Airbus offers redesigned A350 in a challenge to Boeing

By trying to straddle too much of the market with a single plane, Airbus would wind up with a plane that is less economical for the airlines, says Boeing

Airbus thought seriously of calling it the A280, a deliberate echo of the A380, the troubled giant that is the biggest passenger jet ever made. But the midsize plane it announced here on Monday goes by the name A350 XWB, as in extra wide body.

Airbus promoted the plane, which will carry from 250 to 375 passengers, as the linchpin of its recovery. Avoiding too many associations with the A380 may have been wise: costly delays in deliveries of the superjumbo plane plunged Airbus into the most serious crisis in its history.

8216;8216;Customers and future customers told Airbus they wanted something extra,8217;8217; said Christian Streiff, the chief executive of Airbus, at a news conference at the Farnborough International Air Show. 8216;8216;The A350 has an entirely new and uncompromised design,8217;8217; he said.

Preserving the A350 name is a reminder that this is not a wholly new plane, but a redesign of the earlier A350, which had disappointed airlines and seemed likely to be an also-ran to Boeing8217;s 787.

Airbus contends that the new, improved version surpasses the 787 in several respects, not least its cabin, which is five inches wider than the cabin of the Boeing plane. The debut of the XWB dominated the first day of the air show, with competitors and analysts debating its merits.

The new plane will cost 10 billion to develop, roughly double the budget of the original A350. Airbus finances some of the cost of its new planes with loans backed by European governments 8212; a practice that started a trade battle between the US and the EU.

Airbus is actually aiming at two Boeing jets with the A350: the 787 and the 777, which is larger and can fly very long routes 8212; between Los Angeles and Singapore, for example. In the last year, the 777 crushed the long-range A340 in orders, giving Airbus little choice but to replace it.

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With a fuselage a foot wider than the old A350s, Airbus said it would be able to offer passengers the same, or greater, levels of comfort as the 787. Humidity in the cabin will be adjusted to 20 per cent, in contrast to 15 percent on the 787 and less than 10 per cent on existing planes. The level of humidity, as well as the temperature, can be varied, depending on whether passengers are seated in economy, business or first class.

Boeing seemed unruffled by the A350, noting it would not enter service until 2012, four years after the 787. While the plane will have a wider cabin than the 787, it will be narrower than the 777.

By trying to straddle too much of the market with a single plane, Boeing said Airbus would wind up with a plane that is less economical for the airlines. 8216;8216;It8217;s a big chunk of territory to try to cover with one plane,8217;8217; said Michael B. Bair, who heads the 787 program. Boeing also noted that the plane would have an aluminum fuselage, not one made of advanced composite materials, like the 787. 8216;8216;It sounds like it8217;s going to fall short of the available technology,8217;8217; said Randy Baseler, vice president for marketing at Boeing8217;s commercial aircraft division.

Analysts had speculated that Airbus might rename the plane A370, to emphasize its new design. But people at the company said the second choice had been to call it A280 8212; a nod to its shared technology with the A380.

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In the end, though, Airbus merely added to its original name. Even the old A350 managed to lure 100 firm orders. Mr. Leahy said he expected only one or two airlines to cancel those orders. The rest will be switched over to the new plane. The plane comes in three sizes, with catalog prices of 186 million, 215 million and 242 million, he said.

MARK LANDLER