RusoTuristo
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Нет, конечно. Путин не так давно о чем-то похожем высказался.
Новости Airbus Group / EADS
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Airbus To Start 160-Passenger A220-300 Certification Effort
Airbus To Start 160-Passenger A220-300 Certification Effort | Aviation Week Network
Airbus this year plans to start an effort that could lead to certification of the A220-300 to carry 160 passengers, up from the currently approved 149 figure.
aviationweek.com
Очередная sardina can конфигурация. еще одна причина не летать Air Canada
G8000
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Эйрбас планирует увеличить A330neo MTOW еще на 2 тонны что позволяет увеличиь дальность на 150 миль. Таким образом дальность составит 7350 миль
aviationweek.com
Airbus Working To Increase A330neo MTOW | Aviation Week Network
Airbus is looking to add two metric tons to the A330-900’s maximum takeoff weight, which promises to yield a 150-nm range improvement for the widebody.
aviationweek.com
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Airbus’s UpNext division has shown off the initial installation of the ‘eXtra Performance Wing’ on a Cessna Citation VII executive jet.
www.flightglobal.com
Adaptable wings take shape on Airbus Citation test aircraft
Airbus's UpNext division has shown off the initial installation of the 'eXtra Performance Wing' on a Cessna Citation VII executive jet. UpNext is the future technologies division of the airframer, and the modified Citation is intended to demonstrate dynamically-adapting wings - based on...
www.flightglobal.com
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Airbus will have completed “very advanced studies” on the long-planned stretched version of the A220 by the end of the year, according to Airbus Canada CEO Benoît Schultz.
aviationweek.com
Airbus A220 Stretch Studies Focus On Whether New Engine Is Needed | Aviation Week Network
Airbus will have completed “very advanced studies” on a stretched version of the A220 by the end of the year as it works out if it needs a more powerful engine.
aviationweek.com
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Это просто праздник какой-то! (с)
Столько бесплатных статей от AviationWeek. Балуют во время авиасалона, до 25го июля!
aviationweek.com
aviationweek.com
Столько бесплатных статей от AviationWeek. Балуют во время авиасалона, до 25го июля!
Airbus Claims Supply Chain Reset Is Paying Off | Aviation Week Network
Airbus has seen improvements in the overall performance of its supply chain, but engines and cabin parts continue to be a major challenge for the time being.
aviationweek.com
Airbus’ Top Worry Shifts From Suppliers To Trade | Aviation Week Network
Engine and toilet woes give way to tariff concerns as the biggest questions for Airbus’ outlook.
aviationweek.com
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Airbus Prepares for Gull-Wing Open-Fan Engine Subscale Tests
AviationWeek, June 30, 2025Guy Norris
Le Bourget
Although launch dates of next-generation single-aisle airliners are still uncertain and the engine race is just getting underway, airframers and propulsion players are set to conduct a series of pivotal near-term technology demonstrations to guide their decisions.
Airbus and Boeing differ on a preferred propulsion concept: Airbus publicly favors CFM International’s open fan, while Boeing leans toward advanced ducted engines. Whether this architectural divergence continues will depend heavily on the outcome of these key demonstration programs, some of which begin next year.
Because Airbus’ ambitious development plans have been linked since 2022 to the higher-risk open-fan design, the company is upping the scale and complexity of tests of the Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) open fan with CFM through 2026. In conjunction with the GE Aerospace-Safran joint venture, Airbus is designing and manufacturing a pair of subscale full-aircraft models to assess how an open-fan propulsion system affects aircraft performance. The tests could prove crucial to Airbus’ plans— whether it adopts the concept for its next-generation single-aisle (NCSA) in the 2030s or pivots to powering its A320 successor with advanced ducted engines.
A 1:11 scale model is in development for high-speed tests at French aerospace research center ONERA, and a 1:14 scale model will be used for tests at Airbus’ low-speed facility in Filton, England, in 2026. Design and production are already in progress at Airbus, which also recently worked with Safran on tests of an open-fan demonstrator in ONERA’s large wind tunnel in Modane, France. This test phase focused on two “minimum body models”: a 1:5.5 scale model for highspeed testing and a 1:7 model for low-speed work, the latter of which was evaluated in the German-Dutch DNW wind tunnel facility in Marknesse, Netherlands.
To ensure adequate ground clearance for the RISE, which CFM has said will measure approximately 12.9 ft. in diameter for the production open fan, the scaled models planned for tests next year are configured with a low wing that has an increased inboard dihedral, also known as a “gull wing.” The unusual wing configuration is preferred over the use of longer landing gear legs, which add weight and require significant fuselage reconfiguration to accommodate the larger volume.
However, the gull wing has its challenges. The increased inboard dihedral causes a loss of vertical lift and an increase in drag, particularly during maneuvers. These losses could be exacerbated by interaction of the open fan’s rotor wash with the wing. Structurally, the gull wing would be complicated to build and heavier than a conventional wing.
