Emirates A350

[170to5]

Here we go...

Having heard every rumour under the sun by this point, what do people actually know about it?

Last I heard was a few weeks ago, preparations are still being made for it coming into service tail end of 2015, the 330's are staying on for a while now and possibly the 345's will be removed form service quicker.

Anybody got anything better than rumours? Or, of course, opinions on who makes better aeroplanes, something I'd love to avoid but suspect will be impossible to fend off for too long (Airbus, by the way)?

DUBAI: Emirates encouraged by smooth A350 tests (http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/dubai-emirates-encouraged-by-smooth-a350-tests-393291/)

And coming up next, wild rumours about what the sentence Don’t be fazed by inflationary pressures and doomsday predictions. I firmly believe that everyone associated with Emirates, and foremost the airline’s 42,000-plus family, will be well looked after. means...20% pay rise, 30%? Free houses in Jumeirah Park? A celebratory framed photo featuring the Dubai skyline at night, taken from an awkward angle just after takeoff (of course not, we aren't allowed cameras of course)?

[White Knight]

No idea. But it's coming. And it'd be nice if it was a common type with the 380 for a bit of MFF:ok:

[helen-damnation]

MFF! No thanks. I came to the 380 to get away from as many night turns as possible.

Rumour has it the 350 doesn't meet EK requirements in present plans. Time will tell.

[White Knight]

So the article in the first post states that TC seems to be happy with the 350 so far, and you HD seem to think that EK is not. Your sources?

[helen-damnation]

WK,
Office chatter 2 weeks ago.

[SMT Member]

Right, office chatter ... only slightly less believable than galley chatter, but right down there with cockpit ditto.

But let's look at this logically, as in where will EK be at around the turn of the decade. If the A350 doesn't fit with EKs plans, and they have already ruled out the 787 for being too small, one then has to accept the proposition that EK sees no use for an aircraft with less than 400+ seats. That's not a plausible scenario, frankly.

The A350-900 is likely to be the smallest aircraft in EK's future fleet, seating around 275-300 pax. Next up is the -100 with around 350-375 seats, then the 777-9 with 450 and finally various versions of the A380 with 500+ seats. That seems mighty logical to me - using the A350 to build up new routes or add frequency, then progress to the John Deere NG or the Whale as the market grows.

Starting a new route to, say, Oslo or Prestwick, with a 450 seat 777 is a bonkers idea - EK has historically had a lot of success building up a new route with the A330, then moving to 777-200, 777-300 and A380. Why would that formula not work on the other side of 2020?

[White Knight]

Yeah... Office chatter:}:D

[Hook]

Emirates has margin to order more A380s: Habib Fekih | GulfNews.com (http://gulfnews.com/in-focus/dubai-airshow/emirates-has-margin-to-order-more-a380s-habib-fekih-1.1257165)

3rd paragraph of the article. 2019.....

[Wizofoz]

SMT-

Sensible post, but you didn't mention the 777-8, which we are also committed to. Seems very close in size to the 350-1000, so I wouldn't understand getting both. Perhaps a case of see which one shapes up best and cancel/convert the other?

[helen-damnation]

Why would that formula not work on the other side of 2020?

Not disagreeing with that. My understanding was that the present offerings/figures don't add up to EK requirements.

Yeah... Office chatter
Depends which office doesn't it :rolleyes:

[canadansk]

It is only the boeing boys that think the A350 isn't coming?? A350/A380/B777 = great fleet.

[SMT Member]

Sensible post, but you didn't mention the 777-8, which we are also committed to. Seems very close in size to the 350-1000, so I wouldn't understand getting both. Perhaps a case of see which one shapes up best and cancel/convert the other?

Size wise you are correct; the -8 is a tad smaller than the present day -300LR and around 4 meters shorter than the A350-1000. But, essentially, the -8 is a -200LR on steroids, and there's not much point in EK having a large fleet of aircraft able to circumnavigate half the earth. Look at it this way: The A350-900 is the A340/B772 replacement, the -1000 will replace the -300LR, albeit with a bit less range, and the B777-9 will fill the gap between the -1000 and the A380. Add to that a small fleet of 777-8 for the tiny handful of routes demanding 18 hours endurance, if indeed EK doesn't decide to convert those orders to the -9.

Having the -8 as the main replacement for the -300LR would be overkill for the vast majority of routes it will be serving. Reliable numbers are, obviously, not out yet, but the -8 will likely be a good 10-15 tons heavier than the -1000.

[Wizofoz]

I'm not sure you are exactly right- there has been a -8 AND a -8LR launched- I think EK has only ordered the -8.

Unless the 350-1000 has better operating economics than the 777-8 on shorter routes, it would seem to me that the aircraft that can do BOTH would be the more flexible option, but if you are correct regarding it being much lighter, I guess that would follow.

[SMT Member]

Wiz,

The only -8 Boeing is advertising is the 'bog standard' -8X, with a nominal range of 9300+NM. They may be planning a -8LR to go even further, chasing that elusive SYD-LHR non-stop, but it's not on their board. Besides, the weak sales of both the A340-500 and 777-200LR doesn't lend credit to the notion there's a market for 9000+ NM airliners worth chasing.

As per my previous, the -1000 will be lighter than the -8, seat around the same number of pax, and has less installed thrust. With the -1000 also having lower acquisition costs, makes it unlikely the -8 will be cheaper to operate.

Boeing 777X Airplane | Boeing Commercial Airplanes (http://www.newairplane.com/777x/)

[trent1974]

It is only the boeing boys that think the A350 isn't coming?? A350/A380/B777 = great fleet.



It's only the Airbus guys who think it is.


Emirates already had two huge opportunities to announce an A350 order (Paris and Dubai). So what exactly do you base your prediction on anyway?

[donpizmeov]

Ah Trent. Do you mean more than the order of 90 that is already done?

Do try and keep up.

The don

[White Knight]

Depends which office doesn't it

Well. Why don't you enlighten us:ugh:

Training? Fleet? Medical? Paper-clips?:rolleyes: