Corporate Affairs
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Airbus’ new long-range narrow-body airliner makes first flight
The latest model in Europe-based aerospace group Airbus’ single-aisle airliner family, the A321LR, made its maiden flight from Hamburg in Germany on Wednesday. The aircraft is MSN7877 and is a long range version of the A321neo (new engine option), hence the suffix “LR”. It is powered by CFM International LEAP-1A new generation engines. Like all members of the A320 family, the A321LR contains wing and fuselage components and communications equipment manufactured in South Africa by local companies Aerosud and Cobham South Africa.
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Airbus reports strong single-aisle aircraft demand
Airbus Commercial Aircraft President Fabrice Brégier is very optimistic about the state of the global airliner market and the prospects it offer the company. “The market is still very active; the growth is, in China … still more than 10% year-on-year – on [sic] such a big market, we are having 1 500 Airbus aircraft flying every day, in China,” he said in an interview on Airbus’ own Youtube channel, posted on January 15. “So the potential is there. It’s up to our competitiveness, our commercial aggressivity [sic] and also our industrial performance.”
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For Airbus, 2017 was another record year for airliner deliveries
Airbus Commercial Aircraft, the airliner manufacturing arm of European aerospace giant Airbus Group, has announced that last year it set a new company record for annual deliveries of aircraft. These totalled 718 aeroplanes to 85 customers and amounted to a 4% increase over the 688 delivered in 2016, which was the previous record year. Moreover, the company secured 1 109 net orders from 44 customers during 2017. By the end of the year, its total order backlog stood at 7 265 aircraft, worth $1.059-trillion at list prices. As a result, Airbus has a book-to-bill ratio of 1.5 (that is, the ratio of orders received to units delivered and invoiced – “billed” – over a specific period; a ratio of more than 1 shows that demand is strong).
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Airbus executive see bright future for airliner sector
Airbus Commercial Aircraft President Fabrice Brégier is very optimistic about the state of the global airliner market and the prospects it offers the company. “The market is still very active; the growth is, in China … still more than 10% year-on-year – on [sic] such a big market, we are having 1 500 Airbus aircraft flying every day, in China,” he said in an interview on Airbus’ own Youtube channel, posted on Monday. “So the potential is there. It’s up to our competitiveness, our commercial aggressivity [sic] and also our industrial performance.”
Last year was a very successful one for the company. “[W]e are leading again the sales competition against Boeing,” he highlighted. In terms of units (aircraft), the European manufacturer won 55% of total global airliner orders (excluding regional airliners, a segment in which neither Airbus or Boeing participate), while US group Boeing won 45%. In terms of value, Airbus secured 51% of the market and Boeing 49%.
“What makes the difference is the single-aisle market and we could see huge demand, which was confirmed, and the talent of [Chief Operating Officer: Customers] John [Leahy] and his team was to grab that at the very end of the year, because many deals were closed at the end of December,” pointed out Brégier. “The challenge for us was to deliver more than 700, and if possible 720, aircraft by the end of 2017, and I can tell you that it was a hell of a challenge. And I’m very pleased that the teams delivered 718 aircraft.”
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Airbus reports that 2017 was another record year for airliner deliveries
Airbus Commercial Aircraft, the airliner manufacturing arm of European aerospace giant Airbus Group, announced on Monday that last year it had set a new company record for annual deliveries of aircraft. These totalled 718 aeroplanes to 85 customers and amounted to a 4% increase over the 688 delivered in 2016, which was the previous record year.
Moreover, the company secured 1 109 net orders from 44 customers during 2017. By the end of the year, its total order backlog stood at 7 265 aircraft, worth $1.059-trillion at list prices. As a result, Airbus has a book-to-bill ratio of 1.5 (that is, the ratio of orders received to units delivered and invoiced – “billed” – over a specific period; a ratio of more than 1 shows that demand is strong).
“A new Airbus delivery record coupled with our fifth best order intake wraps up a remarkable year for us,” affirmed Airbus Group Chief Operating Officer and Airbus Commercial Aircraft President Fabrice Brégier. “This outstanding achievement is testimony to the dedication of all our teams, and makes the company fitter, stronger and ready for the opportunities ahead.”
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UK group and top university unveil radical flight control technology demonstrator UAV
British aerospace, defence, security and shipbuilding group BAE Systems and the University of Manchester unveiled on Wednesday their joint Magma experimental jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programme. They announced that the Magma had successfully completed its first phase of flight trials.
Magma is described as a “small scale” UAV, with no indication of its size. Chairs and a table just visible in the background of the photo issued with the media release suggest that its dimensions are in the range of a few metres.
It is serving as a technology research, development and demonstrator platform for a unique concept for controlling aircraft in flight, using what is called “blown air” instead of conventional flight control surfaces such as ailerons, elevators and rudders. (The air that comes out of a hairdryer is an everyday example of blown air.)