Just spent the last two days traveling – finally back on the East Coast.
News broke yesterday afternoon of Airbus’ decision to offer a heaver A330-200 to take on the first 20 787 Dreamliners in 2010. The new 238t version of the A330-200 would have a range of 6,840nm
A higher gross weight, longer range A330 was studied for years as a response to the 787, though it went by a different name at first. It was called the A350. It eventually gave way to the A350 XWB which we see today in the three aircraft family of the -800, -900 and -1000.
In its earliest iterations, the dimensions of the A350-800 and A350-900 matched identically to the A330-200 and A330-300. Though shelved in favor of a all-new design, Airbus clearly didn’t opt to mothball the plan fully, instead waiting until now to call it a higher gross weight model A330 to take on those early 787s.
One has to wonder if a heavier A330-300 is in the works as well if performance issues on -8 carry to the -9. Though, the A350-900 will already be into final assembly by early 2011. Yet, a heavier A330-300 might make sense to offset the A350-800 which is due in 2013, a direct competitor to the 787-9 due in 2012.
There’s no indication currently as to whether or not there would be any engine changes to the new 2010 model, though the A350 mark 1 featured both Rolls-Royce and General Electric engines. The only reason why GE didn’t make it onto the XWB was because the passenger capacity of the -900 and -1000 would have put it in direct competition with the GE90-110/115B engines on the 777.
Finally, claims that the 787-8 is “tons” overweight and 2% over fuel burn targets are stunning to say the least. Airbus didn’t say by how much the 787 is overweight, but the impact as they see it is clear. Early 787s, Airbus claims, will only have a range of 6,720 nm, at least 1,000 nm less than the range Boeing advertises, and only about 800 nm more than the 767-300ER. Airbus cited “market intelligence” for its updated assessment. It’s worth noting that Boeing has not yet responded to Airbus’ claims about the 787-8 performance.
Though with Dreamliner Seven held in supply chain because of the strike, the aircraft will likely benefit from additional change incorporation aimed at bringing down the weight and boosting performance both on the airframe and for the engines.
The jury is still definitely out on this question until flight and static testing get underway fully.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.