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Post by Jkkw on Oct 22, 2013 6:06:03 GMT 1
Great to see Airbus regularly updating the public on A350 progress. By comparing the slide presented around a month before first flight and the slide from yesterday, we can see that - First flight of MSN2 is now mid February instead of late January, putting its first flight around the same time as MSN4
- MSN 5 has slipped around 2 months
- MSN6 will enter the FAL around 1 month after MSN5
new  According to the article, MSN 6 will be delivered in late August or early September next year although that may be pushed back to October or November. Edit This article says that, certification is planned for August with delivery in October. This is interesting as I think this is the first time Airbus has given such a specific timeline for delivery, before yesterday, it was always, 2H 2014 and even the first flight was simply given Summer 2013 (they have however gone on to give themselves some space by saying it may slip to Oct or Nov). As for the fact they're considering a stretch, I think they're starting to feel the pressure to compete with the 777-9x, a while ago it was 'double stretches don't work' and now we've had both Leahy and Evrard say they have conducted some sort of research into the feasibility of a stretch. |
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someone
in service - 1 year
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Post by someone on Oct 22, 2013 7:16:07 GMT 1
Do we know who will take delivery of the test aircrafts not being kept by Airbus?
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XWB
in service - 11 years
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Post by XWB on Oct 22, 2013 9:38:37 GMT 1
Certification is planned for the end of August or the beginning of September. Delivery of MSN6 will follow 4-5 weeks later, thus we're looking at October for first delivery.
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harty236
Outfitting in Hamburg
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Post by harty236 on Oct 23, 2013 20:46:17 GMT 1
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philidor
in service - 6 years
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Post by philidor on Oct 23, 2013 23:11:33 GMT 1
In an update provided to the press on October 22nd (see up-thread), Airbus also made some comparisons between the A350-1000, the 777-300ER and the 777-9X.
According to some press reports, the following comments were made by Airbus.
The A350-1000 is the same size as the 777-300ER but the latter is 40 (metric) tons more heavy (20 tons of weight difference + 20 tons of additional fuel for the same mission). Moreover, the A350-1000 has four doors vs five, which allows one additional seat row.
According to Airbus, the A350-1000 should also be some 35 (metric) tons lighter than the 777-9X.
The A350-1000 could carry 369 pax in a two-class configuration. The 777-9X only achieves a 10% higher pax number through a cramped ten-abreast economy class layout.
While the technical advantages of the A350 were said to be the basis for JAL's choice, Airbus explained LH's choice of the 777-9X over the -1000 by reasons « other than technical » (with a perceived hint at an unspecified 748 deal).
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Post by airboche on Oct 29, 2013 10:15:03 GMT 1
Lufthansa has a huge number of Boeing qualified pilots and Boeing technicians, a long Boeing customer history and therefore likes to keep it's fleet well balanced between the big manufacturers. Having said that, their narrowbody fleet seems to become quite Airbus heavy recently.
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Post by Jkkw on Oct 29, 2013 12:07:35 GMT 1
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philidor
in service - 6 years
Posts: 8,950
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Post by philidor on Nov 3, 2013 12:13:50 GMT 1
Spirit Aerosystems announced its Q3 results on November 1st. As always, the release provides some insight into the programs the company is working on. spiritaero.mediaroom.com/2013-11-01-Spirit-AeroSystems-Holdings-Inc-Reports-3rd-Quarter-2013-Financial-Results-Revenues-of-1-504-Billion-and-EPS-of-0-65-Including-124-Million-in-New-Program-ChargesAs regards the A350 program, financial data and trends in production pace are both worthy of interest. 1) Spirit still is financially struggling to execute its share of the program. The company recorded a $112 million forward loss on the A350 fuselage production (including $79 million recurring costs and $33 million on -1000 engineering effort). "In the third quarter of 2013 the (fuselage) segment recorded net pre-tax forward losses of ($112) million on the A350 XWB fuselage program which consists of ($79) million on the A350 XWB recurring fuselage program reflecting early development discovery and changes and associated production inefficiencies, and higher test and transportation costs across the buy and ($33) million on the A350 XWB non-recurring fuselage program driven by engineering efforts on the -1000 derivative." I wonder whether Spirit remains fully committed to the program, in spite of these losses, and hopes to turn its operation around, especially now that the program commercial success is obvious, or whether the company is trying to offload part of their obligations back to Airbus. Some statements included in the release are worth notice : "Upon the reporting of its fourth quarter and full-year 2013 results, the company intends to issue financial guidance for 2014. The review may result in additional strategic decisions and financial impact. Factors which are the subject of, and could impact our review include those described more fully in the "Risk Factors" section of our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These factors include Spirit's ability to achieve acceptable shipset pricing with its customers ...." I suppose that tough pricing discussions are going on .... 2) Spirit has been ramping up production, though we don't know how numbers compare to forecasts/commitments. The company has delivered 4 shipsets in 9 months (Q1 to Q3) vs 2 in the same time frame last year and three altogether in 2012. At the end of September, total deliveries therefore stood at 7 shipsets. This seems to match production of the fatigue test airframe, the 5 prototypes and MSN 6 ... Production is ramping up, but is it fast enough ? "A350 XWB News" sounds pessimistic : www.bloga350.blogspot.fr/2013/11/spirit-aerosystems-only-delivers-4.htmI tend to be moderately optimistic. |
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XWB
in service - 11 years
Posts: 16,115
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Post by XWB on Nov 3, 2013 12:17:55 GMT 1
The 7 ship sets are: MSN5000, MSN001, MSN003, MSN002, MSN5001 (EF2), MSN004 and MSN005.
MSN006 will be a Q4 delivery.
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philidor
in service - 6 years
Posts: 8,950
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Post by philidor on Nov 3, 2013 12:29:49 GMT 1
The 7 ship sets are: MSN5000, MSN001, MSN003, MSN002, MSN5001 (EF2), MSN004 and MSN005. MSN006 will be a Q4 delivery. I forgot about MSN 5001 (EF2). Thank you for the correction. As regards delivery dates, your timeline is for delivery to FAL. Some fuselage sub-sections must be joined together before being sent to the FAL. Is it not the case with Spirit production ? If it is, then delivery to Airbus must take place earlier than delivery to FAL. I hope Spirit remains on schedule ... |
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