Despite these potential shortcomings, a gull wing was once expected to provide greater design flexibility if Airbus selected higher-bypass advanced ducted engines, either as an option for the open fan or as an alternate. “Today, that is not the assumption,” says Bruno Fichefeux, head of future programs at Airbus. “It is really a combination of wing and engine that fits the purpose of each engine’s peculiarities and loads. We are pretty confident of the progress we are making on the open fan, and it shows a real ambition and performance delta. That’s why we are pursuing this seriously, and that’s currently our baseline view.”
Should the open fan, therefore, require a bespoke wing design, it would theoretically provide de facto exclusivity for CFM on the next-generation A320neo replacement, unless Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce come up with competing non-ducted concepts. That seems unlikely, however.
Although Pratt confirms to Aviation Week that it has filed patents for open-rotor technologies going back several decades, “including as recently as last year,” the engine-maker adds that its own analysis continues to support ducted designs. “Based on our research, we concluded that the installation and integration challenges associated with an open-rotor architecture would reduce the potential fuel burn benefit, thus reinforcing our conviction that the second-generation ducted [geared turbofan] engine architecture remains the right path forward for NGSA,” the RTX owned company says.
Fichefeux acknowledges that Airbus will have to choose between a standard wing and the gull-wing design associated with the open fan. “At some point, we have to make that decision,” he says, adding that Airbus plans to take the time to let the design options mature. “The timeline of the launch of this program will depend on the maturity of these technologies. I like to use the analogy of the wine business: When you want a profitable wine stalk, you let all the branches grow, and over time you observe how they behave. Over time, you pick the one that has the most capacity to make fruit, and then you trim and you cut the others. You bet on the most promising one.”
PARIS 2025
COMMERCIAL AVIATION
The process entails “a certain timing which is set by nature,” Fichefeux says. “Here, it is very similar. We have different branches growing for open fan and ducted. This is a very visible choice of engines, but we also have many others—hybridization, different materials, level of automation. We let these branches grow, mature them, invest in them, test and demonstrate from the lab to ground-testing and, down the road, flight-testing those that are relevant. Then we will see the branch emerging that brings the most benefit in terms of value—and to the airlines in terms of fuel efficiency and maintenance. Then we will start to cut the other branches, so you focus your investment on those that bring the best results.”
CFM has, meanwhile, completed more than 350 key RISE-related tests, including more than 3,000 hr. of high-pressure (HP) turbine and nozzle endurance tests by GE Aerospace. Safran has recently focused on blade tests as well as evaluations of the low-pressure (LP) turbine and compressor, bearing systems and equipment associated with the open fan’s variable pitch control functions. Safran’s blade test campaign has evaluated three different blade configurations to demonstrate mechanical strength as well as improved aerodynamic and acoustic performance.
“More than 175 ingestion and endurance tests were conducted in the Villaroche site’s test benches, specially configured to accommodate large parts, in addition to the 300 hr. of testing carried out on a scale model of the open fan in the wind tunnels of ONERA and DNW in partnership with Airbus,” the French engine-maker says. Safran’s new 8-m-dia. (26-ft.-dia) test chamber is under construction at its Villaroche site near Paris. “Starting next year, it will enable testing of large modules and will have the capacity to test the open fan’s pitch-control systems,” the company adds.
At the same time, Pratt is continuing development of technologies that will feed into an enhanced second-generation geared turbofan (GTF) targeted at up to 25% lower fuel burn at an integrated aircraft level than today’s engines. The company plans to move from the current GTF’s 81-in.-dia. fan to a bigger 85-90-in.-dia. composite fan contained within a composite case and shrouded within a compact, shorter duct nacelle. The engine will also incorporate a revised, smaller core with a higher overall pressure ratio, ultralow emissions combustor and, more than likely, hybrid-electric motor-generators.
As part of testing for the hybrid-electric development, GKN Aerospace-developed high-voltage wire harnesses have been delivered to RTX’s Collins Aerospace for integration into a powertrain for testing on an experimental PW1100G. Developed under the European Clean Aviation Switch (sustainable water-injecting turbofan comprising hybrid-electrics) program, the electrical wiring interconnection system was built at GKN Aerospace’s site in Papendrecht, Netherlands, and is slated for system-integration testing this year at Collins Aerospace’s advanced electric power systems lab, in Rockford, Illinois, called The Grid.
Following this, GKN adds that it will support future hybrid-electric Pratt & Whitney GTF engine demonstrator testing at EME Aero, a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in Poland. Initial harness shipsets were delivered to Collins Aerospace’s Electronic Controls and Motor Systems Center of Excellence in Solihull, England, and additional units will be shipped in July for testing at The Grid. Collins is supplying two motor-generators for Switch, both of which are identical 1-megawatt machines. The unit connected to the high-pressure spool will be derated to 500 kW, while the shaft will be rated to 1 megawatt. In an operational version, the electric system will be used for taxiing and to boost power for takeoff and other transient phases, RTX says.
Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce’s small UltraFan 30 development plan is following a “very simple strategy,” says Simon Burr, group director of engineering, technology and safety. Targeting the broad 30,000-lb.-plus-thrust range expected for the NGSA, the initiative fulfills a strategic goal unveiled by CEO Tufan Erginbilgig in late 2023 and marks a crucial step in Rolls’ renewed ambition to reenter the narrowbody sector that it effectively abandoned 13 years ago when it sold its shares in the International Aero Engines collaborative venture to Pratt.
“We’ve got a great new core on the Pearl 10X, but the demonstration is really not about the core, where we could do all kinds of things,” Burr says. “It’s about demonstrating the low-pressure system.” Ground tests of the small, geared engine are targeted for 2028, partially backed by the Hydrogen Engine Architecture Virtually Engineered Novelly (Heaven) project, which is another Clean Aviation initiative. However, Burr is challenging his design team to accelerate this to 2027. “We think by 2028, you’ve got to be able to show something, not just arm-waving and a PowerPoint,” he says.
“The lead time is often not driven by the gas path,” Burr continues. “It’s driven by all the accessories. So maybe you can think differently and say: Tm going to drive my gas path generator first, and then separately, I’m going to demonstrate how I can dress an engine on a clean fan case. Where am I going to pull these accessories?’ Ultimately, my vision is that we take quite a lot of accessories off the engine and we put them somewhere else, like in the pylon or some other place in the aircraft, because that helps you aerodynamically. If you shrink the core dressing down, you shrink the nacelle down and get more air through for a given diameter.”
With a potential fan diameter of “well over 90 in.,” Burr says various approaches are being studied to overcome the installation challenge. “You can slim the nacelle down, so there’s a lot of work being done on that as well as shorter nacelles, reducing the overhung mass, the vetted area and all the drag interference. A lot of optimizations are still to come in that space, and it’s interesting engineering. So I’m kind of pretty excited about that.”
Jens Flottau
Thierry Dubois
at Le Bourget
Le Bourget
Although launch dates of next-generation single-aisle airliners are still uncertain and the engine race is just getting underway, airframers and propulsion players are set to conduct a series of pivotal near-term technology demonstrations to guide their decisions.
Airbus and Boeing differ on a preferred propulsion concept: Airbus publicly favors CFM International’s open fan, while Boeing leans toward advanced ducted engines. Whether this architectural divergence continues will depend heavily on the outcome of these key demonstration programs, some of which begin next year.
Because Airbus’ ambitious development plans have been linked since 2022 to the higher-risk open-fan design, the company is upping the scale and complexity of tests of the Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) open fan with CFM through 2026. In conjunction with the GE Aerospace-Safran joint venture, Airbus is designing and manufacturing a pair of subscale full-aircraft models to assess how an open-fan propulsion system affects aircraft performance. The tests could prove crucial to Airbus’ plans— whether it adopts the concept for its next-generation single-aisle (NCSA) in the 2030s or pivots to powering its A320 successor with advanced ducted engines.
A 1:11 scale model is in development for high-speed tests at French aerospace research center ONERA, and a 1:14 scale model will be used for tests at Airbus’ low-speed facility in Filton, England, in 2026. Design and production are already in progress at Airbus, which also recently worked with Safran on tests of an open-fan demonstrator in ONERA’s large wind tunnel in Modane, France. This test phase focused on two “minimum body models”: a 1:5.5 scale model for highspeed testing and a 1:7 model for low-speed work, the latter of which was evaluated in the German-Dutch DNW wind tunnel facility in Marknesse, Netherlands.
To ensure adequate ground clearance for the RISE, which CFM has said will measure approximately 12.9 ft. in diameter for the production open fan, the scaled models planned for tests next year are configured with a low wing that has an increased inboard dihedral, also known as a “gull wing.” The unusual wing configuration is preferred over the use of longer landing gear legs, which add weight and require significant fuselage reconfiguration to accommodate the larger volume.
However, the gull wing has its challenges. The increased inboard dihedral causes a loss of vertical lift and an increase in drag, particularly during maneuvers. These losses could be exacerbated by interaction of the open fan’s rotor wash with the wing. Structurally, the gull wing would be complicated to build and heavier than a conventional wing.
Despite these potential shortcomings, a gull wing was once expected to provide greater design flexibility if Airbus selected higher-bypass advanced ducted engines, either as an option for the open fan or as an alternate. “Today, that is not the assumption,” says Bruno Fichefeux, head of future programs at Airbus. “It is really a combination of wing and engine that fits the purpose of each engine’s peculiarities and loads. We are pretty confident of the progress we are making on the open fan, and it shows a real ambition and performance delta. That’s why we are pursuing this seriously, and that’s currently our baseline view.”
Should the open fan, therefore, require a bespoke wing design, it would theoretically provide de facto exclusivity for CFM on the next-generation A320neo replacement, unless Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce come up with competing non-ducted concepts. That seems unlikely, however.
