Airbus set for radical rethink for long-haul carrier

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2006

TOULOUSE, France (AFP) — Airbus is moving towards the development of a new long-haul carrier, amid criticism of the proposed design of its A350 twin-engined jet, a source close to the European aircraft giant said.

"The board of EADS is likely to opt, at the end of May, for a new plane with an enlarged fuselage and new wings," the internal source at the world's biggest aircraft maker told AFP,

Such a decision would delay the first delivery date by a year and could double the development costs, currently estimated at four billion dollars, the source said.

Other sources spoke of a two-year delay and said the changes would amount to a major revamp of the A350 plans, rather than the development of an entirely different aircraft, with a bigger capacity, redesigned...