Update – Airbus Industrie A330 & A340

With the two new types firmly placed for a programme go-ahead by the end of this year, Airbus will have a complete family of aircraft to market during the next decade. Presently the consortium holds only a tenth of the world jetliner market, the goal by 1995 is to hold more than a third of this total market and by that stage, Al will have no less than five different aircraft types, and numerous sub-types, with which to achieve this ambition. Indeed the specific models will range from the short/medium range 150-seat A320 through the mid-size A300 and A310 twins to the larger A330 (nee TA9) and the specialist long-range A340 which was formerly designated the TA11.

To form a basis for further defining the final A330/A340 designs Al visited 34 major airlines during late 1985 in order to specifically ascertain exactly what airlines required from the two aircraft types. The Al design and marketing team visited 8 carriers in North America, 5 in South America, 14 in the Middle East, Europe and Africa and 7 in our region including Qantas, TAA and Ansett. Obviously different airlines had different preferences depending on their sphere of operations though in the long haul category there was a distinct preference for four-engined aircraft over twinjets from the Asia/Australasian carriers while North America preferred long ranging twins. Reasons for this are of course primarily geographic though with two long-range aircraft types, Airbus will have both options covered nicely in the decade ahead.

The A330, is tomorrow’s high-capacity twinjet.

The eventual existence of a stretched A300 has probably been a foregone conclusion since the first such aircraft flew in the early seventies. Progressively though the original A300B2 has been constantly refined and in its current version, the A300-600 represents a state-of-the-art twinjet in both short/medium and extended range versions using a two crew flight deck, EFIS instrumentation and the latest in relaxed stability aerodynamics and composite materials to achieve a vastly more efficient aircraft than the original B2.

The A330 carries on this tradition with a further fuselage stretch to accommodate from 260 in the long-range three-class configuration to 379 in a typical charter layout. In between these numbers lies a tremendous capacity for flexibility. What also makes the two new types economically viable is that they both will use exactly the same fuselage section and basic wing. As the original A300/A310 fuselage cross-section is already employed then the additional efficiency this introduces to production is obvious.

Airbus consider that in real terms the cost of acquisition and maintenance are beginning to outweigh the importance of fuel efficiency in acquiring new jet fleets. Not that the new Airbus is are not highly fuel efficient but the cost of the basic aircraft must be kept down in order for airlines, large and small, to be able to afford them in the long-term. By manufacturing four different model types utilising the same fuselage cross-section, and with two of them utilising near identical wings, then Airbus feel that they will be able to keep acquisition cost to a competitive minimum. This commonality also enables rapid changes in production rates while at the airline end the effects are reduced maintenance overheads, crew commonality and a more flexible operating regime.

Power for the big twin will come from either 62,000lb thrust General Electric CF6-80C2 turbofans or 60,000lb class Pratt & Whitney PW4000s. The 80C2 is already in service aboard Thai International A300-600s while the PW4000 is currently in flight test aboard an Airbus A31O and is due for certification later this year. Ultimate range profiles for both types have yet to be fully determined though the A330 in its extended range version will be able to operate comfortably at maximum payload well beyond 4000nm. To facilitate longer range Al are looking at a reduction of up to 15% per air mile and 30% per seat mile as compared to the older A300B4 which is presently operated by TAA. This is achieved by the new technology engines (refer p. 29 Jan AA) and an extensive weight and drag reduction programme. The new British Aerospace developed wing (components of which will hopefully be made in Australia) will feature optimum fuel burn for the cruise speed in addition to aeroelastic tailoring and load alleviation. Basically this means that much turbulence can be dampened out, reducing overall drag and discomfort for passengers. Additionally, the new wing will feature variable camber control by way of slightly graduated extensions of the trailing edge which will further maximise lift and reduce drag as the cruise profile changes as fuel burn-off and altitude change.

