Page 63 - AA 2018_11

MIDDLE-OF-THE-MARKET

Is there a role for a new A330 regional, to specialise an aircraft. For most plugged gaps from Auckland to New
whether neo or ceo? of the airlines, where they’re more ‘Where York to London to Tokyo to Santiago.
Asia Pacific is something of the region eager is around flexibility: having an (One end result of the eventual
of the A330, with both early customers aircraft like a Swiss Army knife you they’re resolution of these issues may indeed
and later purchasers of the airframe can adapt and use in a lot of different be a glut in the availability of smaller
creating regional configurations for environments and a lot of different more eager widebody capacity, which may itself
shorter range missions. operations,” Toro-Prieto concludes. affect the demand for a middle-of-the-
Airbus has for five years offered And Airbus is keen to be selling is around market aeroplane.)
a downrated A330-300 for regional those re-engined models. “The objective Interior delays around seats,
operations, which the airframer regarding the A330 is as soon as flexibility.’ lavatories, galleys and monuments
explains “is optimised for missions possible just to be delivering neos,” have troubled the Airbus A350, and
up to 2,700 nm (five-hour flight) Toro-Prieto says. JOAQUIN TORO-PRIETO with increasing industry consolidation
covering short to medium-haul routes “Today, there are still in the portfolio and fewer players in the market,
and offers significant cost savings some A330ceos. Some of the customers, problems are multiplied. Indeed, as
through a reduced operational weight they’ve been ordering it just for a mega-corporations consolidate the
of around 200 tonnes.” It delivered the question of getting it as soon as possible, players – Safran with Zodiac, UTC
first to Saudia in 2016. but our objective is to do a phase-down, with Rockwell Collins and with Pratt
It wouldn’t be beyond the realms a run-down of the production of ceos & Whitney, AVIC with FACC with
of possibility that Toulouse might into neos as soon as possible.” AIM Altitude and with Thompson
be looking at offering a similarly – the waxing or waning confidence
downrated A330-200, or even a Production and suppliers for all the in various parts of each business will
downrated version of the more contenders is the wildcard prove complicated.
efficient A330-800neo, which is Across airframers, from Airbus to The conventional wisdom is that,
advertised as around 15 per cent more Boeing, Bombardier to Embraer, the while first movers in a field have a
efficient than the ceo version. Airbus threat posed by strained suppliers speed to market advantage, they also
has previously emphasised the lower of aircraft parts to on-time delivery run the risk of being delayed with
purchase costs of the A330 compared has been substantial – and visible. bleeding-edge teething issues. Yet the
with the 787, and while that has not The engine-less A320neo “gliders” 737 MAX is hitting the same glider
prevented the Dreamliner’s success in that first started appearing at Airbus problems as the A320neo, just years
long-range markets it is not optimised aprons at Hamburg Finkenwerder, later.
for the middle-of-the-market. Toulouse Blagnac and Tianjin Binhai Boeing did not cover itself with
Could the poorly-selling caused wags to nickname the new glory in its design and production of
A330-800neo be re-envisaged and generation of aircraft “no engine the 787, from the management of its
reborn to attack the middle of the option”. There’s little reason to think global supply chain to electrical issues,
market from the top – or could a fleet that Boeing has a better grasp on from battery fires to fuel leaks, from
of inexpensive late-model downrated the situation, and indeed dozens emergency landings to airworthiness
A330-200s be a deal too good to pass of engineless aircraft at Renton reviews.
up for a cost-conscious airline? demonstrate the Seattle area has its With Boeing’s NMA using new
“The A330-800 is an A330 at the own gliding club issues to resolve. technology – and especially engines
end of the day,” Airbus’s Toro-Prieto Meanwhile, engine delays hit the created for a new category of aircraft,
says. “The interesting thing, like all A330neo program, while in-service due to be selected within the coming
the A330s, when you’re looking into powerplant woes have continued to Airlines almost always have an months – it will be for Seattle to
what the A330 is doing today, is that impact Boeing 787s across the world, option to upgauge their orders, deliver on the promises it will be
it’s doing pretty much everything that creating a shortfall of narrowbody as Virgin Australia did to the making to serve this market of its own
you want. You will find A330s in very aircraft as lessors wet and dry have 737 MAX 10 . boeing creation.
short operations, on 30-minute flights,
and A330s in operation today that are
flying, for example, from Buenos Aires
to Europe. So you will have all the
depth and breadth of these operations
in the same platforms. That’s proving
that this is a very flexible platform
and that it can adapt to do different
things.”
But is it too much plane? “It’s for
the airline to decide,” says Toro-
Prieto, “taking into account the type
of operation that they would like, and
what is the design weight out of what
we’re offering today that they will be
interested in. [They can] then go for a
low maximum takeoff weight, if they
want to be operating only this type of
short sectors.”
“A lot of airlines are trying to escape
from high aircraft specialisation. You
need to have significantly big fleets
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