Today we are not yet ready to move from metal to composite on the singleaisle aircraft

The new Airbus A320 aircraft has not yet launched, but it already has a name: A320 NEO, for New Engine Option. John Leahy, Airbus, Deputy Director-General revealed last Monday at a meeting with the international aviation press. Three months after announcing he was "studying" the launch in 2015 of a version of its best-selling equipped with new engines less greedy fuel, the aircraft manufacturer that mounting pressure, while continuing to play shows. Scheduled for the aviation show Farnborough in July, the decision to launch this re-engined A320 could wait until the end of the year, said John Leahy.

Before journalists, the pattern of Airbus sales clearly took position for this project, which would be available to airlines as Air France and Lufthansa, whose older A320 arrive end of life. "The new generation of single-aisle, one that will change the deal with a reduction of 35 to 40 of the consumption and 20 to 25 of the costs at Headquarters, is not due until 2025-2027, he says." Today, we are not yet ready to move from metal to composite on the single-aisle aircraft. As new generation engines, such as the "open rotor", they won't be available before the middle of the next decade. However, CFM (joint subsidiary of Safran and GE, Editor's note) and Pratt & Whitney of new engines offering 15 gain of consumption. What can we do during this long period, if a new version remotorisée of the A320 "he concludes.

New competing with Boeing

This position is also that of another heavy weight of Airbus, the Director of programs, Tom Williams. "Personally, I think it's the right decision to make", he said, while stressing that many technical issues still to resolve. Incidentally, the A320 NEO could deter the new challengers, as the Canadian Bombardier, Comac Chinese, Brazilian Embraer or Russian Sukhoï, to try to establish a foothold on the market of the haul of more than 110 to 200 seats, is at Airbus.

However, Airbus still hesitate to touch its cash cow, which represents 70 and 80 of deliveries and continues to sell well, with more than 2,000 copies on order. In addition to the investment, which would exceed the EUR 1 billion and the shortage of engineers, the aircraft manufacturer feared to result in a new competing with Boeing. Older than the A320, Boeing 737 require indeed more heavy modifications to be re-engined. And as long as investing, the American aircraft manufacturer might want to go directly to a new device. This is what suggests its CEO Jim McNerney, recently referring to the possibility of a new aisle to 2020.

These fears are added those of banks and the hire of aircraft experts, who fear to see their current fleets lose much of their value, with the arrival of re-engined models. As argument swept a setback of sleeve by John Leahy: "If the rental is not for, the airlines, they demanded a new aisle", he says. According to his calculations, fuel economy offered by an A320 NEO compared to a conventional A320 would represent 5 to 9 million per year and per device. Launched by Boeing's B737 New Generation in 1993 would begin to impact the residual value of the old B737 that several years later, around 2002-2003, after the fleet of B737 NG service exceeded that of the older generation B737, explains.

As to the possibility for Boeing to launch a new aisle as early as 2020, John Leahy did believes not. "In 1985, Boeing had already announced the 7J7, an A320 which was to consume 45 less than the A320, recalls it. It ended with the launch of the B737 NG. If we are launching the A320 NEO, is still heard from the new aisle of Boeing, but in my view, they eventually present a B737 re-engined NG.