Boeing causes Airbus to consider radical changes
Airbus, under pressure from airlines for a bolder new model, on Wednesday signaled possible sweeping changes to its mid-sized planes to better battle rival Boeing.
Criticized by would-be buyers for not making its mooted A350 a completely new design, Chief Executive Gustav Humbert is under pressure to revamp the design to win back sales against Boeing’s large two-engined 777 and mid-sized 787 due in 2008.
Humbert said A350 design changes were still being looked at and reiterated all would be revealed in the next two months.
“The message to our competitor (Boeing) is clear: the game is not over yet, it will just start in the summer,” Humbert told reporters at the Berlin air show.
Some analysts have criticized Airbus for a lack of product strategy amid oft-changed designs mooted for the A350 that have allowed rival Boeing to catch a jump on the European firm.
Boeing’s mid-sized 787 due in 2008 has sold well and its larger long-range sibling, the 777, which entered service in 1995, outsold similar Airbus models 10-to-1 last year.
Both makers are coming off a record year in orders in 2005 and Humbert said Airbus expects to deliver close to 430 planes in 2006, up 13 percent from 378.
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