Airbus A350 Discussions to begin Oct. 6th

bits44 · Post by **bits44** » 30 Sep 2005, 05:32

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArt ... ived=False

sacha · Post by **sacha** » 30 Sep 2005, 15:22

seems like the A350 won't be built...

teach · Post by **teach** » 30 Sep 2005, 15:29

sacha wrote:seems like the A350 won't be built...

Huh? Whatever makes you say that?

yagoceron · Post by **yagoceron** » 30 Sep 2005, 16:00

Seeing the success of the 787, it would be suicidal not to build the 350.

regi · Post by **regi** » 30 Sep 2005, 19:00

Who knows what Airbus has in its sleeve?
Imagine they abandone the A350 and launch a Sonic Cruiser, european style, or, the revamped Concorde.
Major panic in Seatlle.

Avro · Post by **Avro** » 30 Sep 2005, 19:03

I don't think they will do that regi.
The sonic cruiser type of plane will probably come but not in the copming 10years IMHO.

Let's wait and see

Chris

yagoceron · Post by **yagoceron** » 30 Sep 2005, 19:20

I think commercially it is more interesting to sell 250 787 than to sell 10 hypotethic "new Concorde"

Ruscoe · Post by **Ruscoe** » 30 Sep 2005, 22:47

The A350 really worries me from a commercial point of view. some of the problems I see are:

1. Does not have a base of quality airlines to launch on
2. Does not address the 300/310 replacement market
3. Boeing will definitely do a 787-10 if it is launched
4. Airlines sem more interested in the 787 even after the latest 350 designs were releasd.
5. The real breakthrough of the 787 is in the reduction in construction costs, and the 350 does not adress this.
6. the 787 has a better fuselage width
7. 787 will cost less to maintain
8. The 350 is the ultimate enhancement of an old design, the 787 is the beginning of a whole new design and way of making aicraft

Airbus needs to get into this scene sooner rather than later.

I think Airbus know this and if they do not get launch aide the 350 will not be profitable, and hence won't be built.

There is a very compelling reason to build it though. airbus needs the cash flow more than ever, and europe needs the jobs now, rather than later.

Ruscoe

boeing797 · Post by **boeing797** » 30 Sep 2005, 23:33

regi wrote:Who knows what Airbus has in its sleeve?
Imagine they abandone the A350 and launch a Sonic Cruiser, european style, or, the revamped Concorde.
Major panic in Seatlle.

Abandon A350? A Euro style Concorde ? You mean the one the only few can fly? This is Euro metality

Knight255 · Post by **Knight255** » 01 Oct 2005, 05:15

Airbus needs to get into this scene sooner rather than later.

I disagree, they can keep driving themselves into the hole....

Seriously though, Airbus was very late jumping on the "fuel-efficient" airliner so they may be redesigning the A350 even more to attract more customers, or maybe their going to cancel the whole program...who knows??? At this point it's better not to speculate, fun as it may be, it will be a long time before we actually see an A350.

CX · Post by CX » 01 Oct 2005, 06:06

I thought the A350 research centre has already been built in China? No way they'll stop it now!

Further, the current Airbus line up is aging a little, the A340-300 will almost certainly be beaten by 777-300ER and 777-200LR which you can say they have A340-500 to compete with, but with the 787, they need the A350.

WreckageTrail · Post by **WreckageTrail** » 01 Oct 2005, 06:18

Airbus went with the genesis of a new airframe with the 380, a gamble which I think will pay off handsomely.
Now they condradict this with a - lets face it - rehash of the 330/340, with a fuselage dating back to the 300.
It looks a little tired in comparison with the carbon fuse of the 7 eighty 7.
Whether it translates to inferiority with it, I don't know.
Boeing responded to the threat of airbus domination and the 380 with the 787 and it's going to be a beaut.

yagoceron · Post by **yagoceron** » 01 Oct 2005, 14:34

Boeing's move with 787 is brilliant.

And while I believe the A380 is a nice succes, in the long run Boeing will sell so many 787 while the market for the A380 will be quiet as soon as most of the companies have got theirs.

But I also think that Airbus should take a bit more time to make the A350 a bit more interesting.

And if Qatar Airways is not a quality airline I don't know what it is

CX · Post by CX » 02 Oct 2005, 02:09

Does the appearance of the aircraft matters that much? As long as its performance betters the 787, there no no reason why airlines will all go for 787 just because it looks more swift...

But as I said, Airbus needs this A350 to be a success, at least as successful as the A330/340..