinations nonstop! Imagine the extra market & revenue!” said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer. “Both the A350-1000 and A350-900 offer true long range capability, greater passenger comfort, yet all the economic benefits of fleet commonality. We salute STARLUX’s strategic choice with gratitude and we will be there to support their legitimate ambition.”
The A350 XWB is the world’s most modern and eco-efficient aircraft family shaping the future of air travel. It is the long-range leader in the large wide-body market (300 to 400+ seats). The A350 XWB offers by design unrivalled operational flexibility and efficiency for all market segments up to ultra-long haul (9,700 nm). It features the latest aerodynamic design, carbon fibre fuselage and wings, plus new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce engines. Together, these latest technologies translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency, with a 25 per cent reduction in fuel burn and emissions. The A350 XWB’s Airspace by Airbus cabin is the quietest of any twin-aisle and offers passengers and crews the most modern in-flight products for the most comfortable flying experience.
At the end of February 2019, the A350 XWB Family had received 852 firm orders from 48 customers worldwide, making it one of the most successful wide-body aircraft ever.
NAIROBI (Reuters) – There are encouraging signs that European planemaker Airbus is closing in on a long-negotiated deal with China for dozens of new narrow-body jets, an aide to French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.
The official said there were hopes Airbus would nail down the multibillion-dollar order when President Xi Jinping visits Europe later this month, but acknowledged there would unlikely be confirmation until the eleventh hour.
“The talks are ongoing,” the official said. “It will be difficult to know for sure until the day before, but the signs are positive.”
China has become a key hunting ground for Airbus and its leading rival Boeing, thanks to surging travel demand, but the outlook has been complicated by Beijing’s desire to grow its own industrial champions and, more recently for Boeing, the U.S.-China trade war.
Macron unexpectedly failed to clinch the Airbus order during a trip to China in early 2018 and the French government and Airbus have been working since to salvage it.
Macron said at the time that China would buy 184 A320 narrow-body jets, an order worth $18 billion at list prices.
The Elysee Palace official also said Airbus was discussing a new order with Ethiopian Airlines. The official gave no details on the size of the potential new Ethiopian order but cited the long-range A350, a model which Ethiopian already operates, and the single-aisle A320 jet as aircraft of interest to the airline.
Macron and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed discussed the negotiations during Macron’s visit to Addis Ababa on Tuesday, two days after an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed after taking off, killing all 157 people on board.
Industry analysts played down a possible link between any current negotiations and Sunday’s crash. Ethiopian has been undertaking a major fleet expansion and regularly talks to the market, they said, adding that order talks take time.
(Reporting by John Irish; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Mark Potter)
Air Senegal has taken delivery of its first A330-900 from Airbus’ production line in Toulouse. The carrier is the first African airline to fly Airbus’ new generation widebody aircraft featuring latest technology engines, new wings with enhanced aerodynamics and a curved wingtip design, drawing best practices from the A350 XWB.
Fitted with a three-class cabin comprising 32 Business class, 21
Premium Plus and 237 Economy class seats, Air Senegal plans to operate
its first A330neo on its Dakar-Paris route and to further develop its
medium and long-haul network.
The A330neo is the true new generation aircraft building on the
best-selling widebody A330’s features and leveraging on A350 XWB
technology. Powered by the latest Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, the
A330neo provides an unprecedented level of efficiency – with 25% lower
fuel burn per seat than previous generation competitors. Equipped with
the Airspace by Airbus cabin, the A330neo offers a unique passenger
experience with more personal space and the latest generation in-flight
entertainment system and connectivity.
Note to editors
This delivery event also marks the first time when the Airbus
Foundation and Air Senegal team up for goodwill flight. Read more on
Airbus Foundation website
BERLIN
(Reuters) – Lufthansa has ordered 20 Boeing 787-9 and 20 additional
Airbus A350-900 long-haul planes to replace its older four-engine
aircraft as it seeks to boost the fuel efficiency of its fleet, the
airlines group said on Wednesday.
The
German company said it has also agreed to sell six of its 14 Airbus
A380 planes back to Airbus in 2022/2023 for economic reasons.
Airbus
said last month it would scrap production of the A380 superjumbo from
2021 following lacklustre sales. The decision reflected a dearth of
orders as airline bosses shied away from bulky, larger planes that are
harder to fill.
