Delta considering the A350 instead of 777X for 50 aircraft order.

Delta Air Lines plans to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for new longhaul aircraft that will replace all of the airline’s Boeing 747-400s and a significant part of the 767-300ER fleets.

The RFP –estimated on 50 aircraft- will go out before the end of the month and Delta could decide before the end of the year.

The carrier plans to look at four options: The Airbus A350-900 and -1000, all 3 models of the Boeing 787, the current versions of the A330 and a re-engined A330.

Delta is not looking at the 777X. “We don’t want experimental airplanes,” says Anderson. “We are not interested in it.”

Delta has a history of caution when it comes to new aircraft types and its fleet strategy differs compared to many other carriers in that it tends to keep aircraft longer. In spite of the traditional caution, Anderson believes Delta now has “good visibility” about the A350 and 787, enough to make a decision at this stage. “Both are pretty well down the road now,” Anderson says and points out that Delta can draw upon operational experience by its partner carriers Aeromexico and Virgin Atlantic on the 787 side.

The airline is showing a strong interest in the proposed Airbus A330NEO; “I hope Airbus do offer an A330NEO,” Delta CEO Richard Anderson said in Atlanta. “There is a huge need for a small widebody. We really need Airbus to step up and re-engine.”

Based on the article “Delta To Issue Major Widebody RFP For 747/767 Replacements” published in Aviation Week

Aer Lingus will have a mix of A350-900 and -900Regionals

Aer Lingus has defined what now looks like the final version of its long-haul fleet strategy. The airline plans to take delivery of a mix of Airbus A350-900s and -900 regionals between 2018 and 2020, which represents a delay of up to 3 years compared to earlier scenarios.

The carrier’s widebody planning has undergone several iterations. At some stage, Aer Lingus had ordered a mix of A330s and A350s before switching to the new model entirely.

In an earlier agreement, Aer Lingus and Airbus had settled on initial A350 deliveries in 2015. But CEO Christoph Mueller said the two sides have spent months to negotiate a new schedule, which now sees the first aircraft arriving 3 years later. The airline’s order is for 9 A350-900s.

Mueller did not elaborate on why the changes were made. However, Airbus is keen to accommodate the needs of larger customers as soon as possible, whereas Aer Lingus has a relatively young fleet of A330s. Mueller has also said in the past that the A350 range capabilities are more than what the airline needs, therefore the interest in at least an A350 regional subfleet. Most of its North American destinations are on the East Coast, but the airline is adding new services to Toronto and San Francisco in the summer.

Based on the article “Aer Lingus defines future long-haul fleet, launches cost-cutting measures” published in ATW

MSN5 will be used for route proving program flying from Doha after Type Certification

A350 MSN5 prototype will have fully-furnished cabins as the MSN2 that is currently flying. The test team will concentrate on MSN5 for analysis and specific range testing.

“MSN5 will be the first Batch2 airplane built with production-standard engines, and we will fly a 2 to 3 month test campaign on that airplane which is mandatory to certificate everything related to Batch2 modifications and the engines” said Fernando Alonso, Airbus senior VP Flight and Integrations Tests.

This aircraft will also be used for the route-proving program to be flown in conjunction with Qatar Airways from its Doha base, due to begin in the summer.

Based on the article “Airbus hails mature A350” published in Flight International.

Small brackets manufactured in one day for A350 XWB

Airbus is expanding use of 3-D printing (additive layer manufacturing) technology to manufacture parts for the company's line of aircraft. This cost-effective technology -additive layer manufacturing- “grows” products from a fine base material powder – such as aluminum, titanium, stainless steel and plastics – by adding thin layers of material in incremental stages, which enables complex components to be produced directly from computer-aided design information.

Parts produced with this method are beginning to appear on the A350 XWB and also on other in-service aircraft of the A300/A310 Family. The 3-D printing results in lighter parts, shorter lead times, fewer materials used during production and a significant reduction in the manufacturing process’ environmental footprint.

“We are on the cusp of a step-change in weight reduction and efficiency – producing aircraft parts which weight 30 to 55% less, while reducing raw material used by 90%,” says Peter Sander of Airbus. “This game-changing technology also decreases total energy used in production by up to 90% compared to traditional methods.”

For the A350 XWB aircraft, Airbus has already produced a variety of plastic and metal brackets, which material and structural properties have been tested and validated, and are now incorporated on the certification test prototypes.

Sander said the lead time for such a part can be as little as one day, if the component is based on an existing design, while redesigned parts can be produced in less than two weeks.

Airbus and China’s North Western Polytechnical University (NPU) have signed a cooperation agreement on exploring ways to further apply 3D printing technology. NPU will manufacture test specimens of titanium alloy parts for Airbus using its Laser Solid Forming technology. The specimens will be manufactured according to Airbus specifications and will be measured and assessed by Airbus.

Based on the article “Airbus expands use of additive manufacturing” published in CompositesWorld.

A350 modifications being introduced in Batches.

To adhere to delivery schedules, the A350 is being introduced in 3 different Batches.

Batch1 includes the first 4 test aircraft. From MSN1 to MSN4.

Batch2 covers spans from MSN5 to MSN20.

Batch2 represents the production specification A350 with modifications mainly related to weight-saving.

“We are on target for the weight with the Batch2 aircraft. I am very confident we will deliver the payload and the range we planned”, said Fernando Alonso, Airbus senior VP Flight and Integrations Tests.

The most significant changes occur on MSN21, in the transition from Batch2 to Batch3 in which many modifications are cabin-related, but wing components and structural parts of the fuselage are also affected.

Based on the article “Airbus Boosts A320 Output, Takes Large A350 Charge” published in AviationWeek.

MSN4 prototype in Seville-Spain for external noise testing

Yesterday the MSN4 prototype landed in Seville airport of San Pablo in order to perform during coming days some external noise tests. This is the first time the A350 XWB lands in a Spanish airport.

The noise testing is being done in the air base of Moron de la Frontera, where the same type of tests have been already completed for the A380 and the A400M flying prototypes. 

This military airport has not in place the noise limitations that are in place in civil airports.

Based on the article “San Pablo acoge el primer aterrizaje en España del nuevo avión A350 de Airbus” published in El Correo de Andalucía

A350 flight test program; 44.6% of the hours accumulated in 42% of the time.

Comparing the 3 ongoing flight test programs (787-9, CSeries and A350), AirInsight summarizes the progress that each one is showing.

The A350 program continues to rack up hours.  So does the 787-9; with the proviso that the hours shown are likely lower than actual. Bombardier got off to a slow start and compared to the other two programs.

AirInsight continues to believe that there is an excellent chance the A350 set for delivery to Qatar could be handed over early. “The flight test program looks to be in good shape –44.6% of the hours accumulated in 42% of the time”.

“The Boeing story is less clear given the opaque information.  However various sources express the view that Boeing is doing very well and is set to deliver to Air New Zealand on time.“

“Bombardier’s program shows how much the slow start has impacted. However to their credit they got their 3rd aircraft flying (FTV3).  Since all flight test programs are back-loaded, they could catch a lot of the time. 

Based on the article “Flight Test Program Update” published in AirInsight.