Although Pratt confirms to Aviation Week that it has filed patents for open-rotor technologies going back several decades, “including as recently as last year,” the engine-maker adds that its own analysis continues to support ducted designs. “Based on our research, we concluded that the installation and integration challenges associated with an open-rotor architecture would reduce the potential fuel burn benefit, thus reinforcing our conviction that the second-generation ducted [geared turbofan] engine architecture remains the right path forward for NGSA,” the RTX owned company says.
Fichefeux acknowledges that Airbus will have to choose between a standard wing and the gull-wing design associated with the open fan. “At some point, we have to make that decision,” he says, adding that Airbus plans to take the time to let the design options mature. “The timeline of the launch of this program will depend on the maturity of these technologies. I like to use the analogy of the wine business: When you want a profitable wine stalk, you let all the branches grow, and over time you observe how they behave. Over time, you pick the one that has the most capacity to make fruit, and then you trim and you cut the others. You bet on the most promising one.”
PARIS 2025
COMMERCIAL AVIATION
The process entails “a certain timing which is set by nature,” Fichefeux says. “Here, it is very similar. We have different branches growing for open fan and ducted. This is a very visible choice of engines, but we also have many others—hybridization, different materials, level of automation. We let these branches grow, mature them, invest in them, test and demonstrate from the lab to ground-testing and, down the road, flight-testing those that are relevant. Then we will see the branch emerging that brings the most benefit in terms of value—and to the airlines in terms of fuel efficiency and maintenance. Then we will start to cut the other branches, so you focus your investment on those that bring the best results.”
CFM has, meanwhile, completed more than 350 key RISE-related tests, including more than 3,000 hr. of high-pressure (HP) turbine and nozzle endurance tests by GE Aerospace. Safran has recently focused on blade tests as well as evaluations of the low-pressure (LP) turbine and compressor, bearing systems and equipment associated with the open fan’s variable pitch control functions. Safran’s blade test campaign has evaluated three different blade configurations to demonstrate mechanical strength as well as improved aerodynamic and acoustic performance.
“More than 175 ingestion and endurance tests were conducted in the Villaroche site’s test benches, specially configured to accommodate large parts, in addition to the 300 hr. of testing carried out on a scale model of the open fan in the wind tunnels of ONERA and DNW in partnership with Airbus,” the French engine-maker says. Safran’s new 8-m-dia. (26-ft.-dia) test chamber is under construction at its Villaroche site near Paris. “Starting next year, it will enable testing of large modules and will have the capacity to test the open fan’s pitch-control systems,” the company adds.
At the same time, Pratt is continuing development of technologies that will feed into an enhanced second-generation geared turbofan (GTF) targeted at up to 25% lower fuel burn at an integrated aircraft level than today’s engines. The company plans to move from the current GTF’s 81-in.-dia. fan to a bigger 85-90-in.-dia. composite fan contained within a composite case and shrouded within a compact, shorter duct nacelle. The engine will also incorporate a revised, smaller core with a higher overall pressure ratio, ultralow emissions combustor and, more than likely, hybrid-electric motor-generators.
As part of testing for the hybrid-electric development, GKN Aerospace-developed high-voltage wire harnesses have been delivered to RTX’s Collins Aerospace for integration into a powertrain for testing on an experimental PW1100G. Developed under the European Clean Aviation Switch (sustainable water-injecting turbofan comprising hybrid-electrics) program, the electrical wiring interconnection system was built at GKN Aerospace’s site in Papendrecht, Netherlands, and is slated for system-integration testing this year at Collins Aerospace’s advanced electric power systems lab, in Rockford, Illinois, called The Grid.
Following this, GKN adds that it will support future hybrid-electric Pratt & Whitney GTF engine demonstrator testing at EME Aero, a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in Poland. Initial harness shipsets were delivered to Collins Aerospace’s Electronic Controls and Motor Systems Center of Excellence in Solihull, England, and additional units will be shipped in July for testing at The Grid. Collins is supplying two motor-generators for Switch, both of which are identical 1-megawatt machines. The unit connected to the high-pressure spool will be derated to 500 kW, while the shaft will be rated to 1 megawatt. In an operational version, the electric system will be used for taxiing and to boost power for takeoff and other transient phases, RTX says.
Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce’s small UltraFan 30 development plan is following a “very simple strategy,” says Simon Burr, group director of engineering, technology and safety. Targeting the broad 30,000-lb.-plus-thrust range expected for the NGSA, the initiative fulfills a strategic goal unveiled by CEO Tufan Erginbilgig in late 2023 and marks a crucial step in Rolls’ renewed ambition to reenter the narrowbody sector that it effectively abandoned 13 years ago when it sold its shares in the International Aero Engines collaborative venture to Pratt.
