Airbus is stepping up testing of radical new wing technology as the planemaker lays the foundation for a future successor to its best-selling A320 series, but faces a battle to bring down costs.
The Airbus logo pictured at the company's headquarters in Blagnac near Toulouse, France, March 20, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photois stepping up testing of radical new wing technology as the planemaker lays the foundation for a future successor to its best-selling A320 series, but faces a battle to bring down costs.
The choice of wing design and production methods by either manufacturer, together with engine developments, will shape aircraft competition well into the second half of the century. "This is about getting technology ready for a future single- aisle product, so a high rate product," Partridge said of a set of demonstrator models.
The main hurdle is that composite parts cost more to produce - a gap that is harder to recoup on the keenly priced A320 and 737 than on larger jets already made of composites. As wings get longer, testing at the historic Filton site - where part of the Anglo-French Concorde was developed - includes folding wingtips to fit parking gates, echoing Boeing's 777X.
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