Airbus News

A look at the second US Airways A330 to be painted in American colours.

http://www.airliners.net/photo/American-Airlines-(US-Airways)/Airbus-A330-323/2518434/L/

Airbus has signed a framework agreement with China's state purchasing agency to supply 70 A320-family jets. The "general terms agreement," signed in Berlin during a visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, is for current-generation A320 and A321 models, Airbus chief executive Fabrice Bregier told reporters. A320s are worth USD$94 million to USD$110 million at list prices, valuing the provisional deal at around USD$7 billion.

(Reuters)

Indian budget airline IndiGo has agreed to buy 250 Airbus A320s, a purchase that could be worth nearly USD$26 billion and rank as the largest single order of jets from the European plane maker. IndiGo is expanding aggressively as it seeks to win more market share in one of the world's fastest growing aviation markets and cement its position as the country's only profitable carrier. The airline will start taking delivery of the planes from 2018 and has secured rights to buy a further 100 A320-family aircraft, Aditya Ghosh, Indigo's President, told Reuters news agency.

"We believe India is a highly under-penetrated market," he said. "Some of these will go to replacement. It's difficult to say how many at the moment, but a lot will be for growth." A deal for the planes would be worth USD$25.7 billion at list prices, although airlines typically get a discount. IndiGo, which sources have said is planning to list on the Indian stock exchange next year, has a fleet of 83 Airbus A320s and has ordered another 280 Airbus aircraft -- including 160 of the upgraded A320neo model that will begin arriving next year. It was one of the first customers for the A320neo.

Qatar Airways expects to have eight Airbus A350s in its fleet before the end of next year.
The airline has 80 of the type on order, including 43 of the initial -900 variant. It is to take the first by the end of this year, putting it on the Doha-Frankfurt route, and increase the fleet to eight within 12 months. Chief executive Akbar Al Baker says the carrier is demonstrating a “commitment to quality and comfort” with the introduction of the A380 and the A350. Its first A380 entered service on the London Heathrow route earlier this month.

Initial carbonfiber wing covers for the first Airbus A350-1000 have been completed, as structural work on the largest member of the family progress...

Airbus is aiming to introduce a higher-weight version of the A321neo in early 2019, in a bid to reinforce the type’s challenge to the Boeing 757 market. It has previously detailed four sub-variants for the A321neo, with maximum take-off weights ranging from 89t to 93.5t. But the airframer states that it will present a 97t version with “true transatlantic range”, featuring 164 seats including 20 lie-flat beds in a business-class cabin. The aircraft will achieve 25% lower cost per seat compared with the 757, it adds.

Qatar Airways (Doha) will assign the new Airbus A380 to the Doha-Bangkok route starting on January 5, 2015.

Airbus will cut production rates of the A330 to nine a month from 10 in the fourth quarter of 2015 as it switches to an upgraded version of the jet, the A330neo. Airbus launched the A330neo at Britain's Farnborough airshow in July and it is due to enter service in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Analysts had expected a production cut to six or eight a month for the A330 over the next couple of years although Airbus has said it would seek to keep production levels fairly stable through the transition to the new version. A spokesman said the cut in production would not result in job losses because the group is also ramping up production of the A350, which is due to enter service this year with launch customer Qatar Airways.

"With the recent commercial success we've seen following the launch of the A330neo, in addition to the new 242 tonne weight variant and the A330 optimised for regional routes, we are confident we will sustain a steady production towards the A330neo ramp-up period," Tom Williams, Airbus executive vice president programmes, said in a statement on Friday.

(Reuters)

Airbus has begun offering airlines a long-range version of the A321neo, aimed at replacing the Boeing 757. "The long-range version of the A321neo will be the ideal 757 replacement with true transatlantic range, 25 percent lower fuel burn and true long-range comfort," an Airbus representative told Reuters news agency.

The new jet would fill a gap in the product line for a single-aisle plane that can fly farther than Boeing's 737 or the Airbus A320, a niche long seen as one that Boeing might also seek to fill. The A321neo would have a flying range about 100 nautical miles greater than the 757-200W, and would seat about 164 passengers, similar to the 757's capacity of 169, but with 18-inch-wide seats and room for lie-flat beds in business class, Airbus said.

Airbus foresees the jet entering service in 2019.

"We are actively discussing this A321neo development with customers," Airbus said. "The increased 97-tonne maximum take-off weight and additional fuel capacity will give the A321neo a significant range increase overtaking the 757 currently operating on the transatlantic."

(Reuters)

Did you know that A330 and A350 XWB share a Common Type Rating? Meaning that pilots will be able to fly the A350 XWB alongside the A330 after having completed difference training.

Well the Airbus Corporate Jet News thread seems to be closed so i'll post in here.

