Airbus optimistic on A350 as profits rise

Airbus expressed growing optimism about the schedule for the keenly-awaited maiden flight of its A350 yesterday, amid speculation that its first new jet in almost a decade could debut before next month’s Paris air show.

Scooping headlines at the world’s largest aerospace event would give a boost to the A350, which went through several false starts in design but for the time being seems relatively immune from problems which have plagued Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.

Airbus parent EADS described the A350 project as “challenging,” but stuck to a summer target date for the maiden flight of Europe’s response to the commercially successful 787.

In the best-case scenario, that could mean a flight before the June 17 to 23 show at Le Bourget, according to industry experts, while other likely working dates extend into July.

“You will not hear me today giving any new comment on any date; we are preparing the aircraft, we are doing ground tests, we are continuing structural tests,” Harald Wilhelm, the finance director of both Airbus and parent EADS, told reporters.

“The important thing is that it is a ‘mature’ first flight and this will happen in summer I think. On this we are more and more confident.”

The optimistic tone added extra polish to better than expected EADS first-quarter results, driven by higher production of the most profitable existing Airbus jets, analysts said,

Gains at Airbus, which recovered the industry’s top spot in deliveries from Boeing in the first quarter, eclipsed a weak performance at the EADS helicopter division. But the group also had to contend with a large outflow of cash in the quarter.

Results from Europe’s largest aerospace group confirmed a solid industry outlook after Boeing beat quarterly forecasts, marking a rare bright spot in the economy as planemakers ramp up output to meet strong demand from Asia and the Middle East.

Developed at an estimated cost of $15 billion (€11.5 billion), the 300-seat A350 emerged from the paint shop in Airbus livery on Monday, ready to start a final series of tests before the first flight.

It is the first European jetliner built from lightweight carbon-fibre, a process championed by Boeing that has struck a chord with airlines desperate to cut fuel bills.

France’s La Tribune newspaper reported the plane could fly in mid-June. Even so, most experts consider it unlikely Airbus’s newest jet will make the short trip to Le Bourget for the air show, since it must first accumulate essential flying hours.

Boeing attends the June event determined to turn the page on a three-month grounding of the 787 due to battery problems. Before that, Airbus was in the firing line over wing cracks on its A380. The final say over the date of the A350’s first flight lies with the company’s pilots, who will gradually narrow down a series of planning dates after each successive ground trial.