Winning the X(WB)
factor
With a new boss, and a new composite widebody airliner to deliver — how is Airbus adapting to the next set of
challenges facing the company? TIM ROBINSON reports from Airbus Innovation Days in Toulouse.
A
mong the media gathered in
Airbus’ annual press briefing,
the question on everyone’s lips
was — can the European aerospace manufacturer deliver on its promises
with the A350XWB and avoid the pitfalls
that have bedevilled the A380? As the
first composite airframe of the A350XWB
comes together in final assembly in
Toulouse, former ceo Tom Enders, seen as
a ‘safe pair of hands’ has now been moved
upstairs to head EADS, while Fabrice
Brégier takes over as the new head of
Airbus. With the dream team of Enders
and Gallois, who did much to salvage the
company’s reputation in the post-Noel
Forgeard era, now split up, will Airbus still
maintain the ‘X-factor’ moving forward?
On a wing and a crack
Certainly recent headlines involving the A380
and wing cracks have not made for easy
reading. The fault, partly down to the material
choice of a mix of composite and metal in the
wing ribs to save weight, will now affect some
120 A380s both already in service or in
production. A fix has been identified and will
be introduced in the first quarter of 2013, to
restore the full life capability of the wing for
already-delivered aircraft, according to Airbus
executive vp programmes, Tom Williams. For
new-build aircraft, the wing design will be
changed, with composites dropped from the
ribs and 7010 aluminium used instead. All
new aircraft delivered from 2014 will be to
this standard. It is worth noting that neither
the Type 1 nor the Type 2 cracks found,
presented an airworthiness hazard.
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The risks of innovation
For Airbus this has been a blow, coming on
top of the earlier A380 wiring issue which led
to late deliveries. As well as the embarassment
factor, the costs for these repairs mean some
observers wonder now if the A380 will ever
break even.
Airbus is well aware of this damage to its
reputation. Outgoing ceo Tom Enders in a
speech to the media, highlighted that innovation is “a double-edged sword.” He admitted
that: “We found out the hard way we didn’t
know everything” in the company’s choice of
materials and how it tested them a decade ago.
But he also was at pains to point out that if
you are not innovative enough, the “competition overtakes you and you’re dead.”
This is not just unique to Airbus either. At a
recent event in London, Boeing’s Jim
Albaugh, admitted, too, that pushing too hard
with its 787 had caused problems. According
to Albaugh a combination of the 787 being
the “first new aircraft since the 777”, led to
the company losing some skills, outsourcing
too much and taking on excessive risk.
So what is Airbus doing to avoid repeating
the mistakes of the A380 (and 787) in innovating enough to stay ahead but not too far
ahead?
Learning the lessons
First up it is clear that the company has learnt
significant lessons from the A380 and is
incorporating them into the design of the
A350XWB. It has already, according to Tom
Williams, scoured the A350 design and
replaced any instances of the lighter 7449
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aluminium with the stronger 7010. Secondly,
the company will be doing extra thermal
testing to assess fatigue. One of the issues of
the A380 wing cracks was that the implications of temperature changes from low
tempreture at altitude, and the aircraft baking
on a hot ramp in the sun, had not been fully
investigated or asessed.
Finally, and perhaps most interestingly of
all — computer modelling of fatigue and
stresses has also improved dramatically,
particularly in the past four to five years. In
the design of the A380 linear modelling was
used, and every-other wing rib was modelled
— the assumption being that it would pick up
any problems. Today, the increase in
computing power means non-linear stress
modelling is being used, giving a deeper and
more comprehensive overview of fatigue,
structure and airframe life. In short, the
advances in the understanding of materials
and composities over the past decade, along
with these hard lessons from the A380,
should insulate the A350XWB from any
similar faults.
A350XWB progress
Indeed, the company also has the advantage
of learning from Boeing’s experience with
787, too, in bringing a composite airliner to
market. A visit inside the first A350XWB in
final assembly, for instance, shows that the
nose section is made out of traditional
metallics, rather than composite. Why?
Because say Airbus this is likely to to be the
section most hit by birds and hail, and thus
would be more frequently damaged and in
need of minor repairs.
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The contruction of the A350XWB is also
different from the 787. Instead of one-piece
fuselage barrels, Airbus are constructing the
sections from four giant curved panels (two
side, one upper, one lower) to create a fuselage section. These sections, are then mated
together in final assembly. In a new innovation, to speed up final assembly, the sections
will come pre-installed with galleys, toilets and
other internal fittings.
The first complete fuselage, for static test is
already complete, with other systems testing
and major tests underway or about to start.