“We’ve got a great new core on the Pearl 10X, but the demonstration is really not about the core, where we could do all kinds of things,” Burr says. “It’s about demonstrating the low-pressure system.” Ground tests of the small, geared engine are targeted for 2028, partially backed by the Hydrogen Engine Architecture Virtually Engineered Novelly (Heaven) project, which is another Clean Aviation initiative. However, Burr is challenging his design team to accelerate this to 2027. “We think by 2028, you’ve got to be able to show something, not just arm-waving and a PowerPoint,” he says.
“The lead time is often not driven by the gas path,” Burr continues. “It’s driven by all the accessories. So maybe you can think differently and say: Tm going to drive my gas path generator first, and then separately, I’m going to demonstrate how I can dress an engine on a clean fan case. Where am I going to pull these accessories?’ Ultimately, my vision is that we take quite a lot of accessories off the engine and we put them somewhere else, like in the pylon or some other place in the aircraft, because that helps you aerodynamically. If you shrink the core dressing down, you shrink the nacelle down and get more air through for a given diameter.”
With a potential fan diameter of “well over 90 in.,” Burr says various approaches are being studied to overcome the installation challenge. “You can slim the nacelle down, so there’s a lot of work being done on that as well as shorter nacelles, reducing the overhung mass, the vetted area and all the drag interference. A lot of optimizations are still to come in that space, and it’s interesting engineering. So I’m kind of pretty excited about that.”
Jens Flottau
Thierry Dubois
at Le Bourget
G8000
Старожил
FOLLOWING THE ROAD MAP
AviationWeek, June 30, 2025Jens Flottau
Guy Norris
Le Bourget
Commercial airframers have encountered criticism for delaying development of the more efficient and sustainable next-generation and derivative aircraft that customers seek. But Airbus is slowly increasing resources for future models, some of which could arrive in the early 2030s. Boeing, too, has begun preliminary work on its next aircraft program.
Airbus appears to have a clear product development plan that defines the aircraft it intends to offer between now and the late 2030s. The plan includes stretched variants of the A220 and the A350 but no further major derivatives of the A320neo family. Instead, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury has set 2037-38 as the target service entry time for a next-generation single-aisle (NGSA) aircraft.
Cross-functional teams have long worked on the various projects. While the NGSA comes last in the timeline, some of the sequencing is not yet clear, particularly in terms of whether an A220 Stretch or A350-2000 should come first. Also, Airbus still has to find engines that would fit the larger A220 and A350, and that could prove particularly challenging for the latter.
Officially, the company is not offering many details. “The market is not calling for a new plane for entry into service now,” Faury told Aviation Week in the runup to the Paris Air Show (AW&ST June 16-29, p. 58). “But if we look at the second half of the next decade, 12-13 years from now, the market will not only be ready for it but will also be calling for it. The market will be looking for more fuel and cost efficiency. This would be around 20 years after the entry into service of the Neo, so at the right point in time.”
Faury also said a further stretch of the A350 beyond the -1000 is possible. “At a later stage, it will probably be a natural evolution of the product line to continue to increase capacity from the -900 to the -1000 to something slightly longer, bigger, with more capabilities that will come close to the 777X in terms of seat count,” he explained.
As for the stretched A220, Faury tried to manage expectations of a quick move. “The last mile is sometimes very long, and sometimes you do not reach the destination,” he said. “Nothing is planned in the short term, and beyond the short term, there is uncertainty.”
Airbus is very unlikely to undertake another major upgrade of the A320neo family like the proposed A322, a longer, rewinged and reengined A321neo. “We are really serious about the successor to the A320, and therefore we don’t want to be distracted,” Faury said. “Never say ‘never,’ but it will most likely not be the case.”
The NGSA baseline aircraft is likely to be significantly larger than the A320neo, with typical capacity starting at about 200 seats. That would also be more than the proposed A220 Stretch’s 180. Key design decisions have yet to be made, including one on the engine architecture planned for around 2027-28 (page 17).
Airbus will have completed “very advanced studies” of the long-planned stretched A220 by year-end, according to Airbus Canada CEO Benoit Schultz. The airframer has for some years been studying the possibility of a larger A220—an option that the program’s former owner, Bombardier, had planned from the start—but Airbus has not yet decided to launch it formally. Key customers, such as Air Canada, Delta and Air France, have upped the pressure on Airbus to proceed with the project. The stretch would provide them with a new-generation aircraft that seats about 180 passengers, roughly the same size as the A320neo or the Boeing 737-8.
Comae airliner program update p. 20 LOT'S Airbus deal and the new order environment p. 22
“I am in favor of the stretch,” Schultz said on the sidelines of the Paris Air Show, noting that to meet market demand, the aircraft should enter service no later than “slightly after 2030.” He is “more and more convinced” that the type can add value to airlines. However, some major questions remain, the most important one being whether “we need an engine with a higher capability,” he said.
The A220-300, like the -100, is powered by the Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engine. But Airbus could add a second engine manufacturer as part of the stretch project, Schultz says.
