For the A350-800, Airbus still has no clear answer. It is contractually obliged to deliver the first aircraft in 2016, one year ahead of the -1000, although it has been trying to delay entry into service to around 2020 while redefining the version. Some observers have suggested that the -800 might be killed once the reengined A330 has been formally launched.
Airbus is putting no work into the -800 now, but Evrard says shrinking the -900 would not be a very difficult task. “The -800 will not require a lot of development work. And with the backlog reduced, we have some more headroom to maneuver,” he says. The number of firm orders for the smallest A350 is down to 28.
It is unclear whether the current official position is only a polite way of saying Airbus essentially does not want to build the aircraft. There are very real concerns that the A330neo makes the A350-800 redundant.
It's interesting how newspapers know when Airbus is contractually obliged to deliver the first -800....! Do they have the contracts? I guess not and I can only shake my head about this. Maybe the customer which was supposed to get the A/C in 2016 has changed to -900 and is now getting this one! In the end it's all speculation!
ReplyDeleteWhat is no speculation is, that Airbus doesn't have a lot of orders for the -800. And so I agree that there are doubts if it will be ever build (especially after the A330neo launch)! Still: Only the Airlines and Airbus know what is in the contracts....