Flying Fox
Established Member
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2006
- Posts
- 2,981
- Qantas
- Silver Club
From The Australian -
From correspondents in Toulouse November 15, 2006
AIRBUS would decide before the end of the month on whether to go ahead with its A350 jetliner, with the launch dependent on the success of a restructure, chief executive Louis Gallois said today.
The A350, a long-haul mid-sized plane, has been drawn up by Airbus as a competitor for Boeing's popular 787 Dreamliner and 777 long-haul planes, but its development costs have been estimated at $US10 billion-$US12 billion ($13bn-$16bn).
Mr Gallois said the A350 program depended on implementation of a restructuring plan aimed at slashing production costs, cutting jobs and streamlining suppliers to the Toulouse-based group.
"We will not launch the A350 without Power 8,'' Mr Gallois said, referring to the name of a restructuring plan announced by Airbus at the beginning of October.
"We cannot launch a new program if we are not sure of being in a competitive situation,'' he said.
Speaking at a round table attended by subcontractors of the group and French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, Mr Gallois said that a decision on the A350 would be made before the end of November.
The Power 8 restructuring plan is a reponse by Airbus to delays to its superjumbo A380 project, which is running two years behind schedule because of costly production problems.
The plan, which has not been fully revealed by Airbus, has caused anxiety for many European governments and trade unions that are anxious to preserve jobs and avoid factory closures.
Earlier today, the London-based Financial Times newspaper reported that Airbus planned to outsource as much as a quarter of the work for the A350 to subcontractors, worth an estimated $US3.5 bn.
The move, described as a "huge shift'' by an analyst quoted by the FT, would save the company money on the development costs and would counter the effect of the strong euro, which has made Airbus planes more expensive for customers outside the eurozone.
Before deciding to launch the A350, Airbus will also have to decide on how it intends to finance the development costs of the project.
Sounds like more challenging times ahead for Airbus.
I think that that will still go ahead with the A350XWB (in some way/form) because Boeing are having such great success with the 787 I don't think that they can simply sit around without a competing product.
From correspondents in Toulouse November 15, 2006
AIRBUS would decide before the end of the month on whether to go ahead with its A350 jetliner, with the launch dependent on the success of a restructure, chief executive Louis Gallois said today.
The A350, a long-haul mid-sized plane, has been drawn up by Airbus as a competitor for Boeing's popular 787 Dreamliner and 777 long-haul planes, but its development costs have been estimated at $US10 billion-$US12 billion ($13bn-$16bn).
Mr Gallois said the A350 program depended on implementation of a restructuring plan aimed at slashing production costs, cutting jobs and streamlining suppliers to the Toulouse-based group.
"We will not launch the A350 without Power 8,'' Mr Gallois said, referring to the name of a restructuring plan announced by Airbus at the beginning of October.
"We cannot launch a new program if we are not sure of being in a competitive situation,'' he said.
Speaking at a round table attended by subcontractors of the group and French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, Mr Gallois said that a decision on the A350 would be made before the end of November.
The Power 8 restructuring plan is a reponse by Airbus to delays to its superjumbo A380 project, which is running two years behind schedule because of costly production problems.
The plan, which has not been fully revealed by Airbus, has caused anxiety for many European governments and trade unions that are anxious to preserve jobs and avoid factory closures.
Earlier today, the London-based Financial Times newspaper reported that Airbus planned to outsource as much as a quarter of the work for the A350 to subcontractors, worth an estimated $US3.5 bn.
The move, described as a "huge shift'' by an analyst quoted by the FT, would save the company money on the development costs and would counter the effect of the strong euro, which has made Airbus planes more expensive for customers outside the eurozone.
Before deciding to launch the A350, Airbus will also have to decide on how it intends to finance the development costs of the project.
Sounds like more challenging times ahead for Airbus.
I think that that will still go ahead with the A350XWB (in some way/form) because Boeing are having such great success with the 787 I don't think that they can simply sit around without a competing product.
