Higher production goals, while new aircraft take shape (2012)

With the momentum created by a “year of records” in 2011, Airbus entered 2012 with its sights set on goals that include further production ramp-up for the company’s jetliner families, the beginning of final assembly for the A350 XWB, and certification of the A320 product line’s Sharklets fuel-saving wingtip devices – all of which will be supported by additional growth in its employee count.

The planned production acceleration will raise Airbus’ output for its best-selling A320 Family in 2012 to an all-time high of approximately 42 aircraft monthly, with the A380 cadence moving toward three per month, and production of the A330 rising to meet a goal of 9.5 jetliners monthly.

To meet these increased production rates – while also securing major programme milestones for the new A350, A320neo and A400M military airlifter – Airbus is keeping a focus on expanding its workforce’s size, skills and talent – adding at least 4,000 more employees in 2012, which follows the 4,500 new recruits hired the previous year. 

Driven by its exceptional sales performance in 2011, Airbus entered 2012 with a backlog of 4,437 aircraft – representing a combined list price value estimated at $588 billion.  This included 1,256 firm bookings for the A320neo Family by 23 customers, confirming its status as the fasting-selling jetliner ever, and bringing overall sales for the entire A320 Family to 8,292 aircraft as of 31 December 2011. 

At the 2012 Singapore Airshow in February, Airbus signed a memorandum of understanding for the A330 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) conversion programme in a cooperative effort with its EADS EFW sister company in the EADS group, and Singapore’s ST Aerospace.

The A330P2F programme offers a passenger-to-freighter conversion opportunity for A330s that have completed their useful operational service as passenger jetliners. 

Both the A330-200 and A330-300 versions are eligible for the P2F conversion.  With its longer fuselage, the A330-300P2F is particularly suited for integrators and express carriers, resulting from its high volumetric payload capability with lower-density cargo, while the A330-200P2F is optimised for higher-density freight and longer-range performance.

The A330 offers a highly capable platform for conversion into a freighter, with modern Airbus technologies that include fly-by-wire flight controls.  Overall, more than 1,180 A330s have been ordered in the passenger, freighter, VIP, and military aerial tanker/transport versions, with over 800 delivered from the A330’s service entry in 1994 through early 2012 – providing a large source of aircraft to support these conversions for many years.

A330P2F aircraft will be complementary to Airbus’ new-production A330-200F freighters, as the converted jetliners address a different price-point and end-users, based on separate operational requirements.

Its assembly started with the joining of the A350 XWB’s primary fuselage sections at the facility’s first main assembly location, Station 50, where the nose landing-gear is also will be joined. Once this phase is completed, the fuselage is to be transferred to Station 40, where the wings and tail sections are joined.

Another milestone was marked during April with the first A350 XWB’s aft fuselage delivery, which occurred in Toulouse for joining with the jetliner’s front and centre fuselage sections.  This 20-metre-long carbon fibre component was assembled at Airbus’ Hamburg, Germany facility, consisting of the rear fuselage barrel and two lateral aft fuselage panels, along with the upper and lower aft fuselage panels.

Final assembly of the first flying A350 XWB will begin in the summer.