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“A350” redirects here. For the road, see A350 Road . The ''', intended to increase range and decrease operating costs. It will initially be available in two versions; the A350-800 capable of flying 8,800 nautical miles (16,300 km) with typical passenger capacity of 253 in 3-class configuration and the 300-seat (3-class) A350-900 with 7,500 nautical mile (13.890 km) range. The full industrial launch of the program was announced on October 6 , 2005 . The cost to develop the A350 is estimated at around € 3.5 billion. The direct Boeing equivalents are the 787-9 , the proposed 787-10 and 777-200ER . HISTORY When Boeing announced their 7E7 Dreamliner project (now known as the 787), they claimed lower operating costs of this airplane would make it a serious threat to Airbus' A330 . Airbus initially rejected this claim, stating that the 787 was itself just a reaction to the A330, and that no response was needed to the 787. The airlines pushed Airbus to provide a competitor, as Boeing had committed the 787 to have 15% lower fuel consumption than the A330. Initially Airbus proposed a simple derivative of the A330, dubbed the A330-200Lite, with improved aerodynamics and engines. The airlines were not satisfied and Airbus committed 4 billion Euros to a new design called the A350. The A350 superficially resembles the A330 due to its common fuselage assembly (now shared between the A330, A340 and A350). A new wing, engines and a horizontal stabilizer are coupled with new composite materials and production methods applied to the fuselage to make the A350 an almost all-new aircraft. On September 16 , 2004 , Airbus president and CEO Noël Forgeard confirmed that a new project was under consideration, but did not give a project name, and would not state whether it would be an entirely new design or a modification of an existing product. Forgeard indicated that Airbus would finalise its concept by the end of 2004, begin consulting with airlines in early 2005, and aim to launch the new development programme at the end of that year. On . December 10 , 2004 . In order not to upset the A330 market niche (as both have similar passenger capacity), the A350 is designed for longer ranges; from 7500 to 8800 nautical miles. This puts it squarely in competition with both Boeing's 787-9 and 777-200ER . The A350-900 gave Airbus, for the first time, a Twinjet that rivals the 777-200ER's capacity and range and has generated a lot of interest. However, Airbus competes with the 787-3 and 787-8 with its A330. The A350 will be produced and assembled at the same facilities as the A330 and the A340, with however, additional risk-sharing partners and associates in China, Russia and other countries around the world. The market for aircraft in this size category is estimated at 3,300, including freighters, over the next 20 years, of which Airbus expects to obtain half. The first months of the A350 project were not without controversy, as it comes in the middle of a trade dispute between the U.S. and the EU about government support for Boeing and Airbus. An agreement dating back from 1992 and rules laid down by the World Trade Organization govern what are allowable government subsidies to aircraft manufacturers. The U.S. contends loans given to Airbus under favorable conditions by European governments violate these rules, and has filed a complaint with the WTO. The EU has responded by filing its own complaint about alleged subsidies received by Boeing for the development of the 787 and previous aircraft, and alleged cross-subsidies from military projects. ''). The A350 underwent several redesigns before reaching its current state.]] On ''. September 16 , 2005 . The U.K. will provide Airbus with 379 Million Euros to help fund the project; in exchange, the composite wings of the A350 will be built in the U.K. thus saving some 10,000 jobs. For more on the subsidy dispute see the Airbus , Boeing and 787 entries. Criticisms Airbus faced criticism on the A350 project by the heads of the company's two largest customers, . April 10 , 2006 . Orders Airbus signed its first customer for the A350 in December 2004; / America West Airlines press release. Originally, the A350 was to debut in 2010. Changes to the cockpit configuration have resulted in a revenue service start date of 2011." Cockpit switch set to delay Airbus A350 three years behind Boeing 787 ." '' Flight International ''. February 28 , 2006 . Entries shaded in pink have been announced, but have not yet signed a firm contract.
Potential customers Possible customers for the A350 include:
Note that many of these possible customers for the A350 are also operators of A330 and A340, and are possible customers for Boeing 787 Dreamliner . TECHNOLOGY The A350 features a new cabin, new wings, new engines, a new tailplane, new landing gear and many new systems compared to the A330. It builds on the technologies developed for A380 , such as composite materials. In total, 60% of the A350 will be constructed using advanced materials. 39% of the A350 will use composite materials while aluminum-lithium parts will comprise 23% of the aircraft; steel, 14%; aluminum, 11%; titanium, 9% and various other materials, the balance. The A350 will feature a new composite wing and a fuselage built primarily with advanced aluminum-lithium alloys. The extensive use of composite and Al-Li will lead to 8,000 kg (17,600 lb) of weight reduction. Airbus plans to use '', October 6 , 2005 . Four thrust ratings, from 63,000 to 75,000 lbf (280 kN to 334 kN) will be offered on the GEnx. There is precedent for updating an older airliner to compete with a newer offering. Boeing updated their 737 product which resulted in the Next Generation 737 (737NG) in order to achieve similar operating costs to Airbus' A320 series. Airbus also has signed a firm contract with BMW to have them develop the interior of the aircraft." BMW to design parts of Airbus A350 model, reportedly aircraft cabins ." '' Forbes ''. January 5 , 2006 . SPECIFICATIONS The cabin of the A350 will be 3 inches (75 mm) wider than the A330 and will offer more headroom, while sharing the same external diameter. Also, the A350 will have 64 inches (1,63 m) in head clearance around the window (compared to 61.5 inches (1.56 m) for the 787) There are two versions of the A350 proposed: the A350-800 and A350-900. They differ in the number of passengers they can accommodate, and their respective range capability. Boeing 787 data is included for comparison. The A350-800 is intended to compete with the 787-9, and the A350-900 is intended to compete with the 777-200ER and the 787-10.'' Flight International '', June 7 , 2005 . REFERENCES RELATED CONTENT
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