Airbus Plans Tweak to Fend Off Boeing's New Mid-Size Jet
- European company to offer shorter-range version of wide-body
- Mid-market U.S. plane also likely to face enhanced A321
Members of the media visit the Airbus A330neo passenger aircraft final assembly line at the Airbus factory in Toulouse on Nov. 26.
Photographer: Balint Porneczi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Airbus SE will offer a modified version of its A330neo wide-body designed for shorter trips in an effort to undermine demand for a new middle-of-the-market plane that Boeing Co. is expected to launch next year.
The A330neo’s engines could be re-rated to a lower level of thrust, helping to reduce the fuel load and cut its take-off weight, Crawford Hamilton, the plane’s marketing chief, said in an interview on Monday in Toulouse, France.