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AIRBUS:
FROM A SINGLE AIRCRAFT TO A COMPLETE
FAMILY
 By
taking the right decisions at the start, Airbus has
been able to create a complete range of aircraft
that exceed the expectations of passengers, pilots
and operators -- all within 30 years. Airbus was
established in 1970 as a European consortium of
French, German and later, Spanish and U.K
companies, as it became clear that only by
co-operating would European aircraft manufacturers
be able to compete effectively with the U.S.
giants. By overcoming national divides, sharing
development costs, collaborating in the interests
of a greater market share, and even agreeing a
common set of measurements and a common language,
Airbus changed the face of the business, and
brought airlines, passengers and crews the benefits
of real competition. In 2001, thirty years after
its creation, Airbus formally became a single
integrated company, thus passing another major
milestone in its history of achievements.
The European
Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS),
(resulting from the merger between Aerospatiale
Matra SA of France, Daimler Chrysler Aerospace AG
of Germany and Construcciones Aeronauticas SA of
Spain), and BAE SYSTEMS of the UK, transferred all
of their Airbus-related assets to the newly
incorporated company and, in exchange, became
shareholders in Airbus with 80 per cent and 20 per
cent respectively of the new stock.
 The
co-operation between the different entities that
make up Airbus today goes back to the 1920s.
Construcciones Aeronauticas S.A. (CASA) of Spain
built seaplanes under licence from German company
Dornier and worked with the French on the
Bréguet XIX. Then in the 1950s, a number of
Franco-German aviation projects saw the light of
day. The 1960s saw the first real co-operative
effort between French and German aircraft
manufacturers on the Transall, followed by the
Concorde adventure between the French and the
British.
This was also a
time of close contacts between CASA and
Messerschmidt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB). MBB formed
the core of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (DASA) in
1989 and then CASA, Dasa and Aerospatiale Matra
S.A. together formed EADS in 2000.
The Airbus GIE (or
Groupement d'Intérêt Economique), a
form of consortium under French law, was officially
created at the end of 1970 to establish a formal
co-operation among the GIE's partners and to
provide a single sales, marketing and support
interface for Airbus customers.
The two full
partners in the original consortium were
Aerospatiale for France and Deutsche Aerospace for
Germany. Hawker Siddeley and Fokker were also
associated with the programme and CASA of Spain
became a full member of the GIE in 1971.
Initially
headquartered in Paris, the GIE moved to Toulouse
in 1974. British Aerospace became a full partner in
1979.
Airbus' first
aircraft, the A300B, was launched at the 1969 Paris
air show. It was the first widebody twinjet and
could carry 226 passengers in a comfortable
two-class lay-out. A stretched 250 seat version,
the A300B2, requested by launch customer Air
France, went into full scale production.
By 1974, the A300
had been certified on budget and ahead of schedule
&endash; a major first for European companies at
the time. By the end of 1975, Airbus had 10 per
cent of the market and a total of 55 aircraft on
order. The company then went through a dark period,
during which it failed to secure any new orders.
Finally, US airline Eastern Airlines decided to
lease four A300B4s.
This was a turning
point, and from then on, Airbus never looked back.
Within two years, Airbus had 133 firm orders and
market share had risen to 26 per cent by value. By
the end of 1979, Airbus had 256 orders from 32
customers and 81 aircraft in service with 14
operators.
In July 1978,
Airbus launched the A310, a shortened version of
the A300 seating 218 passengers in a standard,
two-class configuration. The aircraft featured the
first ever two-man cockpit equipped with six
cathode ray tubes displays replacing the older
dials.
No longer was
Airbus a one-aircraft manufacturer. It was set to
expand and to create a complete range of
airliners.
Following this
bold stroke, British Aerospace - which had taken
over Hawker-Siddeley - became a full partner in the
Airbus consortium in 1979. All the major European
manufacturers were now firmly united and ready to
challenge the U.S. industry.
That same year,
Airbus decided to incorporate the 130-170 seat
single aisle aircraft, on which the partners had
been working outside the consortium, into its
aircraft family. This project became the A320,
which filled out the Airbus product line and
allowed Airbus to compete for replacements of
ageing U.S.-built aircraft in that category, in
service worldwide at the time.
The A320, launched
in 1984, was the first all-new design in its
category in 30 years. Incorporating new
technologies, the aircraft provided better
operating efficiency, better performance and -
above all - greater passenger comfort thanks to a
wider fuselage cross-section. It was the first
commercial aircraft to feature 'fly-by-wire'
controls and side sticks. It set the standard for
all subsequent Airbus cockpits and indeed for the
industry as a whole.
The introduction
of fly-by-wire also enabled Airbus to develop a
family of aircraft sharing the same cockpit and the
same flight handling characteristics.
The A320 was
followed in 1989 by the A321, a lengthened version,
seating 185 passengers in a standard three class
configuration, and, in 1992, by a 124-seat version
- the A319. The single-aisle Family was completed
in 1999 with the introduction of the 107-seat
A318.
The decision to
launch the A320 proved a wise one. In spite of the
recession of the mid 80s, the aircraft anticipated
market demand for a modern, cost-efficient aircraft
to replace older planes when the economy turned
round. The new A320 was quickly chosen by Air
France, British Caledonian, Adria Airways, Air
Inter and Cyprus Airways. Today, it is one of
Airbus' best-selling aircraft, popular with
passengers and carriers alike.
By 1987, it was
clear to Airbus that the time was ripe to launch
not one, but two larger aircraft in a single
programme. The market was ready for a twin engine,
medium-haul aircraft as well as a long range, four
engine, airliner.
The two new
airliners shared the same airframe, the same wing
design and the same popular twin-aisle
cross-section as the A300/A310, incorporating the
proven fly-by-wire controls of the A320.
When the
four-engine A340 entered service in 1993, it was
the first entirely new, long-haul aircraft to start
commercial operations for more than 20 years. The
twin-engine A330 which joined it a year later
combined some of the lowest operating costs of any
aircraft ever designed with maximum flexibility for
a wide range of route structures.
Two additional
versions of the A340, the A340-500 and the
A340-600, have been developed in close
collaboration with airlines. The A340-600 achieved
certification in May 2002 and entered airline
service in August while its sibling, the A340-500,
achieved certification in December 2002.
In December 2000,
Airbus launched the 555-seat A380 programme at the
top end of the spectrum. This all-new double-decker
aircraft is the most advanced, spacious and
efficient airliner ever conceived, and the solution
to growing traffic between major hubs.
The A380 will
provide 15 to 20 per cent lower operating costs, 10
to 15 per cent more range, lower fuel burn, less
noise and lower emissions than the largest aircraft
flying today.
http://www.airbus.com/
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