The powerplant for the A350, the RollsRoyce Trent XWB, for example, made its first
flight in February (see Powering The Future p
12). Meanwhile, a number of simulators or
aircraft 0 test rigs are running. These include
the Iron Bird and two simulators in Toulouse,
a high devices rig in Bremen, landing gear 0 in
Filton, the cabin rig in Hamburg and an air
systems intergration bench in Mexicali,
Mexico.
The flight test programme, set to begin in
early 2013, will use five flight-test aircaft. Two
of these (MSN002 and MSN005) will be
equipped with a full cabin for evacuation tests
and route proving. In addition, the new cabin
customisation concept for the A350 means
that Airbus will avoid the customer ‘overcustomisation’ that contributed to the A380’s
issues — yet still allow airlines to put their
personal stamp inside the cabin.
So will the A350 arrive on time for the
airlines in 2014? Didier Evrard, executive vp,
head of A350XWB programme, says that the
entry into service is ‘tight but remains feasible’. The company is keeping a close eye on
the supply chain and its readiness — not only
due to Eurozone concerns but also to make
sure that the airframer and its partners step
forward in sequence and that no one part gets
ahead (or behind) to present critical bottlenecks.
in November 2011) and the new production
aircraft will lead to certification by the end of
2012. From 2014, Airbus says, it will be able
to offer every A320 delivered as ‘Sharket
ready’. Notably Boeing has ruled out offering
the new double winglet on the MAX as a
retrofit option.
Beyond that, there is, of course, the neo
(new engine option) which updates the A320
in a more substantial way (although the type
rating and type certification will remain the
same) with CFM LEAP-1A or P&W
PurePower engines to give an aircraft that will
deliver between 8-12% fuel burn per seat
advantage over the rival 737 MAX. First flight
of the A320neo is set for 2014, with entry
into service scheduled for October 2015.
Airbus says it is not targeting existing
customers with future A320ceo (Current
Engine Option) production slots to convert
them to the neo, and fully expects that ceo will
remain in production well beyond the introduction of the neo. Indeed it has sold 450 of
the A320ceo family since the launch of the
neo.
Battle for market share
Meanwhile, after winning the race for orders
with Boeing every year since 2006, the first
quarter of this year saw Airbus in second
place, and trailing at 20% compared to
Boeing’s 80% — a situation that chief operating officer, customers, John Leahy, predicts
will return to its natural range somwhere
between 40-60% by the end of the year.
In particular, the fast-selling A320neo
means that Airbus is now limited in singleaisle production slots going foward for any
really big orders that customers may want in
the nearer term. However, despite this
impressive backlog of A320neo sales (over
1,400 firm orders), Boeing cannot assume
that the MAX will get a free ride in the
narrowbody space. After swooping ahead
with single-aisle sales for the A320neo, Airbus
is aggressively defending its patch from the
threat of the 737 MAX. Super salesman John
Leahy says that with the MAX, Boeing only
gets parity with classic A320 and loses in fuel
efficency compared to the neo. Moreover,
Airbus also claim the 737’s lower ground
clearance gives Boeing a clear problem with
the ultra-high bypass fans that the A320 can
accomodate.
However, in an interesting about turn of
usual transatlantic claims, Leahy also accused
the US manufacturer of deep discounting of
the MAX, to shift units, arguing that it had to
do this to make up for the MAX’s lower fuel
effiency — saying “price was making up for
fuel burn” adding he was ‘shocked’ by the
price cuts on offer. Naturally Boeing denies
this, saying that the 737 has always
commanded a ‘premium’ price on the market.
Boeing execs also point to a ‘glut’ of secondhand A320s that are about to hit the market in
the next couple of years, with the inference
that the neo is wiping out the value of classic
A320s.
Widebody fight
On widebodies Leahy said that Boeing’s
strategy had been to tell airlines the 777 ‘was
the only game in town’ — that is he noted, at
least until the A350 arrives. Yet despite the
backlog of 548 firm orders for the A350 some
questions remain — with one wag pointing
out the “last time it sold one was when George
Bush was President.” Criticism from Gulf
carriers and a reduction by Etihad of 13 A3501000s have also seemed to dent prospects.
However, Leahy points to Seattle’s response,
the notional 777X, as proof that the A350 will
be a winner — arguing that if it posed no
threat, Boeing would not be spending $4-5bn
of its own money on revamping the triple
Aiming for the uptick? Airbus Sharklets will be available as a retrofit option.
Airbus
Left: The first A350XWB, the static test
article, in final assembly in Toulouse.
