Airbus Industrie A318 is Launched With Air France Order, Egyptair committment.
;Airbus Industrie has formally launched the A318, adding a new aircraft version to its single-aisle A320 Family. A total of 109 orders and commitments have been received from customers including Air France, Egyptair, ILFC and TWA. ;The launch base for the programme exceeds the commercial requirements set by the Airbus Industrie Supervisory Board, confirming that the A318 has properly anticipated the needs of this market sector. Due to enter service in the last quarter of 2002, the A318 will carry 107 passengers in a standard two-class layout up to 3,700 km/2,000 nm in its baseline version, and will be the smallest member of the highly successful A320 Family, the fastest selling airliner family ever. Over the next 20 years, Airbus Industrie forecasts a demand of more than 1,300 aircraft in the A318 size category. ;Eleven years after the A320 entered service, the A319, A320 and A321 have won 1,982 firm orders from 87 customers, and delivery of the 1000th A320 Family aircraft took place earlier this month. ;Noël Forgeard, Managing Director of Airbus Industrie, stressed the significance of this launch. "With the A318, one of the last objectives regarding our product development strategy has been achieved," he said. "We have rounded out our single-aisle product range with an aircraft that enables us to satisfy customer needs in the 100-seat category. This aircraft provides the benefits of the same type rating as other members of the A320 Family, and full operational commonality with larger Airbus Industrie aircraft." ;Sharing the same fuselage width as the other members of the A320 Family, the A318 offers the same comfort standards available on the larger Airbus Industrie single-aisle aircraft. It also shares the A320 Family's modern fly-by-wire flight controls, allowing all types to be operated by the same flight crews and maintained by the same engineers. It will therefore benefit from the highest degree of operational commonality, greatly reducing capital investment, as well as training and spares. ;Airbus Industrie has reached an agreement with Pratt & Whitney to develop the new PW6000 engine to power the A318. The PW6000 has already been selected by several major A318 customers and remains the engine of reference for the programme. Certain operators of CFM56-powered aircraft have not announced their engine decisions and wish to study a possible CFM alternative being discussed with the GE/SNECMA joint venture. ;Also available in an increased gross weight version, the A318 is ideal for high frequency low traffic routes such as domestic, short haul or shuttle operations. Final assembly of the A318 will be in Hamburg alongside the A319 from which it is derived. This will allow maximum flexibility when responding to market conditions and customer requests. ;Industrial negotiations between the Airbus Industrie partners are presently continuing at an advanced stage. Airbus Industrie has made its position known to the partners, but the decision-making process on the issues in question remains in their hands. Nonetheless, in line with the status of Airbus Industrie, the A318 launch decision taken by the Managing Director represents a full commitment by the consortium to its customers and suppliers.
Airbus Industrie A318 is Launched With Air France Order, Egyptair committment.
