Airbus A350 Production and Procurement Management

Introduction

Airbus is the European aircraft manufacturer behind the Airbus A350 — a medium-size, long-range, wide-body family of airliners. In addition to being manufactured to compete with the Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft, the Airbus A350 is the first aircraft developed by Airbus with fuselage and wing structures made of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic. Compared to the Boeing 787, the aircraft is expected to have lower operating costs and greater fuel efficiency, according to Airbus's claims. With the first flight expected in 2012 followed by an introduction in 2013, its launch customer is Qatar Airways, which ordered eighty aircraft across all three variants of the A350 airliner family. The total development cost of all three variants is expected to be approximately US$15 billion.

The Airbus A350 airliner family consists of three variants of mid-size, long-range, wide-body aircraft: the A350-800, A350-900, and A350-1000, carrying 270, 314, and 350 passengers respectively. Since the commencement of the development and manufacturing process, the programme has been progressing well and on course. By the end of 2008, the programme had secured over four hundred firm orders from 29 customers ("Airbus Letter," 2008).

The Airbus A350 was developed for a number of reasons. One of the major motivations was Airbus's quest to provide a market competitor that would shape the future of air travel. The aircraft's mission is to deliver a new generation of airliners meeting the market's requirements across passenger comfort, size, environmental impact, revenue generation, and range.

Aircraft Mission Summary

It is widely understood that one of the reasons Airbus considered the A350 was in direct response to Boeing's development of the 787. Boeing had embarked on the 787 project in efforts to lower operating costs; while the Boeing 787 achieved 20 percent lower fuel consumption than the previous 767 aircraft, it posed a serious competitive threat to the Airbus A330. Airbus was therefore compelled to design a new aircraft — designated the A350 — incorporating enhanced aerodynamics and engines, among other improvements. The initial version of the Airbus A350 was widely criticized as too similar to the A330, sharing major features such as fuselage assembly and cross-section.

Instead of adopting a composite fuselage, Airbus initially chose aluminum-lithium, claiming it was more resistant to ramp damage while retaining the same fuselage cross-section and assembly as the A330. This decision was quickly criticized by industry observers, and the leaders of Airbus's two largest customers also objected to the unchanged cross-section. During this period, various international airlines were ordering the Boeing 787 over the Airbus A350 due to the latter's perceived design shortcomings.

Following this criticism, Airbus undertook a major redesign of the A350 at a cost of billions of dollars. The new design incorporates a superior fuselage cross-section with the ability to accommodate ten passengers per row. With the aircraft mission being to provide a genuine market competitor while satisfying customer demands, the redesigned A350 has attracted orders from numerous airlines. The new design is considered larger and more capable than both the Boeing 777 and 787.

The primary performance goal of the Airbus A350 design team is to produce an aircraft that is between 15 and 20 percent more efficient than current models, measured in operating costs and fuel burn. Achieving this goal has required the incorporation of a range of new all-electronic technologies to improve subsystem performance while reducing weight. The use of new-generation engines is also essential; aircraft up to 20 percent more efficient than existing models can be realized by exploiting next-generation engines alongside the necessary design requirements.

According to research estimates at the time, the replacement of conventional hydraulic controls with electric controls was expected to be achievable by 2013. Systems anticipated to be controllable by mature electronic technologies include lighting, wing anti-ice protection, landing gear actuation, environmental control, cockpit instrumentation, and control surfaces. However, Airbus has been relatively conservative in adopting these systems for the A350. For example, rather than adopting a bleedless environmental control system, Airbus retained a bleed-air-based system featuring bleed off-takes at the engine's low-pressure stages, which removes the need for pre-coolers and reduces specific fuel consumption. Several technologies originally developed for the Airbus A380 will also be used in the A350, which will feature an analogous cockpit and systems layout ("The Airbus A350 XWB," 2009).

Aircraft Production

There are three variants in the A350 airliner family. The first is scheduled to enter service in 2013, with the subsequent two following in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Key design features across major systems are described below.

In contrast to previous Airbus aircraft, the A350's new fuselage design maintains a constant width from the first to the fourth door, providing maximum functional volume throughout the cabin. The fuselage cross-section features a larger outer diameter than those of the A330 and A340, and the cabin's interior width at armrest level is greater than that of both the Boeing 777 and 787.

Rather than adopting a bleedless design, the A350 will use a full bleed-air engine system, as confirmed by Airbus. Rolls-Royce will supply a new variant of the Trent engine family for the programme. Two basic engine variants will power all three A350 models; the Trent XWB engine, based on the highly developed Trent 900 and Trent 1000, will feature a fan diameter of three meters.

The higher-rated variant of the Trent XWB will incorporate changes to the fan module — including a new fan blade configuration and a slightly higher operating speed — as well as higher temperature capabilities enabled by new materials developed through ongoing research programs. Airbus plans to offer engines optimized for high-altitude and high-temperature operations, utilizing the full thrust capability of the engine as driven by operational requirements.

The A350 will feature new all-composite wings common to all three variants of the family. These wings will be the largest ever designed for a mid-size wide-body aircraft and are intended to increase typical cruise speed and raise maximum operating speed. The design incorporates an innovative trailing-edge system and an improved dropped-hinge flap that closes the gap between the trailing edge and the flap using the spoiler.

The A350 cockpit incorporates a revised configuration using LCD screens that differ from the A380-sized displays. The design includes two central displays stacked vertically and a dedicated flight and navigation display for each pilot, accompanied by an on-board information system. The new cockpit architecture allows future navigation technology upgrades to be integrated via software uploads, and it can merge data from multiple sources including flight management sensors and air system controls.

As part of the transition to a composite wing structure, Airbus implemented a new main landing gear attachment design for the A350, in which each main landing gear attaches to the rear wing spar forward and the gear beam aft. The gear beam is in turn connected to both the fuselage and wing. A double side-stay design was incorporated to reduce loads transferred into the wing.

The A350 also introduces a three-point main landing gear configuration incorporating four- and six-wheel bogies, designed to keep runway loading within prescribed limits. Not all three variants use both bogie types: the four-wheel bogie is used on the A350-800 and A350-900, while the six-wheel bogie is used on the A350-1000, reflecting the need to manage weight across the family.

The production of the Airbus A350 encompasses three variants — the A350-800, A350-900, and A350-1000 — all launched in 2006. Costs and schedules differ across the variants due to slight configuration differences, as described below.