Sharklets ready to bite
Another visitor spotted at the Innovation
Days was the first new-build production A320
equipped with the fuel-saving Sharklet
wingtip devices which will be standard on the
A320neo and available as a retrofit or option
for new A320ceo customers. Airbus says the
Sharklets alone deliver a 3·5% fuel burn
reduction, while also bringing +100nm extra
range and +450kg payload, with minimal
changes. Flight tests of the Sharkets using two
A320 aircraft, MSN1 (which flew with them
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seven. Despite this sales slowdown, Leahy said
the aim was this year to sell around 30 A350s.
Meanwhile, Airbus’ other widebody
twinjet, the A330 has been making up for this
— recording record orders (758) since the
launch of the 787. Airbus even claim the
A330-300’s lower lease rates over the 787-9
give it an operating cost advatange and that
the A330-200 will give the early 787-8s a run
for their money.
Finally, although the A380 wing cracks have
dominated headlines, the aircraft is becoming
ever more popular according to Airbus, and
the ‘A380 effect’ it says, can boost traffic share
by a further 4% on top the extra 10% in
capacity against a non-A380 airline on the
same route. Company execs say they may get
another 30 A380 orders this year, primarily
among existing customers, with 20 of these
likely to come from Asia-Pacfic airlines,
according to one Airbus source.
Bubble or real?
So how does Airbus see the global airlinermarket evolving particularly in these turbulent
times? As usual, John Leahy had an upbeat
view — noting that despite the current uncertainty, growth in air traffic, aligned to GDP,
was still set to provide plenty of work for
both Airbus and Boeing in meeting this
demand. But what about the recession and
the storm clouds? Leahy argues that for the
6bn people in emerging markets the company
predicts RPK growth of +6% between now
and 2030 (compared to +3·5% in Western
Europe, North America and Japan).
Furthermore, because 80% of the world’s
population still take less than one trip per
capita, it only needs a small movement in the
numbers of trips by the growing middle
Model of the A350 XWB FAL showing two assembly stations.
classes in India and China, in the 0·1 to one
trips per capita bracket to generate strong
travel growth — there is “an awful lot of
growth” between 0·1 to 1·0.
He also noted that this passenger growth
had not come at the expense of the environment. In the past decade, for example, airlines
had carried 50% more people, while using
only 3% more fuel — thanks to the latest fuelefficient aircraft. This was, said Leahy, something “no other industry can talk about.”
Not just aircraft
The briefings also focused on the other
services and products that Airbus (in
common with its US rival) is now working on
to improve safety and realise the true efficencies of its products. Christian Scherer, executive vp, head of strategy and future
programmes, outlined its ROPS (Runway
Overrun Protection Scheme) — designed to
prevent pilots from runway incursions —
now the number one source of claims for hull
loss and damages. Airbus is also working on
Elise for airports — which better models
building or obstacle’s interference with ILS,
and this allows more efficient use of airports
in urban areas, as well as an e-taxiing concept
called the Taxibot, which would use an auto-
Another sign of the low-cost Asia-Pacific airline revolution — Jetstar Japan’s second
A320 at Airbus’s delivery centre.
mated tug to tow the aircraft out before takeoff saving fuel. The company is also now
heavily involved in ATM solutions, having
recognised that removing air traffic bottlenecks would benefit all airlines.
Future cockpits...
Another interesting concept mentioned by
Christian Scherer, was that the airframer is
already receiving interest from passenger
airlines on the feasiblity of single-pilot operations — primarily on the basis that it could
save them money. Though technically
feasible, (“we are capable of doing this fairly
quickly”) and would seem the natural evolution of the cockpit from the reduction in
flight crew from navigators, radio operators
and engineers of yesteryear, the safety implications and how this would work in practice
are still unknown. Would a ‘safety pilot’ have
to accompany every flight? Could flight attendants be trained to land the aircraft? Will the
pilot migrate to being an ‘asset manager’?
Though the concept of single-pilot airliners
may seem far-fetched, the growth of automation in the cockpit, combined with airlines’
relentless search for ways to reduce costs,
means that this may only be a matter of time.
Says Scherer: “Airlines are telling us to reduce
labour.”
Another hint of future cockpits came from
Charles Champion, exective vp, engineering
who ‘teased’ a video showing that the
company was set to unveil consumer gaminglike gesture control as part of its latest future
innovation concepts ahead of the
Farnborough Air Show. Though we will have
to wait for more details, the idea here seems to
be not to dispense with sidesticks but to use
motion controls to allow pilots to adjust
sunshades. Champion also mentioned voice
input (already used in the Eurofighter) as
another way in which the future cockpit might
change.
