Airbus at 50 leads the commercial aviation world with innovation – passenger and technical – and it now commands 62 per cent of the backlog of aircraft of more than 100 seats compared to Boeing’s 38 per cent.
The European giant has a staggering 7294 aircraft to build.
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Airbus first responded to the demand for larger aircraft in the late 1960s not with a four or three-engine aircraft but with the twin-engine A300 which was more efficient and had a lower fuel usage per passenger resulting in lower fares.
That design was the start of a raft of variations and new designs based on the same concept — and the A310, A330 and A350 followed while Boeing brought out the 767, 777 and 787 to compete.
All these aircraft helped to lower costs.
The A300 family cabin cross-section of 2-4-2 was also a firm favourite with passengers particularly couples and the typical family of two adults and two children.
However, it was the single-aisle A320 family, that became Airbus’ biggest seller with more than 16,631 sold and 10,561 delivered.
This aircraft introduced what would be called the glass cockpit with computer screens replacing the thousands of dials and fly-by-wire controls which is based on the concept of electrically powered rather than hydraulic flight controls. With this feature, Airbus is able to make the handling characteristics of different aircraft models nearly identical which led to a shorter training time required for pilots and engineers to transition from one type to another.
From a passenger perspective, the A320 is wider and roomier than Boeing’s 737.
The passenger favourite however is Airbus’ A380 super jumbo with its twin decks and often lounges, bars and showers.
While the A380 line is now closed with only 251 built, the aircraft will be around well into the next decade.
Emirates chief Sir Tim Clark calls it a passenger magnet and for his airline, it certainly is, with showers, a large bar and a lounge on the upper deck for premium passengers.
And the giant jet is now getting a major makeover with Emirates adding premium economy to the offering.
Qantas has also given its A380s a makeover, adding business-class suites and more premium economy seats.
The ultimate Airbus jet is its new A350 which is made of carbon fibre and allows for a lower pressurisation altitude and a more humid environment — the stuff of less jet lag.
Airbus was behind Boeing with the composite fuselage but the A350 is wider than the 787 and more comfortable in economy.
Qantas, which has 14 787s, has ordered up to 20 A350-1000 to operate its nonstop flights from Sydney to London in 2025.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has described the A350 as the “most luxurious aircraft ever created”, noting that “Our new economy class has the biggest seat pitch (leg room) of any we’ve ever, ever launched (in the modern era)“.
Airbus is now working on a range of hydrogen-powered aircraft which it hopes to have in service by 2035.
The three concept aircraft represent different approaches to achieving zero-emission flight, exploring various technology pathways and aerodynamic configurations in order to support the company’s ambition of leading the way in the decarbonisation of the entire aviation industry.
All of these concepts rely on hydrogen as a primary power source — an option which Airbus believes holds exceptional promise as clean aviation fuel and is likely to be a solution for aerospace and many other industries to meet their climate-neutral targets.
The three concepts — all codenamed “ZEROe” — for a first climate-neutral zero-emission commercial aircraft include:
- A turbofan design (120-200 passengers) with a range of 3700km and powered by a modified gas-turbine engine running on hydrogen, rather than jet fuel, through combustion.
- A turboprop design (up to 100 passengers) using a turboprop engine instead of a turbofan and also powered by hydrogen combustion in modified gas-turbine engines.
- A “blended-wing body” design (up to 200 passengers) concept in which the wings merge with the main body of the aircraft with a range similar to that of the turbofan concept.
