The A3XX: an analysis

Citation

(2000), "The A3XX: an analysis", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 72 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2000.12772faf.006

The A3XX: an analysis

The A3XX: an analysis

Keyword: Airbus

Airbus Industrie believes that with an increasing number of airlines publicly announcing their intention to purchase the A3XX (Plate 2) as soon as it becomes available, the validity of its analysis behind the need for this new very large aircraft is now being confirmed by the market. In Airbus Industrie's opinion, with 20 world-leading airlines and cargo carriers and over 60 major airports collaborating in the programme since its inception, the A3XX was designed to meet all the foreseeable needs of the twenty-first century. This was highlighted at a recent address given to the Management Forum of a major European airline by Airbus Industrie vice president Forecasting and Strategic Planning, Adam Brown, who outlined the reasons for which Airbus Industrie is confident of the programme's future success.

Plate 2 The A3XX

"Over the last 30 years, world-wide economic growth coupled with a continuing reduction in airline fares (in real terms) have resulted in a ten-fold increase in demand for air travel. However, over the same period – apart from a stretch to the upper deck – the size of the world's largest jetliner has remained unchanged", he said. In order to handle growing traffic, the number of flights performed by the major airlines has therefore risen substantially. During the past 20 years the total number of annual departures made by ICAO airlines has increased by three quarters, at an average rate of 2.9 percent per year. "Overall, we forecast that in 20 years' time the world's major airlines will offer 95 percent more daily departures than today: an even faster average annual increase of 3.4 percent", said Adam Brown.

Meanwhile, the capacity of the infrastructure has been unable to keep up with demand for an increased number of daily flights. In Europe, the USA and the Asia-Pacific region, the airports and air traffic control systems are now saturated and flight delays have reached intolerable levels. "In future, the situation is likely to become even worse", stressed Adam Brown, referring to a survey by Airbus Industrie which indicates that within the next 15 years there will be just ten new large airports built world-wide (one in Europe and nine in the Asia Pacific region), of which seven will be replacements for existing ones. Similarly, only 18 large airports have planned and/or approved extensions to their runways, taxiways and/or terminals (eight in North America, six in Europe and four in Asia).

Airlines' ability to continue offering more flights will also be constrained by limits in air traffic control capacity. While the satellite-based Future Air Navigation System (FANS) is likely to open up some new air space, the degree to which congestion is alleviated will continue to be limited.

"In order to provide convenient departure and arrival times while avoiding airport curfews, all flights on intercontinental routes are restricted to very narrow daily time slots", explained Adam Brown, who illustrated his point with a graph showing the scheduling constraints for flights between Europe and Australia (Figure 1). In addition to these limiting arrival and departure windows, routings are also curbed by airlines' cost imperatives to follow fuel- and time-efficient flight profiles.

Some relief of congestion at the major hub airports will continue to come from a dispersion of services and the opening of more direct flights between secondary cities. "We predict that new routes will continue to be developed", Adam Brown confirmed. Nevertheless, while a relatively small number of high-yield passengers will drive the opening of new, direct, frequent non-stop services between cities which are often geographically very distant, the bulk of air travel will continue to be generated by a high concentration of population in and around the major hubs.

Figure 1 Europe-Australia scheduling constraints

Airbus Industrie does not see these two types of service – direct point-to-point flights for the high-yield, fare-inelastic traveller and consolidated hub-to-hub services for the low-price, fare-elastic mass traveller – as competing concepts, but rather as complementary. Having launched the A340-500 for one section of the market, the A3XX is considered to provide a solution for the other: an increase in the average number of seats offered per departure.

As evidenced by prelaunch commitments, demand is developing for a new generation of very large and low-cost aircraft like the A3XX, which will link the major hubs and thereby enable the airlines to carry more passengers through the increasingly congested airport and air traffic system while still permitting the continued reduction in fares needed to sustain traffic growth. "Airlines are going to need substantial numbers of a new generation of airplanes, larger and more economical than anything flying today", said Adam Brown. "About 320 of these airplanes will be needed in ten years' time, and 1,200 in 20 years' time", he added.

The A3XX will have just 33 percent more seats than the 747-400 (in stark contrast to the 150 percent jump from the 707 to the 747) but it will exploit all the advances in aircraft design technology achieved during the 30 years since the launch of the 747, to bring a reduction of up to 20 percent in operating cost per seat. "This will make the A3XX perhaps the most powerful cost-reduction tool available to the airlines for a generation," Adam Brown affirmed.

The aircraft

The A3XX family will start from the baseline A3XX-100, with a capacity of 555 passengers in three classes, and a range of up to 14,500km/7,800nm. The family concept is said to protect the ability to offer a variety of aircraft as the market evolves.

The stretched A3XX-200 will be capable of transporting 656 passengers up to 14,500km/7,800nm (the same range as the -100), and an extended range A3XX100R variant, will retain the same 555 seat capacity as the baseline aircraft and offer a range of 16,200km/8,750nm. Also under consideration is a smaller version, the A3XX-50R, to carry 481 passengers, with the same 16,200km/8,750nm range as the -100R. Another option variant is an aircraft specifically intended for short flights such as the Japanese domestic market. This aircraft is designated the A3XX-100S and would be specially designed for this type of high frequency operation. The A3XX100F, a freighter, will it is thought offer a complementary improvement in the productivity and range of freighter aircraft, a market currently growing at twice the rate of the passenger market. This aircraft will carry a payload of 150 tonnes (330,000lbs) and have a range of 10,400km/5,620nm. Further developments include Combi versions with either seven main deck pallets providing 473 seats and 37.9 tonnes (83,380lbs) of cargo with a range of 13,500km/7,270nm or an 11-pallet layout, 421 seats, 51.3 tonnes (1 12,860lbs) of cargo and a range of 12,940km/6,970nm. These variants are all a part of the initial concept of the A3XX Family and will become available as and when the market needs them.

Progress

Significant progress has been made on a number of technical and industrial fronts, including systems, suppliers and airline feedback, in keeping with the basic principles of the project design: reliability, lower seat-mile costs, and environmental considerations. The A3XX will also benefit from Airbus Industrie's policy of cockpit commonality, which means that the instrumentation and flight controls on the flight deck will be similar to those of other Airbus Industrie aircraft, permitting cross-crew qualification and mixed fleet flying – a practice that allows pilots to operate more than one aircraft type with only minor additional training.

Comfort is the main concern of passengers on long flights and the twin aisle, twin deck A3XX is claimed to provide more room than any previous aircraft. Airbus reports that it has made an extensive survey through an international group of experienced travelers to establish passenger cabin preferences and comfort requirements. The results of this survey are being used to make the A3XX the most pleasurable flying experience possible, regardless of a traveller's size or class of ticket.

Throughout the evolution of the A3XX project, Airbus Industrie has worked closely with all sections of the industry. But to work at its best, the A3XX must fit the infrastructure already in place. At the request of airlines and airport authorities, the A3XX fits within an 80m x 80m horizontal box, which ensures compatibility with their master growth plans. This allows it to make best use of current runways and taxiways, and existing or anticipated gates. Discussions are also continuing to jointly evolve the most effective ground-handling procedures.

Airbus Industrie has signed Memoranda of Understanding with engine manufacturers Rolls-Royce and the Engine Alliance (comprising Pratt & Whitney/General Electric who are co-operating on the project) to give airlines a choice of powerplant on the A3XX. In addition, further agreements have been signed with new industrial partners and subcontractors, including numerous major European aerospace companies, for additional research and development work on the programme.