Il Wall Street Journal riporta che Airbus avrebbe incontrato i clienti chiave per discutere di un 350 completamente rivisto (A370) e che le prime reazioni al progetto sarebbero buone.
Ecco l'articolo, riportato su airliners.net preso dal WSJ:
According to people familiar with what Airbus is proposing, the plan is for a family of three jetliners that would be bigger than the initial A350 and have greater range. One of the planes will fly further than the 787 and than the A350's promised range of 8,800 nautical miles. Airbus hopes the new family of jets will compete with both the 787 and Boeing's larger 777 model. Airbus wants to officially unveil its new A350 model at or before the Farnborough Air Show outside London in mid-July.
Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Chew Choon Seng, one of the two vocal critics of the original A350, said last week that based on what he knew of Airbus's revised plans, the new jetliner "would make them much more competitive against the 787." Singapore Airlines is looking to order several-dozen planes in the size range.
General Electric Co. and Rolls-Royce PLC were developing engines for the original version, but GE is hesitating about offering engines for the new model, according to people close to the issue. GE has heavy investment commitments on other Airbus and Boeing models, and risks cannibalizing its own sales at Boeing, these people said. Rolls-Royce is in talks with Airbus on the plane, these people added. It remains unclear if the world's other maker of big jet engines, United Technologies Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney unit, is in the running.
What to name the new plane also is under debate. Some officials at the company argue that an all-new plane deserves a fresh moniker. Others worry about the embarrassment of ditching a widely marketed trademark. Some airline and other industry officials have started referring to the new design as the A370. Airbus is also considering linking the model to the much-hyped A380 by calling it the A280, A480, or even A880, said a person familiar with the debate, because the number eight is considered auspicious in parts of Asia, such as China. Another person close to the issue said "A350" stands more than a 50% chance of sticking. Airbus spokeswoman Barbara Kracht said the company won't discuss the issue at this point.
(fonte: airliners.net)