Airbus delays decision to re-engine.Airbus will make a decision on whether or not to re-engine the A320 family "this year" and "ideally we would like to have it sorted out by Farnborough" in July for a possible EIS by the end of 2015, COO-Customers John Leahy said yesterday at the Singapore Airshow.
Leahy said if Airbus makes a decision to re-engine, it would "like to go forward" with CFM International's LEAP-X and "a variation" of the Pratt & Whitney PW1000G geared turbofan that would be offered through International Aero Engines. To date, P&W and the other IAE members have not agreed on a second engine type beyond the V2500.
Re-engining would deliver "15% lower fuel costs" per seat than the equivalent current A320 family aircraft, he told media. Should Airbus decide in the affirmative, a re-engine will be offered as an option to the existing product line, which will continue to be produced and sold. It would have the effect of delaying the single-aisle family's eventual replacement, dubbed the A30X, until 2024, he said.
Boeing VP-Marketing Randy Tinseth, responding a day earlier to a question from ATWOnline, said the PW1000G could be fitted to the 737NG. 737 Classic and NG versions are powered exclusively by the CFM56 family. Tinseth declined to say whether exclusivity would be continued in a re-engining program. "We are talking to all engine-makers," he responded after an extended silence. Suppliers to the 737 program suggest that fitting the PW1000G will require a lengthened undercarriage.
Note: Above discussion took place at the Singapore Air Show