Airbus is set to launch an overhaul of its popular A330 aircraft at the Farnborough International Airshow as the plane maker seeks to overturn Boeing’s dominant position in the lucrative long-range passenger jet market.
空客(Airbus)将在英国范堡罗航空展上宣布对其颇受欢迎的A330客机进行改造,该飞机制造商希望推翻波音(Boeing)在利润可观的远程客机市场上的主导地位。
After months of speculation, the Toulouse-based company will announce a revamp of its wide-body A330, dubbed A330neo, with more fuel-efficient engines on Monday, according to people with knowledge of the plans.
据知情人士称,在几个月的猜测后,空客将于周一宣布改造其宽体客机A330,新机型的名字为A330neo,将搭载更省油的发动机。
The company is hoping to recreate the success of the re-engineered narrow-body A320. More than 2,800 A320neo planes have been sold. In June, Airbus said it could sell more than 1,000 A330neos were the plane to go ahead.
该公司希望再现窄体客机A320在更换发动机后取得的成功。A320neo的销量超过了2800架。今年6月,空客表示,如果改造成功,可能会销售逾1000架A330neo。
Airbus needs to extend the life of the A330, which entered service in 1994, because there are just less than 250 orders remaining on the books to deliver to customers – about two years’ worth of production.
空客需要延长A330的寿命,因为目前未交付的该机型客户订单只有不到250架,约为两年的产量。这种机型是1994年开始投入使用的。
The revamp is also part of its broader strategy to overtake Boeing in the lucrative wide-body jet market. The two companies sell fewer of these larger planes compared with short-range aircraft, but usually secure higher profit margins.
此次改造也是空客试图取代波音在利润可观的宽体客机市场地位的更广泛战略的一部分。尽管两家飞机制造商的较大型客机销量不及短程飞机,但利润率通常较高。
Executives at Airbus insist that the new plane will have similar fuel efficiency to its Boeing rivals, which are chiefly the small and medium-sized versions of the Dreamliner, also known as the 787.
空客高管坚持表示,这款新机型的燃油效率将与波音竞争机型相当,波音机型主要是梦幻客机(787 Dreamliner)的中小机型。
James McNerney, Boeing’s chief executive, however, took issue with the idea that the fuel efficiency would be the same, insisting the group could maintain a clear lead over Airbus in the long-range passenger jet market.
波音首席执行官詹姆斯•迈克纳尼(James McNerney)对于燃油效率相当的说法提出异议,他坚持表示,波音有能力在远程客机市场继续保持其相对于空客的绝对优势。
“Our experts tell us that [the A330neo] will not get close to our 787 versions in terms of fuel efficiency,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times. “Boeing has the strongest wide-body offering by far.”
“我们的专家告诉我们,(A330neo)无法在燃油效率方面与我们的787客机相提并论,”他在接受英国《金融时报》采访时表示,“到目前为止,波音生产的最强优势在宽体客机领域。”
Airbus is planning to sell the A330neo at lower prices than the Dreamliner. If Airbus could supply as many as 1,000 aircraft to airlines and leasing companies, it would broadly match the orders notched up by the 787.
空客计划以低于梦幻客机的价格销售A330neo。如果空客能够向航空公司和飞机租赁公司供应多达1000架A330neo,将大抵赶上787客机的订单数量。