Airbus Backs Upgrades to Planes Despite Boeing's 737 MAX Troubles
21 May 2019 - 10:26PM
Dow Jones News
By Robert Wall
Airbus SE executives Tuesday supported upgrading older-model
planes for efficiency -- instead of always pursuing brand-new
designs -- after the two crashes by Boeing Co.'s 737 MAX planes
raised questions about whether legacy planes can evolve safely.
Boeing's 737 MAX, which has been grounded globally since
mid-March after two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in less
than five months, has drawn fire from some lawmakers world-wide for
having roots in a 1960s plane design that has been repeatedly
updated. The safety approvals since the program first won
regulatory backing largely has focused on only the features that
have incrementally changed.
But rival Airbus has played down the idea that the latest
version of its rival's planes was flawed because it was another
upgrade. "The MAX is not one stretch too many," Airbus Chief
Commercial Officer Christian Scherer said.
Airbus has made upgrading existing planes a core part of its
product strategy, too, modernizing its narrowbodies and A330
wide-bodies with new engines. It now is working on an upgrade of
its A321LR, which itself was an upgrade of an earlier version of
its largest narrow body. Mr. Scherer said upgrading planes still
makes sense in cases where incremental improvements don't warrant a
brand new design. The A321 could be further upgraded even beyond
the so called A321XLR now in the concept sage, he added.
Mr. Scherer reiterated Airbus's position that the MAX grounding
hasn't been a benefit for the European plane maker. He also
expressed concern the MAX crisis could dent public confidence in
the safety of commercial air transport more broadly, echoing the
CEO of Airbus.
Airbus officials also worry that the MAX situation could create
lasting fissures between aviation safety regulators in the U.S. and
abroad, hindering the approval of new planes.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the principal safety
regulator for Boeing planes, this week plans to host some of its
foreign counterparts to discuss its plan to evaluate the MAX before
it is cleared to fly again. Boeing has been working on a fix to a
flight control system flaw implicated in the two accidents.
Europe's air safety regulator has said it would work with the
FAA, but is also undertaking an independent review of the MAX.
At a reporters' briefing, Airbus also said it has devised
upgrades for the A220 single-aisle plane it acquired from Canada's
Bombardier Inc. The change will allow the plane to carry 2.3 metric
tons more weight, which translates into more fuel and an additional
range of around 450 nautical miles. That capability should be
available from the second half of 2020, Airbus said.
Mr. Scherer also played down concerns that low order bookings at
Airbus and Boeing so far this year suggested demand for new planes
was slumping. "It is only natural that you see ups and downs," he
said. "I do not believe we are at the end of a cycle."
Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 21, 2019 08:11 ET (12:11 GMT)
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