The A220-300 has a range of 3,400 nm, according to the airframer, and one of the discussion points among Airbus and its customers has been the extent to which a larger version needs to retain that range. Some carriers, including Air France and Delta Air Lines, have been pressing for minimal change because they do not need that range. Schultz said the airframer anticipates no major change beyond possibly a higher-thrust engine. The wing in particular will remain the same size but could be retwisted for aerodynamic optimization.
As an interim step, Airbus is moving ahead with the 160-seat version of the A220-300, another project that Bombardier had anticipated for what it called the C Series. The high-density version of the -300 has 11 more seats than the current maximum of 149 and will be available beginning in 2027.
“Boeing continues to assess technologies that could deliver efficiency improvements of at least 20% over the current 737 MAX family.”
Step 2 in Airbus’ long-term development plan could be a further stretch of the A350, dubbed the A350-2000. The airframer has considered a larger A350 on and off for years. Airbus’ current largest aircraft, the A350-1000, has about 50 fewer seats than the competing Boeing 777-9, which has had considerable sales success despite the program’s long delays. Therefore, Airbus has begun to look at the concept more seriously again, according to industry sources.
As with the A220 program, Airbus appears keen to increase production of the current models up to planned volumes—12 per month in 2028—before moving to the next derivative. That sequence would suggest that the A350-2000 would follow the A220 Stretch in the early-to-mid-2030s, possibly in parallel with a broader reengining of the A350 family, which by then will have been in service for close to 20 years.
While the airframe and wing are still seen to have growth potential, the big issue facing Airbus is which engine to use.
“Airbus has only had very tentative conversations about a stretch of the A350,” says Simon Burr, group director of engineering, technology and safety at Rolls-Royce, the exclusive provider of the Trent XWB engine to the current family. “If they want to do a simple stretch and put something into service quite quickly, that drives you down one route.” Burr adds that upgrading the higher-thrust XWB-97 variant is more likely than launching the geared UltraFan powerplant on the extended derivative.
“If you put an UltraFan on an existing aircraft, you’ve got to change the wing, because the weight is in a different place, the engine is heavier, and the weight is further forward,” Burr says. “So to optimize integration, it’s a very significant investment. So it really depends on how you want to access that market—whether it’s a quick entry or it’s a longer-term play.”
Sources at Airbus indicate that the -2000 is targeted to have at least the same range as the 777-9, which is 7,300 nm. The A350-1000 flies as far as 8,000 nm.
For now, Rolls is focused on developing the UltraFan demonstrator, injecting new technologies into the design and assessing which advances can be used to upgrade the current Trent fleet, including the XWB. “At this moment in time, we’re rebuilding the big engine,” Burr says. “We’re going to run it again in the new year and get the next set of learning.”
Rolls is already investing in significant XWB upgrades, including a new disk alloy called RR1073 that will be available for the XWB-84 as well as the -97 version. The company has also developed new high-pressure turbine blade coatings to withstand the effects of ingested sand and high temperatures.
Rolls is working on additional changes, including to the combustor, to create a more uniform thermal profile for the blades by using new cooling techniques. Tests have shown promising prospects for at least doubling time on wing. Certification of the upgrade is expected in 2027.
Meanwhile, Boeing has issued a request for information (RFI) to engine makers for advanced ducted propulsion systems in the 30,000-lb.-thrust sector suitable for powering a single aisle replacement for the 737. The airframer says the RFI is part of efforts to assess state-of-the-art engine concepts and confirms its continued preference for ducted propulsion systems over open-rotor or open-fan engines for its next-generation studies.
The RFI, which appears to be the fourth such request to industry of its type, comes amid Boeing’s low-profile product development studies of a 737 replacement in the 2030s and beyond. Although the company has backed away from a potential product launch in the near-to-medium term while it works to return to financial health and production stability, it continues to assess technology that could deliver efficiency improvements of at least 20% over the current 737 MAX family.
Moreover, the RFI echoes statements by Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg. “In terms of what’s next, I view it as different work streams: One: When is the market ready?’ Two: When is the technology ready?’ And three: When are we ready and can financially handle that?’ ” Ortberg recently told Aviation Week (AW&ST June 2-15, p. 36). “We’re not ready on any of those work streams today, but we need to be when the market is ready for a new aircraft.”
Respondents are expected to include Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney, both of which are also proposing geared, ducted turbofans for Airbus’ NCSA. GE Aerospace-Safran joint venture CFM International is expected to supply details of a ducted engine based on technology being developed under its Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) program. Although the main thrust of RISE is development of an unducted open fan, tests of which will be conducted with Airbus, elements of the initiative, such as the high-pressure core, would be applicable to a ducted version.
Safran has previously indicated that a RISE ducted fan would be more affordable but would offer lower performance. “While RISE targets a 20% fuel-burn reduction, the ducted-fan variant’s benefit would stand at between 10% and 12%,” Eric Dalbies, Safran’s chief technology officer and executive vice president of strategy, said in November on the sidelines of an engine event in Belgium.
