Green light for the A350XWB

The A350 will be offered in five versions: the 270-seat A350-800 which will have a range of 8500nm (15,750km); the -900 which will have 314 seats and a range of 8300nm (15,380km); and the 350-seat A350-1000. An ultra long range -900R which will replace the A340-500 in the Airbus line-up and go up against Boeing’s 777-200LR is also planned, as is a -900F freighter version.

Importantly, all of the passenger versions will have a cruise speed of Mach 0. 85 to match their Boeing rivals.

“It is a direct response to market demand,” ew Airbus CEO Louis Gallois said in a statement. “The decision follows a thorough review of all the resources available to ensure a smooth development. ” As predicted by COO John Leahy recently, the A350 will feature carbon-fibre reinforced plastic fuselage panels rather than the previously planned aluminium-lithium skin as used on the A380.

Airbus says using composite skin panels rather than an entire composite barrel as used by the 787 will allow for “easier maintainability and repairability of individual airframe parts. ” Rolls-Royce has committed to the A350 by signing an agreement with Airbus to develop a series of Trent engines in the 75,000 to 95,000lb (333 to 423kN) thrust class to power all five versions of the aircraft. No other potential engine manufacturers have been mentioned at this stage, although under the initial A350 plan, General Electric was to have supplied versions of its GEnx engine for the A350-800 and -900. It is understood that GE is reluctant to provide engines for the larger A350-1000, as it will complete directly with the GE90 powered 777‑300ER/ LR series in which it is a risksharing partner.

EADS says the A350’s development will be funded predominantly from cash flows which it hopes will be boosted by Airbus’s Power8 restructuring program, along with some risk sharing partners, with the estimated €10bn (A$17bn) in development costs spread over the 2007 to 2014 period.

Rumours have also persisted about EADS approaching a group of Persian Gulf based investment funds to take a stake in the program, with Dubai Investment Capital and the Qatar Investment Authority mentioned as two possible entities who could potentially buy into Airbus.

Although these reports have been denied, Airbus has said it would not rule out government loans for the project, a scenario likely to inflame the trans-Atlantic subsidy war currently before the World Trade Organisation. “The financial resources must be sufficient and sustainable,” Gallois said.

Airbus does says it also talking to external suppliers with a view to outsourcing as much as 50 per cent of the A350’s production. “On the A350, our plan is to outsource 50 per cent of the airframe production, which would allow us to hand over (part of the project) to partners participating in the development,” Gallois said. “The target is €1. 8bn (A$3bn), we have started talking to candidates. ” It is likely that some of these may include Chinese aerospace companies, especially as Airbus has already committed to establishing an A320 assembly line in China from 2008.

In the meantime, there are reports that Airbus has offered a mix of A350s and additional A380s to Emirates to fill that airline’s capacity requirements in the wake of its October decision to cancel its order for 18 A340-600HGW airliners due to that aircraft not meeting its performance expectations.

However, Emirates president Tim Clark appears lukewarm to the proposal, saying that “linking an A350 order and the prospect of more A380s to the A340-600 deal is somewhat premature. The A340-600 contract is one issue and the delay to the A380 program is another. ” Airbus is currently showing that is has commitments for 222 A350XWBs, although this includes over 122 commitments which have not been formalised from customers including Qatar Airways (60), Singapore Airlines (20) and GE Capital Aviation Services (10). There has been speculation that Qatar may cancel its commitment, especially after recently ordering 20 777s.

Finnair, which has nine A350- 900s on order, has stated that it remains committed to the aircraft, despite the delays which it has faced.

The first version to market will be the A350-800 which is expected to enter service in 2013, rather than mid 2012 as Airbus had planned when revealing the A350XWB at Farnborough last July. This will be followed by the -900 in 2014 and the -1000 in 2015.