Pins matching tag:"Program Launch"

Airbus formally launched the A330 twinjet and the four-engine A340 on 5 June 1987, two long-range airliners sharing one fuselage cross-section, one wing family and one fly-by-wire cockpit. The A340-300 would fly first, in October 1991.

On 19 December 2000 the Airbus supervisory board approved the A380 programme, backed by 50 firm commitments from six airlines. Final assembly was to be split between Toulouse and Hamburg, with first service then planned for early 2006.

The board of Airbus parent EADS, meeting in Amsterdam, gave Airbus the go-ahead on 1 December 2006 to launch the A350 XWB family, a clean-sheet rival to the Boeing 787 with entry into service planned for 2013. Funding was to come mainly from company cash flow and the Power8 savings plan.

Boeing's board approved the re-engined 737, named the 737 MAX, on August 30, 2011, based on commitments for 496 airplanes from five airlines, with LEAP-1B engines and deliveries to begin in 2017.

Airbus launched the re-engined A330neo on 14 July 2014, two Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 versions, the A330-800 and A330-900, promising 14% lower fuel burn per seat and up to 400 nm more range.

Airbus announced with its half-year results on 29 July 2021 that its board had approved development of an A350 freighter derivative, targeting entry into service in 2025 with 20% less fuel burn than twin-engine freighters.