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dpa
Le Bourget, France
European aircraft maker Airbus on Monday announced it was moving forward with a super long-range version of its A321neo in an attempt to get ahead of its US competitor, Boeing.
The Airbus A321XLR is intended to fly distances up to 4,700 nautical miles (8,700 kilometres) and to be available from 2023, as Airbus sales head Christian Scherer announced at the Paris Air Show, the largest of its kind in the world.
The first customer is to be the Air Lease Corporation with an order of 27 of the new model. The corporation simultaneously signed a preliminary order for 23 standard Airbus A321neo, along with 50 smaller planes from the A220-300 range.
The new aircraft aims to fly routes between Europe and the Americas and between Europe and India.
“Compared with current aircraft, like the Boeing 757, which fly these routes, the A321XLR will make fuel savings and cuts in CO2 emissions of around 30 per cent,” Scherer said.
Boeing is also planning a new aircraft for the segment. Its “New Midsize Aircraft” (NMA), which is inofficially being called the Boeing 797, is to have a capacity between mid-range and long-range planes.
Boeing has yet to decide whether to make the jet, though chief executive Dennis Muilenburg has indicated that it could be flying by 2025. The US company is not expected to make any major announcements at the show as it remains embroiled in a crisis over its 737 Max mid-range jet after two fatal accidents.
Muilenburg told journalists that his company would not be concerned with orders at the Paris Air Show but rather with safety, modesty and learning.
Boeing will take the necessary time to make the improvements to the aircraft, whose software probably contributed to the two accidents with a total of 346 dead, he pledged.
The Boeing boss did not want to predict when the grounded aircraft could take off again. The certification process is making good progress, but the decision lies with the authorities, Muilenburg said.
Many airlines have already taken the 737 Max aircraft out of service for most of the summer.
Oversight authorities in many countries, including the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), are currently scrutinizing the plane and the planned changes to the software and security system.
To date they had largely relied on the tests carried out by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has been heavily criticized in connection with its approval of the 737 Max.
Le Bourget, France
European aircraft maker Airbus on Monday announced it was moving forward with a super long-range version of its A321neo in an attempt to get ahead of its US competitor, Boeing.
The Airbus A321XLR is intended to fly distances up to 4,700 nautical miles (8,700 kilometres) and to be available from 2023, as Airbus sales head Christian Scherer announced at the Paris Air Show, the largest of its kind in the world.
The first customer is to be the Air Lease Corporation with an order of 27 of the new model. The corporation simultaneously signed a preliminary order for 23 standard Airbus A321neo, along with 50 smaller planes from the A220-300 range.
The new aircraft aims to fly routes between Europe and the Americas and between Europe and India.
“Compared with current aircraft, like the Boeing 757, which fly these routes, the A321XLR will make fuel savings and cuts in CO2 emissions of around 30 per cent,” Scherer said.
Boeing is also planning a new aircraft for the segment. Its “New Midsize Aircraft” (NMA), which is inofficially being called the Boeing 797, is to have a capacity between mid-range and long-range planes.
Boeing has yet to decide whether to make the jet, though chief executive Dennis Muilenburg has indicated that it could be flying by 2025. The US company is not expected to make any major announcements at the show as it remains embroiled in a crisis over its 737 Max mid-range jet after two fatal accidents.
Muilenburg told journalists that his company would not be concerned with orders at the Paris Air Show but rather with safety, modesty and learning.
Boeing will take the necessary time to make the improvements to the aircraft, whose software probably contributed to the two accidents with a total of 346 dead, he pledged.
The Boeing boss did not want to predict when the grounded aircraft could take off again. The certification process is making good progress, but the decision lies with the authorities, Muilenburg said.
Many airlines have already taken the 737 Max aircraft out of service for most of the summer.
Oversight authorities in many countries, including the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), are currently scrutinizing the plane and the planned changes to the software and security system.
To date they had largely relied on the tests carried out by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has been heavily criticized in connection with its approval of the 737 Max.
