Airbus Industries

[Ray Finkle]

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the A330 as it was on an A332 I took my first long haul flight. I do like the A340, I've flown on the A340-300 and the A340-500 and found them both pleasant enough. Apart from the sheer bulk I'm not a huge fan of the A380 and I've heard many people say they prefer the 773.

As for short haul then I'd probably go for the A321 closely followed by the A319.

 

[Seasider]

I have to disagree with Aviador, I think the A320 is the best aircraft to photograph.

 

[Aviador]

I have to admit the new A320 neo variant looks mighty stunning with it's new sharklets.

 

[stephendavion]

Zhejiang Loong Airlines orders 20 Airbus A320 aircraft


Chinese carrier Zhejiang Loong Airlines has signed a purchase agreement with Airbus for 20 A320 aircraft, including 11 A320ceo and nine A320neo jets.

source

 

[BSL-2km]

Just picking up on the earlier conversation regarding A330 or 777 being the better experience, i would have to say 777 for me. Judgement is bound to be influenced by Airline and class, but having shared the journey to the Maldives between a 777 and A330 , both Emirates, i think the 777 just edged it. Purely from the flying sensation, although i think both are pretty dull, the 777 has something extra, perhaps it is the noise of those monster engines...
Air Austral 777 to Reunion island,longest flight i have done, 12hrs passed easily enough, this plane just does it.
Narrow bodies, it is hard for me to choose, but again i think overall the Boeing aircraft are my favourite, to ride in, there just seems to be more flying going on, i know that they are all pretty much automated these days, but the A320 line is good at what it does, just a little sterile ? perhaps..
One aircraft i have fond memories of is the BAC1-11 or one eleven,, always seemed a great plane to me, as a kid I used to frequently catch a KLM (A310) from Tripoli to Amsterdam and connect with Aer LIngus (BAC1-11) to Dublin EI 608 (9) if i remember correctly, always Business class... happy days.

 

[stephendavion]

Interior of Airbus A380 Superjumbo Airliner ...

The twin-deck widebody of the roomy A380 means some airlines have requested onboard showers, an office, a children's play area, a gym, a bar, shops, a smoking area and a mini casino.

Image source

 

[TheLocalYokel]

A smoking area? Won't that mean that because air is recycled around the aircraft everyone will be in danger of breathing in smoke-contaminated air?

 

[Aviador]

I was thinking similar. Most countries have banned smoking in public areas these days anyway.

 

[BSL-2km]

My old favorite was back in town a few days back....

Inside shots ...from press

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/08/trave ... e-a350-xwb

looks great....

 

[BSL-2km]

Economy A350 XWB

Premium A350 XWB

Upfront cabin

Love those vertical walls, looks like it will feel huge in there !!
Boeing playing catch-up from here on ??

 

[Ray Finkle]

A couple of nice videos.

Airbus A320 NEO first flight.

And the A350 XWB test fleet doing some formation flying.

http://videos.airbus.com/video/94caba54003s.html

 

[Aviador]

Airbus beats Boeing to $14bn Delta order

A350 by BSL-2km, hosted on Forums4airports

Airbus has secured a major coup for its new A350 aircraft with an order reportedly worth $14 billion from Delta Air Lines following a competition with Boeing.

 

[Ray Finkle]

I guess alot now rests on the A350 being able to rival the hugely successful 777.

Airbus Raises Prospect of Ditching A380 as Orders Vanish

Airbus Group NV (AIR) raised the prospect of discontinuing its A380 superjumbo as soon as 2018, the first admission that it may have misjudged the market for the double-decker after failing to find a single airline buyer this year.

While Airbus will break even on the plane in 2015, 2016 and 2017, that outlook doesn’t hold for 2018, forcing the company to either offer new engines to make the A380 more attractive or discontinue the program, Chief Financial Officer Harald Wilhelm told investors at a meeting in London today.

His comments come as 2014 shapes up to be the first since the doubledecker entered service without a new airline customer. Its only buyer was a leasing company that has yet to line up a single carrier to take any of the 20 planes it ordered. The backlog remains as thin as it is fragile, highlighted by the cancellation of six jets ordered by Japan’s Skymark Airlines Inc. (9204), with two close to handover.

In its seventh year in operation, the aircraft that cost $25 billion to develop threatens to become a costly misstep. While popular with travelers, most carriers prefer smaller twin-jet models that are more fuel efficient and can access more airports. Emirates is the only stand-out sponsor, having ordered 140 units, while other airlines have either backed off or are struggling to fill the two decks of the jumbo.

Full article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-1 ... ndrum.html

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I guess alot now rests on the A350 being able to rival the hugely successful 777.

Having had 12 long-haul rides on Emirates 777s in recent years plus four on their 380s I know which I prefer and it isn't the Airbus this time.

Is the A 350 intended as a rival to the 777 or the 787?

 

[BSL-2km]

Have been using EasyJet quite a lot recently, and have noticed when boarding that the engines on several different (A319) aircraft have a very clangy, metallic scraping noise when warming up or idling with wind flow, at low revs... Has anyone else noticed this ? Possibly it is normal, but i don't ever seem to recall hearing it before. I did a few months on the apron with BMI a few years back and the A321 aircraft were not making noises like that.. CFM56 more than likely.. Anyone got a definitive ?

 

[Aviador]

Sorry only just read your post. If you are talking about when an aircraft is parked and the aircraft engines are idle, perhaps with additional noise coming from APU, you can get a clunky metalic type of noise when the wind blows through the engines. It's normal and it happens with most jet engine types.

 

[BSL-2km]

Interesting concept ..

Airbus may put toilets and kitchen areas below deck on new A350 variants...
I like the thinking...

http://www.ausbt.com.au/airbus-considers-split-level-layout-for-a350-1000

 

[Seasider]

I thought that they had packed in with "Guzunders" years ago.

 

[David_itl]

Air Austral order for 2 A380s finally off the books.... replaced by an order for 2 A380 by the hitherto unknown airline 'Emirates'. Delivery 4th quarter 2017

 

[BSL-2km]

Nice swish pages from airbus.com

A350 orders

http://www.a350xwb.com/od/

A350 news

http://www.a350xwb.com/

Quality stuff...