Manufacturing Industry

No decision on Airbus A3XX yet - Brief Article

Airline Industry Information, June 9, 2000

The supervisory board of European aircraft manufacturer Airbus Industry did not meet as expected on 8 June and as such no decision regarding the consortium's A3XX superjumbo jet aircraft project has been made.

A decision is apparently still being held up over wrangling about where to locate the main assembly plant, with France and Germany as the main contenders.

A spokesperson for the European Aeronautics Defence and Space company, which owns 80% of Airbus Industrie, has indicated however that the board will make a decision 'shortly' according to the Associated Press.

The delay in decision-making does not seem to be having an effect of interest in the proposed 550-seat carrier, with Virgin Atlantic Airways expressing interest in becoming a launch customer for the large aircraft yesterday. The British carrier has also indicated however that it is interested in Boeing Co's proposed stretched version of its 747 aircraft, the 747-400X. Virgin Atlantic Airways has apparently already signed letters of intent for firm orders of six of each type and options for six more of both according to Reuters.

Sir Richard Branson, the chairman of Virgin Atlantic Airways has said that he thinks the larger aircraft make sense as the availability and number of airport slots decrease and believes that they will be cheaper to operate. Branson also indicated that he will use the Airbus A3XX on shorter long-haul flights like transatlantic routes, and the Boeing 747-400X on longer services into Asia.

International Lease Finance Corp, a US-based company, has also confirmed that it will order some of the A3XX aircraft and orders for the aircraft have also been received from Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Air France according to the Associated Press.

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