... and wider seats
Another innovation revealed in Toulouse was
for single-aisle cabin interiors with an extra-
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wide seat of 20in. This would see an inch
shaved off the other two seats to bring them
down to 17in. Airbus thinks that given the rise
in obesity and search for other ancillary
revenues, the option for airlines to offer larger
seats at a premium cost is something that
could well prove attractive. Already two
unnamed US airlines have reportedly
expressed an interest, although much depends
on getting the seat manufacturers onboard.
An earlier Airbus concept for ‘flip-up’ theatre
style aisle seats (to allow for quicker
boarding), for example, went nowhere after
seat makers failed to follow it up.
Recruitment drive
Despite the grim data across Europe over
job losses and unemployment — for Airbus
the opposite is true — it is desperately
seeking more people, with some 4,000 new
recruits needed this year. At the end of June
it ran a unqiue recruitment day in Toulouse,
aiming to find engineers, technicians and
managers for positions in France, Germany
Spain and the UK. While the company has
previously embraced apprenticeships and
has close relationships with universities, the
growth of social media has meant that
Airbus is working hard at grabbing the next
generation’s attentions. Last year at the Paris
Air Show, for example, an Airbus ‘flash mob’
erupted in front of the A400M on static
display to highlight careers. This year it will
go one better with the world’s biggest and
high flying job ad — painted on the side of a
Beluga transporter and urging people to
‘Think mobility... Join us’. Interestingly, as
well as targeting students, graduates and the
young, Airbus is also keen on recruiting
older ‘grey’ workers who may bring valuable
life experience to the company.
Finally, while over 100 nationalities already
work at Airbus, the company is looking
Air Asia’s Tony Fernandes picks up his 100th A320 with outgoing EADS chief Louis Gallois. Note
inscription ‘Thank you Louis Gallois’ on door.
beyond Europe for future talent. Its new
Innovation Cell, for example, will be located
in India and designed to tap into the vibrant
energy and ideas there for future concepts for
air transport in the 2030-40s. Asia-Pacific’s
growth, will not only drive aircraft sales but
also innovation with Airbus.
from Airbus’ Tianjin plant — the first nonChinese airline to recieve one.
On long haul, low-cost while Air Asia X has
pulled back from its ambitions, Fernandes
believes that the introduction of the more
efficient A350XWB in 2015 would allow the
airline to restart flights to Europe.
One happy customer
Summary
Perhaps the strongest validation of Airbus’
approach, and particularly of its team of
Enders and Gallois, came during the
Innovation Days, when low-cost airline Air
Asia chief, Tony Fernandes was invited to
speak. Fernandes was in town to pick up his
100th A320 for Air Asia — now the fastest
growing airline in Asia-Pacific. Delivered in
his usual style, which included digs at rival
airlines expense, and jokes about Airbus, he
also paid tribute to the manufacturer for
believing in his vision.
Additionally at the event he revealed that he
may need a further 50 A320s to tide him over
until the neos start arriving — such is the
rapid growth of the airline. The airline has
already ordered 175 A320ceos and last year
placed an order for 200 A320neos at the Paris
Air Show. This year, the airline will take
delivery of the first Chinese-assembled A320
In conclusion, while the A380 wing crack saga
has proved embarassing, it has also improved
and strengthened the company. New design
processes, better computational tools and
improved understanding of composites and
material means that a repeat of this with the
A350XWB would be extremely unlikely.
Airbus, too, also has the advantage of moving
second into the marketplace and learning
from the 787’s operations to tweak its design.
For Airbus then, the challenges are less
technical, less from a management side (new
ceo Fabrice Brégier has been with it since
2006 after stints at Eurocopter and MBDA)
than from external events beyond its control
— namely the ongoing crisis in the Eurozone.
While this may bring some advantages in
pricing, “we are competing against people
who pay in dollars” notes Brégier, it is clear
the company is keeping a close eye on its
supply chain, particularly the SMEs. The idea
of an ‘EADS bank’, too, also shows the
concern over aircraft financing that stalks
both Airbus and Boeing, although Brégier
contends that aircraft financing is one of the
“lowest risks in the world.”
Finally, following on from its Tianjin FAL
site, where ‘the best single-aisle aircraft in the
world’ is assembled, the new Innovation Cell
in India also shows Airbus is becoming more
global. Its pan-European heritage, often seen
as a disadvantage with competing nationalities, now looks more like a model for success
as the focus shifts to Asia-Pacific.
As new ceo Fabrice Brégier says: “You
won’t find a company that is more international. We want to develop it further.”
Parts are coming together for the A350XWB — seen here is a composite inner spar at GKN’s new
facility in Filton.
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