United sta considerando l'A350-1000 per rimpiazzare i suoi 747
United Said to Study Biggest Airbus A350 to Replace 747s
United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) is in talks with Airbus SAS about buying A350-1000 jets, a step toward the first U.S. purchase for the planemaker’s largest twin-engine model, people familiar with talks said.
The world’s biggest airline is considering the 350-seat plane to replace older
Boeing Co. (BA) 747s, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. United already has agreed to buy 25 of the mid-sized A350-900 variant under a 2009 deal that included 25 of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners.
A United order would help Toulouse, France-based Airbus in its effort to loosen Boeing’s grip on the market for large twin- aisle aircraft. Airbus had suffered cancellations and a four- year A350-1000 order drought until July. United has said it’s also looking at what Boeing will offer as a successor to its 777, the Chicago-based planemaker’s biggest two-engine model.
“This will be a big wake-up call for Boeing,” said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of Fairfax, Virginia-based consultant Teal Group. “There’s a big market emerging for the next-generation of the 777-300ER, and so far, Airbus is the only manufacturer with a firmly-launched new product.”
Airbus is promising the A350-1000’s first delivery by 2017 and promotes it as 25 percent more efficient than a 777-300ER, partly because it uses more lightweight composite materials. That timeline may give Airbus a head start of three years over a 777 replacement, because Boeing hasn’t committed to a schedule beyond saying the new plane would be in service by decade’s end.
Customer Discussions
A competition with Boeing would depend partly on how soon Airbus can free up delivery slots for the A350-1000 and how fast Boeing can develop the jet dubbed the 777-X, said two of the people. The A350-1000’s list price is $320.6 million, while a 777-X probably would command more than the 777-300ER’s
$315 million. Jet buyers usually get discounts.
Airbus declined to comment, saying discussions with potential buyers are private. Christen David, a spokeswoman for Chicago-based United, said: “We continuously have discussions with our aircraft manufacturers.”
Boeing is “engaging with our customers to define” the 777-X and when it might become available, Karen Crabtree, a spokeswoman, said by e-mail.
“While we haven’t set a firm timeline or launched the program, we’ve consistently talked about a potential market entry around the end of the decade,” she said.
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