Airbus confirms A350-900LR plans, for the longest non-stop commercial air service.

Airbus is working on a new variant of its A350-900 wide-body that would allow Singapore Airlines to restore nonstop U.S. flights and regain the record for the world’s longest airline sector.

Source: Airbus

Airbus is working on changes to the cabin layout that would reduce its weight and allow Singapore Airlines to reach New York economically by 2018, said Kiran Rao, the planemaker’s Executive Vice President for Strategy and Marketing.

Source: Airbus

Rao said the A350 should be able to make the trip with 25% less fuel burn than older models, at the expense of a less dense layout than the usual 325-seat, 3-class A350-900, which could be available “an awful lot quicker than Boeing.”

Source: Airbus

Several other airlines have expressed an interest in such a variant, Rao said, while declining to identify them.

“I can’t go into details on the type of layouts they’re looking at but it would be a premium service,” he said.

Source: Airbus

When Singapore Air last flew to the New York area directly it did so with just 100 business-only seats on a four-engine Airbus A340-500, an arrangement that ultimately proved non-viable.

The route, to Newark in New Jersey, was the longest non-stop commercial air service ever offered at 15,344 kilometers (9,536 miles).

Based on the article “Airbus Plans Long-Range A350 to Fly Singapore-NYC Direct by 2018”published in Bloomberg.

Certified lithium-ion batteries for A350 will include SAFT´s BattCare for periodic tests on ground.

French Group SAFT, batteries supplier for A350 XWB, presented at Le Bourget airshow the certification of the lithium - ion battery that will be installed from MSN21 and on.

To remark the very high level of reliability of the battery, it was highlighted that it will be the first lithium-ion battery certified at the highest level (DAL A) of the DO-178B standard.

With a fully redundant electronic part, it has a failure rate less than 10^-9 occurrence per hour.

In parallel, SAFT also presented the BattCare, a tester of Li-ion batteries to be used directly on the tarmac.

The ground support engineers will check the status of the different batteries, and decide to load or unload them if necessary.

SAFT has developed a training program (the first session is taking place this month) for ground operators and maintenance technicians which provides basic education and best practices “to take full advantage of the optimum level of performance, reliability and longevity of the Li-ion batteries”.

This 2-day session are provided in the site of Aerocampus Aquitaine, the pole of training for the operation and aircraft maintenance near Bordeaux.

Courses are consistent with specialized training of level 4 of the Air Transport Association (ATA) as the Li-ion batteries are classified as LRU (interchangeable units online), i.e. repairable.

Li-ion batteries equip satellites since the 1990s, and 150 military aircraft F35 already in service, but civil aviation remains “a young market”.

The advantages of the 4 lithium-ion batteries (450VH1) to be installed in the A350s “provide a reduction in weight of 80 kg, their life expectancy is 8 years against 5 to 6 for nickel-cadmium batteries, and they do not need maintenance", details Jean-Marc Thevenoud, marketing responsible of SAFT Aviation.

Based on the article “Saft présente au Bourget la batterie Lithium-ion «la plus fiable du monde»” published in L'Usine Nouvelle

Family Day at Spirit Saint-Nazaire site, where A350 large aerostructures are assembled.

Spirit’s facility in Saint-Nazaire, France, hosted a Family Day Open House event in honor of Spirit’s 10th anniversary as a company in late-June.

A total of 300 visitors, including employees and their family members, enjoyed the rare opportunity to tour Spirit’s Saint-Nazaire factory, where large aerostructures are assembled for the Airbus A350 XWB.

Employee volunteers hosted booths, where they explained their jobs and answered questions.

Videos and images of assembly were broadcast to help guests understand the production process.

The event featured a catered meal, cocktails, and giveaways for each visitor.

“We were very proud to welcome the public and the media to our site on this occasion,” said Jean-Christophe Danieau, director of Spirit France.

“This event was possible because of the commitment and passion of our employees.”

“We receive by boat the panels manufactured in Kinston. We assemble and then deliver them to our neighbor Airbus. The sections then travel to Toulouse by Beluga.”

We are currently in the series phase with a full ramp up. The company has delivered to Airbus last June his 42nd central section (a large aerostructure of 20 meters long and 6 meters in diameter).

Currently the rate is 4 shipsets per month, it will be 5 at the end of the year, 7 in 2016 and 10 per month in 2017.

For this we have just installed a 2nd assembly line (versatile that can also accommodate the A350-1000 version shipsets).

The company has 120 employees and it is considering hiring 15 blue-collars before the end of the year.

Based on the article “Spirit gagne en confiance et s'ouvre au public” published in Ouest-France.