That ducted version, apparently called the Advance, seems to be configured with an 85-in.-dia. fan. Although CFM declined to comment on the design, program sources say the engine could be flight-tested for possible use on the Airbus NCSA with the same A380 testbed designated for evaluations of the open fan. Proposals for modifying the A380 for tests of ducted engines have been made under the most recent call for projects under the European Clean Aviation research program.
Access all the news, updates, videos and podcasts from the 2025 Paris Air Show at AviationWeek.com/Paris
Guy Norris
Le Bourget
Commercial airframers have encountered criticism for delaying development of the more efficient and sustainable next-generation and derivative aircraft that customers seek. But Airbus is slowly increasing resources for future models, some of which could arrive in the early 2030s. Boeing, too, has begun preliminary work on its next aircraft program.
Airbus appears to have a clear product development plan that defines the aircraft it intends to offer between now and the late 2030s. The plan includes stretched variants of the A220 and the A350 but no further major derivatives of the A320neo family. Instead, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury has set 2037-38 as the target service entry time for a next-generation single-aisle (NGSA) aircraft.
Cross-functional teams have long worked on the various projects. While the NGSA comes last in the timeline, some of the sequencing is not yet clear, particularly in terms of whether an A220 Stretch or A350-2000 should come first. Also, Airbus still has to find engines that would fit the larger A220 and A350, and that could prove particularly challenging for the latter.
Officially, the company is not offering many details. “The market is not calling for a new plane for entry into service now,” Faury told Aviation Week in the runup to the Paris Air Show (AW&ST June 16-29, p. 58). “But if we look at the second half of the next decade, 12-13 years from now, the market will not only be ready for it but will also be calling for it. The market will be looking for more fuel and cost efficiency. This would be around 20 years after the entry into service of the Neo, so at the right point in time.”
Faury also said a further stretch of the A350 beyond the -1000 is possible. “At a later stage, it will probably be a natural evolution of the product line to continue to increase capacity from the -900 to the -1000 to something slightly longer, bigger, with more capabilities that will come close to the 777X in terms of seat count,” he explained.
As for the stretched A220, Faury tried to manage expectations of a quick move. “The last mile is sometimes very long, and sometimes you do not reach the destination,” he said. “Nothing is planned in the short term, and beyond the short term, there is uncertainty.”
Airbus is very unlikely to undertake another major upgrade of the A320neo family like the proposed A322, a longer, rewinged and reengined A321neo. “We are really serious about the successor to the A320, and therefore we don’t want to be distracted,” Faury said. “Never say ‘never,’ but it will most likely not be the case.”
The NGSA baseline aircraft is likely to be significantly larger than the A320neo, with typical capacity starting at about 200 seats. That would also be more than the proposed A220 Stretch’s 180. Key design decisions have yet to be made, including one on the engine architecture planned for around 2027-28 (page 17).
Airbus will have completed “very advanced studies” of the long-planned stretched A220 by year-end, according to Airbus Canada CEO Benoit Schultz. The airframer has for some years been studying the possibility of a larger A220—an option that the program’s former owner, Bombardier, had planned from the start—but Airbus has not yet decided to launch it formally. Key customers, such as Air Canada, Delta and Air France, have upped the pressure on Airbus to proceed with the project. The stretch would provide them with a new-generation aircraft that seats about 180 passengers, roughly the same size as the A320neo or the Boeing 737-8.
Comae airliner program update p. 20 LOT'S Airbus deal and the new order environment p. 22
“I am in favor of the stretch,” Schultz said on the sidelines of the Paris Air Show, noting that to meet market demand, the aircraft should enter service no later than “slightly after 2030.” He is “more and more convinced” that the type can add value to airlines. However, some major questions remain, the most important one being whether “we need an engine with a higher capability,” he said.
The A220-300, like the -100, is powered by the Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engine. But Airbus could add a second engine manufacturer as part of the stretch project, Schultz says.
The A220-300 has a range of 3,400 nm, according to the airframer, and one of the discussion points among Airbus and its customers has been the extent to which a larger version needs to retain that range. Some carriers, including Air France and Delta Air Lines, have been pressing for minimal change because they do not need that range. Schultz said the airframer anticipates no major change beyond possibly a higher-thrust engine. The wing in particular will remain the same size but could be retwisted for aerodynamic optimization.
As an interim step, Airbus is moving ahead with the 160-seat version of the A220-300, another project that Bombardier had anticipated for what it called the C Series. The high-density version of the -300 has 11 more seats than the current maximum of 149 and will be available beginning in 2027.
“Boeing continues to assess technologies that could deliver efficiency improvements of at least 20% over the current 737 MAX family.”
Step 2 in Airbus’ long-term development plan could be a further stretch of the A350, dubbed the A350-2000. The airframer has considered a larger A350 on and off for years. Airbus’ current largest aircraft, the A350-1000, has about 50 fewer seats than the competing Boeing 777-9, which has had considerable sales success despite the program’s long delays. Therefore, Airbus has begun to look at the concept more seriously again, according to industry sources.
