Foros volavi - volar · viajar · vivir - Aviación, Viajes y Turismo

Airbus points sharklet A321 at 757 replacement market
By Jon Ostrower

Airbus is confident that performance upgrades in the pipeline for its single-aisle ­family will give its largest model, the A321, a sufficient range boost for a genuine shot at the huge Boeing 757-200 replacement market.

The airframer's chief operating officer for customers, John Leahy, believes that the new 'sharklet' winglets, which will provide a 3.7% reduction in fuel burn and around 220km (120nm) more range on the A321 from 2012, means there are "great opportunities to replace the 757-200".

According to Airbus there are 689 passenger 757-200s in service, with several large fleets operating with US carriers including American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. The latter is in the early stages of a fleet renewal evaluation for its 96 aircraft, although this may be affected by its proposed merger with Continental Airlines.

The 757, which is slightly larger that the A321, has always had superior payload-range, but the sharklet upgrade gives the Airbus single-aisle "true US transcontinental range capability", says Leahy.

He adds that the sharklet-outfitted A321 will be able to operate between Boston and San Francisco or San Francisco and Maui, Hawaii, with maximum passengers - similar to routes flown by the US 757 operators - but with a 17% per seat fuel burn advantage, based on a 185-seat A321 and 192-seat 757-200.
Equipped with Aviation Partners Boeing winglets, the 757 has a range of 8,300km, which is around 2,600km more than the A321, giving it transatlantic range.
Airbus vice-president for customer affairs Andy Shankland concedes that the transatlantic routes flown by some US 757 operators are beyond the capability of the A321, and says that the primary focus centres on US transcontinental routes.

Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker, whose airline is a major A320-family operator, said recently that Airbus' proposed 'new engine option' re-engining with advanced turbofans would provide an even more significant boost in performance for the A321.

Boeing is not being idle on its current narrowbody family, and will decide this year on re-engining for the 737 to give a potential fuel burn improvement of 10-15%.
Airbus claims that the A321 with sharklets has an 8% fuel-burn advantage over the current version of the largest 737, the 173-seat -900ER. However Boeing plans to deliver a 2% improvement in fuel burn for the 737 next year through the new CFM56-7BE engine and an aerodynamic clean-up.

Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/20 ... arket.html

Airbus developing fix for A320 overhead bin latches
By Mary Kirby

Airbus plans to provide a modification for the overhead bin door latches on its A320 family aircraft, after some operators reported problems with the latches.

But the European airframer - which has been working with the overhead bin supplier to investigate the reason for the latch issues - says it believes the main root cause is the frequent overloading of overhead bins, beyond the aircraft specification.

A latch modification will be tested for a three-to-four month period beginning at the end of July. In parallel an overhead bin structural modification will be tested at the supplier, says Airbus.

FACC, which develops and manufacturers composite components and systems for civil aircraft, is understood to be the overhead bin supplier for Airbus A320 family aircraft.

"Based on the feedback from the in-service and structural tests, a design improvement is planned to be implemented in the second quarter 2011, for both retro-fit and line-fit embodiment," says Airbus, adding that it recommends that operators not overload the overhead bins.

US Airways is among the carriers to have reported problems with the latches. However, the airline says it noticed the problem on new-delivery Airbus narrowbodies.

"We experienced a decrease in bin latch reliability and contacted Airbus to work through the details of modifying or creating a new latch design, as this is a problem with the fleet worldwide and is being managed by Airbus," says US Airways in a weekly newsletter to employees.

The carrier says the first attempt by Airbus "produced an unacceptable latch which was rejected by US [Airways]". It has since evaluated a second redesign and is "scheduled to receive a set of these newly designed bin latches next month".

These new latches will be installed and field tested on one US Airways aircraft and if no problems develop, retrofit of the fleet will occur early next year.
FACC could not be immediately reached for comment.

Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/20 ... tches.html

As soon as 2030, we might be flying in a new, more efficient aircraft with long, curled wings, a U-shaped tail, and a lightweight body — if manufacturer Airbus develops the “fantasy plane” it unveiled today at the Farnborough Airshow in the UK. The concept aircraft is more fuel efficient, boasts advanced interior systems, and, best of all, it’s quieter.
Some of the dream plane’s more fanciful features include holographic projections of virtual decors, so that each passenger could transform his or her area into a workspace, a bedroom, or a Zen garden, and walls and floors that can be made invisible, allowing better views of the landscape below.
Airbus was responding to a survey that showed that, among young people, environmental concerns were second only to cost as a reason for not flying. Among those over 55, comfort was the bête noir.
Charles Champion, engineering executive vice-president at Airbus, said; “It’s not a real aircraft and all the technologies it features, though feasible, are not likely to come together in the same manner.” Those of us who are afraid of heights would be just as happy to keep the floor opaque.

GINEBRA (AFP) - La Unión Europea (UE), condenada recientemente por años de ayudas ilegales al constructor aeronáutico Airbus, mostró sus cartas este miércoles y decidió apelar el fallo de la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC) que daba razón en gran parte a la demanda estadounidense de 2004.
Este episodio constituye un nuevo giro en la guerra sin cuartel que mantienen desde hace décadas el dúo Airbus-Boeing por el primer lugar de la construcción aeronáutica mundial.
Después de una tregua durante los años '90, los dos constructores se enfrentan nuevamente desde 2004 en la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC) a través de sus capitales respectivas que presentaron demandas simultáneas en las que denunciaban ayudas públicas acordadas a cada uno de ellos.
Después de cinco años, el Órgano de Solución de Diferencias de la OMC, que tuvo que tratar el caso más complejo de su historia, dio su primer fallo oficial el 30 de junio sobre la demanda estadounidense contra Bruselas.
En su fallo de más de 1.000 páginas, el órgano establece que los adelantos reembolsables alemanes, españoles y británicos para el A380 constituyen "subvenciones a la exportación prohibidas" en el marco de la OMC.
Asimismo estima que 21 ayudas acordadas a Airbus para el desarrollo de la gama A300 en los últimos 40 años representan subvenciones por las condiciones de reembolso a tasas inferiores a las del mercado.
El gendarme del comercio mundial estimó que esas ayudas permitieron a Airbus conquistar mercados de Boeing, para quien las subvenciones europeas permitieron a su rival pasar de tener un 37% del mercado en 2001 a un 57% en 2006, lo que le permitió al europeo ser el primer constructor de la aviación civil en 2003.
...

designlatin escribió:Saludos,

Les recomiendo las fotos del link!

http://inhabitat.com/2010/07/19/airbus- ... he-future/

adrestrepo escribió:(como nadie la leia en el foro me canse de subirla cada semana) click en las fotos para zoom