Airbus opens new jet plant for new A350
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail CNTV, October 25, 2012
European planemaker Airbus has opened a factory for its new A350 jetliner, ushering in a new phase in competing for fuel efficiency and profits.
|
|
|
European planemaker Airbus has opened a factory for its new A350 jetliner, ushering in a new phase in competing for fuel efficiency and profits. |
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault visited the plant in France's southwest city Toulouse and named it after Roger Beteille, better known as the Father of Airbus. The A350 is Airbus's first response to Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.
The jets are a new generation that use less fuel by replacing aluminium with lighter carbon-composite materials. Airbus and Boeing expect to supply 6,000 such mid-sized, long-range jets over the next 20 years, a market worth several hundreds of billions of US dollars.
But there are also huge challenges. Carbon materials are costlier to produce and neither the A350 nor the 787 is expected to make a profit for years. Airbus says the A350 will take to the skies in the summer of 2013 and enter service a year later.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)