As with the A220 program, Airbus appears keen to increase production of the current models up to planned volumes—12 per month in 2028—before moving to the next derivative. That sequence would suggest that the A350-2000 would follow the A220 Stretch in the early-to-mid-2030s, possibly in parallel with a broader reengining of the A350 family, which by then will have been in service for close to 20 years.
While the airframe and wing are still seen to have growth potential, the big issue facing Airbus is which engine to use.
“Airbus has only had very tentative conversations about a stretch of the A350,” says Simon Burr, group director of engineering, technology and safety at Rolls-Royce, the exclusive provider of the Trent XWB engine to the current family. “If they want to do a simple stretch and put something into service quite quickly, that drives you down one route.” Burr adds that upgrading the higher-thrust XWB-97 variant is more likely than launching the geared UltraFan powerplant on the extended derivative.
“If you put an UltraFan on an existing aircraft, you’ve got to change the wing, because the weight is in a different place, the engine is heavier, and the weight is further forward,” Burr says. “So to optimize integration, it’s a very significant investment. So it really depends on how you want to access that market—whether it’s a quick entry or it’s a longer-term play.”
Sources at Airbus indicate that the -2000 is targeted to have at least the same range as the 777-9, which is 7,300 nm. The A350-1000 flies as far as 8,000 nm.
For now, Rolls is focused on developing the UltraFan demonstrator, injecting new technologies into the design and assessing which advances can be used to upgrade the current Trent fleet, including the XWB. “At this moment in time, we’re rebuilding the big engine,” Burr says. “We’re going to run it again in the new year and get the next set of learning.”
Rolls is already investing in significant XWB upgrades, including a new disk alloy called RR1073 that will be available for the XWB-84 as well as the -97 version. The company has also developed new high-pressure turbine blade coatings to withstand the effects of ingested sand and high temperatures.
Rolls is working on additional changes, including to the combustor, to create a more uniform thermal profile for the blades by using new cooling techniques. Tests have shown promising prospects for at least doubling time on wing. Certification of the upgrade is expected in 2027.
Meanwhile, Boeing has issued a request for information (RFI) to engine makers for advanced ducted propulsion systems in the 30,000-lb.-thrust sector suitable for powering a single aisle replacement for the 737. The airframer says the RFI is part of efforts to assess state-of-the-art engine concepts and confirms its continued preference for ducted propulsion systems over open-rotor or open-fan engines for its next-generation studies.
The RFI, which appears to be the fourth such request to industry of its type, comes amid Boeing’s low-profile product development studies of a 737 replacement in the 2030s and beyond. Although the company has backed away from a potential product launch in the near-to-medium term while it works to return to financial health and production stability, it continues to assess technology that could deliver efficiency improvements of at least 20% over the current 737 MAX family.
Moreover, the RFI echoes statements by Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg. “In terms of what’s next, I view it as different work streams: One: When is the market ready?’ Two: When is the technology ready?’ And three: When are we ready and can financially handle that?’ ” Ortberg recently told Aviation Week (AW&ST June 2-15, p. 36). “We’re not ready on any of those work streams today, but we need to be when the market is ready for a new aircraft.”
Respondents are expected to include Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney, both of which are also proposing geared, ducted turbofans for Airbus’ NCSA. GE Aerospace-Safran joint venture CFM International is expected to supply details of a ducted engine based on technology being developed under its Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) program. Although the main thrust of RISE is development of an unducted open fan, tests of which will be conducted with Airbus, elements of the initiative, such as the high-pressure core, would be applicable to a ducted version.
Safran has previously indicated that a RISE ducted fan would be more affordable but would offer lower performance. “While RISE targets a 20% fuel-burn reduction, the ducted-fan variant’s benefit would stand at between 10% and 12%,” Eric Dalbies, Safran’s chief technology officer and executive vice president of strategy, said in November on the sidelines of an engine event in Belgium.
That ducted version, apparently called the Advance, seems to be configured with an 85-in.-dia. fan. Although CFM declined to comment on the design, program sources say the engine could be flight-tested for possible use on the Airbus NCSA with the same A380 testbed designated for evaluations of the open fan. Proposals for modifying the A380 for tests of ducted engines have been made under the most recent call for projects under the European Clean Aviation research program.
Access all the news, updates, videos and podcasts from the 2025 Paris Air Show at AviationWeek.com/Paris
astoronny
Probatorem orbis terrarum
...тоже каннибализируют...
simpleflying.com
A 5 Year Old Airbus A220 Has Already Been Scrapped
The aircraft in question only entered service in October 2019.
simpleflying.com
G8000
Старожил
Sad news......тоже каннибализируют...
A 5 Year Old Airbus A220 Has Already Been Scrapped
The aircraft in question only entered service in October 2019.