Airbus backs lightweight wing to preserve lead over Boeing

Bloomberg

A good decade ago, Airbus SE added more fuel-efficient engines to its A320 aircraft family, giving its already bestselling model a dramatic demand boost. Now the European company is seeking to repeat that success, this time with a new set of wings.
Airbus aims to produce a composite wing that’s both affordable and capable of a high production rate, according to Sue Partridge, who heads the company’s future-wing project. Assembly of the first demonstrator is set to start in the next few weeks.
While she declined to discuss specific product plans, a new lightweight wing could be deployed on an upgraded version of the A320 series, allowing Airbus to harvest more efficiencies from its largest existing single-aisle jets.
The move would have the benefit of giving Airbus a ready response should arch-rival Boeing Co choose to go ahead with a new aircraft after its 737 narrow-body reached the limits of development.
“The most immediate application would be if they decide to do a final stretch of the A320neo family,” said Agency Partners analyst Sash Tusa. “They’ve cleaned up the wing an awful lot but they’ve never done a proper re-winging of that aircraft.”
The European firm is already gauging customer interest in a stretch of the A321 — commonly called the A322 — following a strategy review last year, according to people familiar with the matter.
Court documents have also shown that it has solicited engine ideas from General
Electric regarding a next-generation narrow-body jetliner.
Airbus is always looking to advance its products and has constant dialog with customers on their fleet requirements, a spokesman said.
“There are many studies, not all studies see the light of day,” he said.
While wings are among the most complex pieces of engineering on an aircraft, designing from a metal to a composite design would still come at only a fraction of the cost of an all-new aircraft, while deliver significant savings for operators.
Airbus has made some upgrades to the structure over the years, adding wing-tips that reduce aerodynamic swirl, for
example, but the wing has remained largely the same from when the A320 was introduced late in the 1980s.