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Airbus Nears A320 Upgrade as Boeing Questions Efficiency
By Andrea Rothman - Sep 19, 2010
Airbus SAS is in final negotiations with suppliers about a reworked version of its bestselling A320 and is poised to unveil a more fuel-efficient version as early as next month, Chief Operating Officer Fabrice Bregier said.
New engines on the A320 would cost 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) to 1.5 billion euros, a fraction of the $10 billion a brand new model could reach in development, Bregier said. Airbus has forged preliminary agreements with two engine makers and is talking to suppliers of nacelles that house the engines, landing gear, and other equipment that would need changing, he said.
“If we re-engine, we give the plane another 10 years to live,” Bregier said in an interview in Toulouse, France, where Airbus is based. “We’d sell another 3,000, 4,000 more planes, so it’s worthwhile for us to look seriously at how we can have equipment evolve or change.”
Putting new engines on the A320-series planes would help Airbus satisfy airlines seeking greater fuel efficiency in the face of rising oil prices. The move would also put pressure on Boeing Co. to reconsider its 737 model, after indicating it may skip a reworked version because it would not satisfy the efficiency gains that airlines demand.
The final decision to approve the business case for new engines hasn’t been signed off on, and the company is still “talking in the conditional tense,” Bregier said. Bregier and other members of the executive committee gathered in China last week for their monthly strategy meeting. Airbus said in July that it would decide on the engine options this month.
By Andrea Rothman - Sep 19, 2010
Airbus SAS is in final negotiations with suppliers about a reworked version of its bestselling A320 and is poised to unveil a more fuel-efficient version as early as next month, Chief Operating Officer Fabrice Bregier said.
New engines on the A320 would cost 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) to 1.5 billion euros, a fraction of the $10 billion a brand new model could reach in development, Bregier said. Airbus has forged preliminary agreements with two engine makers and is talking to suppliers of nacelles that house the engines, landing gear, and other equipment that would need changing, he said.
“If we re-engine, we give the plane another 10 years to live,” Bregier said in an interview in Toulouse, France, where Airbus is based. “We’d sell another 3,000, 4,000 more planes, so it’s worthwhile for us to look seriously at how we can have equipment evolve or change.”
Putting new engines on the A320-series planes would help Airbus satisfy airlines seeking greater fuel efficiency in the face of rising oil prices. The move would also put pressure on Boeing Co. to reconsider its 737 model, after indicating it may skip a reworked version because it would not satisfy the efficiency gains that airlines demand.
The final decision to approve the business case for new engines hasn’t been signed off on, and the company is still “talking in the conditional tense,” Bregier said. Bregier and other members of the executive committee gathered in China last week for their monthly strategy meeting. Airbus said in July that it would decide on the engine options this month.