In the first half of 2014, Airbus Corporate Jet Center (ACJC) delivered three ACJ319 executive aircraft, and launched its ACJ319 Elegance concept.

Great news! First A350 XWB for VietnamAirlines.com rolls out of assembly hall in Toulouse.

Scheduled for delivery in mid-2015, the aircraft will see Vietnam Airlines become the first Asian airline to fly the A350 XWB and the second operator in the world of the all-new, fuel-efficient widebody.

Airbus plans to start production at its first US factory with the larger A321 instead of the A320 as originally planned, a move that reflects rising demand for the bigger jet. Airbus Americas President Barry Eccleston told an audience in Seattle that the European aircraft maker was switching the plans for the plant in Mobile, Alabama, to accommodate growth in orders for the larger plane.

The first one off the line will be the A321ceo, or "current engine option" in April 2016, with A321neos, to follow later, he said. In the year to September, Airbus booked 311 gross orders for the A321, including 135 with the current engine option and 176 for the A321neo. The A321 seats about 185 passengers in a two-class configuration but can accommodate up to 220 for economy carriers. Airlines have been improving their efficiency by "up-gauging" to larger jets that accommodate more people, which lowers the per-seat cost.

(Reuters)

Qatar Airways A380 furnishing process.

Airbus is in talks with China Aircraft Leasing for a potential USD$9 billion - USD$11 billion order for about 100 A320s, French daily Le Figaro reported. The paper said the Chinese leasing firm would sign a memorandum of understanding with Airbus soon, adding that China Aircraft Leasing wants to build up a fleet of at least 100 aircraft by 2015.

An Airbus spokesman declined to comment.

In 2012, China Aircraft Leasing committed to buying 36 A320s at the Farnborough Airshow. Asia's first listed plane lessor seeks to tap into voracious appetite for aircraft in the world's fastest-growing aviation market, of which it has a 3 percent share. China's 800-plane leasing market is dominated by the world's biggest lessors, ILFC and GECAS.

(Reuters)

Airbus Group reported a 12 percent rise in nine-month underlying operating profit, led by its commercial aircraft and helicopter divisions. Nine month operating earnings before one-off items rose to EUR€2.6 billion (USD$3.23 billion) as revenue grew 4 percent. In the third quarter, Airbus posted operating profit of EUR€744 million, up 14 percent, on flat sales.

Airbus aims to deliver the first A350 to launch customer Qatar Airways by mid-December, according to the airline. Gulf News quoted Qatar's chief executive Akbar Al Baker as saying the mid-sized jet would be delivered between December 12 and 15. "Everything is perfect," Al Baker said, according to the newspaper.

The A350, Airbus's newest plane and made with a carbon composite fuselage, is a direct competitor to Boeing's composite 787 Dreamliner. The long-range, twin-aisle A350, received its certification by the US Federal Aviation Administration last week, after getting European safety approval in September. The version of the jet certified by the FAA and European regulators, the A350-900, is designed to seat 314 passengers.

Airbus has booked 750 orders for the A350, including 549 for the A350-900 and 169 for the larger A350-1000, which is due to enter service in 2017. The smaller A350-800 has 32 orders but is likely to be phased out to make way for the upgraded A330neo. Airbus is planning a steep production increase, aiming to build three A350s per month by year-end, up from two a month currently. By the end of next year it plans to build five a month and to hit 10 a month by mid-2018.

(Reuters)

Airbus expects its loss-making A380 program to reach break-even status by the end of 2015, helping to offset continued cost increases associated with increasing A350 production support. In its just-released nine-month earnings report, Airbus said its net income slumped in the third quarter from €445 million to €264 million in the period from July to September. It delivered nine A380s in the quarter, compared with four during the third quarter of 2013. -AIN-

A look at how the new Etihad Coral livery looks on the Airbus A321 of Etihad Airlines.

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Etihad-Airways/Airbus-A321-231/2546404/L/

Airbus sold 8 percent of Dassault Aviation back to Dassault in a deal worth EUR€794 million - the first step towards unwinding a 16-year-old link to a market rival. The move will result in a net reduction of Airbus Group's stake from 46.3 percent to 42.1 percent after taking account of Dassault's plans to cancel the shares along with a further 1 percent acquired in a separate buyback, the companies said.

Airbus said it had sold the shares for EUR€980 each, or a 9.2 percent discount to the Friday closing price. The trade follows months of negotiations between Airbus, Dassault and the French government, on whose behalf Airbus holds its stake in an arrangement considered outdated by its management and some investors who have urged it to cash out. Airbus said it would make its "best efforts" to sell up to a further 10 percent of Dassault Aviation by June 30, 2015, in one or more placements.