German Minister of labour visits A350 production site at Stade

German Minister Olaf Lies said that as an engineer, he was impressed by the complexity of the products manufactured in Stade Airbus site and by the possibilities of use of composite materials.

The Minister of economics, labour and transport undertook a visit to the facility in late-July accompanied by other local and regional politicians as well as Airbus top employees.

The Stade plant -with approximately 2.000 employees- the A350 XWB fuselage shells and wing upper covers are manufactured and the vertical stabilizer is assembled.

The Minister said that "optimized work processes assure the production in Germany”

Based on the article “Olaf Lies bei Airbus in Stade: Als Ingenieur beeindruckt von der Komplexität der Produkte” published in kreiszeitung-wochenblatt.de

Garuda Indonesia´s Letter of Intent for 30 A350s could be cancelled.

Garuda Indonesia CEO Arif Wibowo signed last June a Letter of Intent with Airbus for 30 A350 XWB aircraft.

But some discussions within Indonesian Government suggest that the future order could be cancelled.

Source: Airbus

The new Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Rizal Ramli, on his 1^st day in the charge, has asked the national carrier Garuda to cancel the letter of intent signed in June at Le Bourget Airshow for 30 A350 XWBs.

Source: Airbus

The strategic international expansion target of the airline to provide direct flights between Europe and Jakarta or Bali has been questioned fearing that the company would run into financial difficulty again.

Dr. Rizal Ramli would prefer to see Garuda to concentrate on serving domestic routes with single aisle aircraft.

Source: Airbus

 “I don't want to bankrupt Garuda-Indonesia because an agreement to buy 30 A350 planes with a loan of 44.5 billion US dollars from the China Aviation Bank.”

Meantime, State-Owned Entreprises Minister Rini Soemarno, who oversees the management of Garuda, told Rizal to back off as the company was not under his authority.

“State-owned enterprises are clearly under the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister, not under the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister. So no one can intervene in Garuda except for the former,” Rini said.

She defended Garuda’s fleet expansion plan as the company was developing its business.

Based on the article “Day one: New minister Rizal Ramli criticized by fellow minister” published in The Jakarta Post.

Spirit Aerosystems ramps up the A350 deliveries

"In June, we celebrated our 10th anniversary, and I would like to congratulate Spirit's employees around the globe on what they have accomplished," said President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Lawson. 

Source: Airbus

"Preparing for aircraft rate increases is a key focus for us this year.”

“Near term, we are capitalizing to increase the production rate of the 787 to 12 shipsets per month and the 737 to 47 shipsets per month, as well as the higher production rates on the A320 and A350 programs," Lawson added.

"The results of our efforts to reduce our cost and drive increased productivity are manifest in the quarter and we will continue to drive the enterprise with a focus on operational efficiency across all aspects of the business," Lawson concluded.

Spirit AeroSystems reported 2nd quarter financial results driven by positive operating performance of mature programs.

Spirit's 2Q/2015 revenues were $1.7 billion, down 6% compared to the same period of 2014 primarily due to the Gulfstream wing divestiture and lower revenues recognized on the 787 program.

Source: Airbus

Sanjay Kapoor, Spirit’s chief financial officer, said Spirit delivered 9 A350XWB shipsets (including the center section of the airplane’s fuselage as well as parts of its wings) in the 2nd quarter 2015. That compares with 5 A350 shipsets it delivered in the 2nd quarter of 2014.

Based on the press release “Spirit AeroSystems releases 2Q earnings and announces share repurchase program”

The A350´s centre of reference has moved forward the A350-1000.

Airbus is sounding out operators to determine whether there is a realistic demand of an aircraft larger than the A350-1000.

While the discussions and its own internal studies are only preliminary, they give the clearest indication so far that the airframer is exploring the potential of further development of the family.

The A350-1000 has been redesigned to provide greater capability while the A350-800 has effectively been abandoned in favour of re-engining the A330.

CEO for Customers John Leahy, speaking during Paris Airshow, said that the -900 was no longer the A350´s centre of reference, but that this middle point has “moved toward the -1000”.

Rather than a double-stretch strategy –about which he has expressed skepticism- Leahy said further development of the -1000 might be closer to “one and a half”.

The degree of flexibility available to Airbus to enhance the -1000´s design without substantial alterations will form part of the studies.

But Leahy stressed that the priority is to explore whether there is any genuine demand for an upgrade. Airbus has already projects in progress aimed at finding ways to raise capacity I the A359 family by up to 20 seats within next 5 years.

Based on the article “Airbus toys with growing A350 family” published in Flight International.