Qatar airways said last week it would phase out its A380 planes from 2024.
Lufthansa
said the new aircraft will be delivered between late 2022 and 2027. It
did not disclose how much it had paid for the planes which have a
list-price investment volume of $12 billion (9.1 billion pounds), but
said it had negotiated a significant price cut.
“In
addition to the cost-effectiveness of the A350 and B787, the
significantly lower CO2 emissions of this new generation of long-haul
aircraft was also a decisive factor in our investment decision,” Chief
Executive Carsten Spohr said in a statement.
Lufthansa
currently operates a long-haul fleet of 199 aircraft. It said the new,
more economical aircraft will lower its operating cost compared to
earlier models by around 20 percent.
The
airline will also seek to reduce the complexity of its fleet over the
next few years by taking seven aircraft types out of service to help
reduce maintenance costs and the supply of replacement parts.
(Reporting by Caroline Copley; editing by Thomas Seythal and Michelle Martin)
LONDON
(Reuters) – Rolls-Royce dropped out of the race to power Boeing’s
planned mid-market aircraft on Thursday, saying it did not want to risk
more disruption for its airline customers by rushing out a product
without extensive testing.
The
move strengthens a leading position in the high-profile contest already
held by a transatlantic venture involving Rolls’ arch-rival General
Electric, industry sources said,
Britain’s
Rolls-Royce, which makes engines for large civil aircraft and military
planes, wants to avoid a repeat of the problems with its Trent 1000
engine that powers Boeing’s Dreamliner 787.
Chief
Executive Warren East said he had taken the “very difficult decision”
to withdraw from the Boeing competition because it couldn’t make the
development of its new UltraFan architecture fit the timetable for the
aircraft.
Boeing
has proposed launching a new mid-sized jetliner to fill a gap between
the narrow and wide-body aircraft, with airline operations beginning in
2025.
“If
you enter into service with an engine that is not sufficiently mature,
then you are almost inevitably going to run into lots of in-service
issues, lots of customer disruption and lots of incremental costs,” East
told reporters.
He
said, however, that Rolls was still committed to UltraFan, a major new
fuel-efficient architecture that will power wide-body jets towards the
back end of the next decade.
CFM
International — a joint venture between GE and France’s Safran — as
well as Pratt & Whitney are also potential suppliers for the new
Boeing jet.
Pratt
& Whitney recently re-entered the civil market for narrow-body jets
and wants to expand to larger ones, but has been hit by industrial
problems.
UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS
In
the nearer term, Rolls is still dealing with the costs and disruption
of fixing Trent 1000 engines caused by the poor durability of
components.
“On
this issue we have indeed turned the corner,” East said, although he
added that the level of customer disruption was still unacceptable.
It
raised the Trent 1000 charge to 790 million pounds from 554 million
pounds at the half year, contributing to a full-year operating loss of
1.16 billion pounds ($1.54 billion), and allocated another 100 million
pounds in cash to the problem.
The issue has damaged Rolls’ standing with its big customers.
British
Airways owner IAG said on Thursday it would order 18 Boeing 777-9s,
rather than a competing package from Airbus that industry sources said
included the A350, which is powered by Rolls.
“I
have been frustrated, largely with the performance of Rolls-Royce, not
so much with Airbus,” IAG Chief Executive Willie Walsh said.
East, however, said Rolls had an excellent relationship with BA and put the choice down to IAG’s fleet requirements.
“I am totally confident we will be continuing to be a major partner with BA for many, many years into the future,” he said.
East
said that aside from Trent 1000, the rest of the business was
performing well, although the large engine deliveries of 480 fell short
of its 500 target, in part due to the challenge of stepping up Trent
7000 production.
Shares in Rolls were trading down 3.4 percent at 950 pence, underperforming a 1 percent drop in the FTSE 100.
The
company reported a 8 percent rise in underlying revenue to 15.1 billion
pounds and a doubling of operating profit to 616 million pounds.
However,
changes in Rolls-Royce’s dollar-pound hedge book had a significant
impact on its results, and were in part responsible for a reported
full-year loss of 2.9 billion pounds.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle, Additional reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Edmund Blair and Keith Weir)