The flight deck of both aircraft will be common with that of the A320 and advanced 1990s versions of the tried and true A300 and A310. Airbus are pioneering the use of Fly By Wire (FBW), large format CRTs and sidestick controllers and wish to make this basic cockpit design common in order to facilitate maximum crew commonality and reduce overall aircrew training costs. An airline, operating a mix of such aircraft can then utilise crew more effectively and in the case of the twin-aisle models operate the same standards of passenger accommodation on a mix of short/ medium and long-range aircraft. The flexibility this gives a large airline can often mean the difference between profit and loss at the end of the day.

The A340, the specialist long haul quad.

In deciding to proceed with the specialist long haul four-engined A340 (previously designated TA11) Airbus appreciated that the market for this cabin size of aircraft in this mission profile is not exceptionally large. Airbus studies tend to confirm that while the overall long-range market covering the period 1985- 2004 is for 1250 aircraft only about a third of this sector will be occupied by aircraft in the 250 to 350 seat category. The bulk of the numbers will go to the established 747 and to a lesser extent the MD-11 trijet from McDonnell Douglas.

While the potential market is not large though, neither are the launch costs for Airbus as the A340 is again basically a four-engined A330. The only differences are those required on the flight deck for four-engined operations and some minor modifications to the wing to accept the additional outboard engines. Otherwise the two aircraft are identical though the A340 can carry up to ten tonnes additional fuel in order to meet its requirement to fly at maximum payload out beyond 6,000nm. Again, precise range and mission profiles won’t be fully determined till launch later this year, perhaps at Farnborough. Like the A310-300 and A330, the A340 will also carry fuel in its horizontal tailplane, something that Airbus proudly note that Boeing are following with their 747-400 (refer p. 76 Mar AA) and MDC with the MD-11. Therefore while the A340 faces a relatively smaller market than its twinjet brother, the aircraft will also represent a minimal investment from the Airbus partners and also provide an alternative to the extended-range twinjet which will always suffer restrictions in operating the long transoceanic sectors so common to the southern hemisphere.

Power for the A340 will be supplied either by the GE/Snecma CFM56-5 or the International Aero Engines V2500. Both engines are on offer for the A320 and for the A340 will be available in uprated form to 27,000lb plus takeoff thrust. This engine will also ultimately be available for the stretched A320, an aircraft that will hopefully enter service around 1992.

Essentially the A340 falls into a capacity category not that dissimilar to that of the Boeing. In a three-class long-range configuration, the A340 accommodates 260 passengers and 308 pax in a first/economy configuration more common to many third world carriers. Fuel burn per seat mile will be the equivalent of that of the 7 47-400 which will be quite an achievement as this will be the first time any competing aircraft has got near the excellent seat/mile economics of the big Boeing.

Most of the launch capital for the new projects will come from the various governments of the consortium members though some private French banking money is already involved and BAe may have to go outside of government financial circles in order to raise its $A1bn required to develop the new common wing. This is not seen as a major problem for either Airbus or BAe though as the consortium are confident of sharing more than a third of the jetliner world market during the nineties with their new and diversified product range.

The numbers seem to bear them out- during 1985 for instance they easily led with twin aisle wide bodies while if you discount the hot-selling 737, Boeing only sold 108 aircraft during 1985 as against 101 for Al. For the coming twenty years their analysts foresee a market in the 100-175 seat range of 4,162 aircraft. About 45% of these aircraft would be US bound while Europe would require 28%, Asia/Pacific 11 % and Latin America 9%. This is A320 country and according to Al goals would see sales of around 1,500 A320s. With entry to service still two years away and an order book of more than 260 aircraft, including options, then Airbus must feel confident in the future of their smallest twinjet.

The larger market comprises all aircraft in the 210 to 600 seat category embracing both medium and long-range variants. Airbus foresee this market as 3,680 units in the short/medium range sector and 1,284 in the long-range category. This is where they hope to sell more than 1,700 A300s, A31 Os, A330s and A340s. As at January this year Airbus had sold nearly 500 aircraft broken down into 275 A300s, 117 A31Os and 100 A320s with the majority having been ordered since the recession of the early eighties.

With the imminent launch of the A330 and A340, Europe’s Airbus Industrie will at last have a complete family of jetliners with which to take on the world, and more importantly, withstand the boom and bust cycle that is regrettably a hallmark of commercial aviation.