European aircraft maker Airbus has expressed hopes that it will launch the re-engine of its highly popular A320 family of jets by the end of the year. Chief Operating Officer John Leahy said that he was confident that the re-engine program would receive go ahead as the Airbus arranged the necessary engineering and financial resources. He stated this at a Saturday presentation in the walkup to the Farnborough Airshow, the defense and aerospace industry's largest annual event, slated to begin on Monday.
"We are very close to a decision. But the engineering workload is the driving force at this juncture," Leahy highlighted. The official also emphasized that the new engine was optional, which means customers of the A320 need not pay for it. The re-engined aircraft has been named as "neo". Airbus recently dismissed reports that it was working on a brand new aircraft as the solution to much-publicized engine solution wasn't ready.
"If we were to build a new single-aisle airplane today, what would it be? It would look exactly like an A320 with an aluminum frame. It may have some composites, perhaps in the wings," Leahy said. "We would spend our 10 billion euros and we would have an airplane that would look pretty much like the A320," he pointed out.
The development comes in the backdrop of reports that Boeing Co. is all set to bag an order from Emirates Airline at the forthcoming Farnborough Air Show. Reports added that the Dubai government-owned carrier and the Chicago-based jet maker would disclose the deal for almost 20 777s wide-body jets tomorrow.
