Airbus nennt Northwest Airlines, die viertgrößte US-Fluggesellschaft als möglichen A350 Kunden.
Würde, da sie schon A330 in der Flotte haben durchaus Sinn machen.
Allerdings müssten ersteinmal zwei Dinge feststehen :
1) Das Design und die genauen Performance-Daten des A350
2) Die Entscheidung, daß Airbus den A350 überhaupt baut.
Gruss Ramier
Airbus says NWA might buy its A350s
Edmond Lococo, Bloomberg News
December 3, 2004 AIRBUS1203
Airbus, the world's largest commercial aircraft maker, said Eagan-based Northwest Airlines, the fourth-largest U.S. carrier, is considering buying its proposed new aircraft, the A350.
John Leahy, Airbus chief commercial officer, told reporters at a conference in New York that the first definite orders for the plane are expected in the "next few months."
"There is a case for it at Northwest and other airlines," Leahy said in response to a question on whether there had been talks with Northwest. The airline's agreement with its pilot union set out requirements to fly new Airbus aircraft.
The A350 would be a variant of Toulouse, France-based Airbus' A330 with new wings and engines. The plane would have a range of 7,500 nautical miles, or 1,000 miles more than the A330. The A350 is aimed at competing with Chicago-based Boeing Company's planned 7E7, its first new plane in 15 years.
"We're regularly briefed by various aircraft manufacturers on their latest product offerings," Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch said. He declined to comment further on talks with Airbus.
The Air Line Pilots Association's latest agreement with Northwest set pay rates for both the Boeing 7E7 and variants of the A330 that Airbus might develop, union spokesman Hal Myers said.
"Northwest wanted to have pay rates pinned down in the event they did acquire these aircraft, but we don't know of any specific plans to do so," Myers said.
If approved, the A350 could be in production by May 2010, about two years after Boeing's planned introduction of the 7E7, Leahy said.
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