Airbus: EIS for A320neo pushed forward six months; PW1100G selected as lead engine
Airbus announced it is accelerating entry-into-service for the A320neo by six months to Oct-2015, with the manufacturer minimising engineering changes to ensure the aircraft enters service when promised. Pratt & Whitney's PW1100G turbofan has been selected as the lead development engine for the family. Shares in EADS, parent of Airbus, were down 0.8%.
Airbus and Pratt & Whitney are also looking at using the PW1000G family for the A350 XWB, which has only a single engine supplier in Rolls-Royce. Pratt & Whitney is conducting studies to see if it can develop the engine family up to the 100,000lb thrust range necessary to power the widebody. The Trent XWB family offers up to 93,000lb thrust, but Airbus customers, particularly Emirates, have been pushing for a more powerful version for the A350-1000, the largest in the family.
In aerospace shares, Safran stock fell 2.6% while United Aircraft Corp dropped 1.6%. BE Aerospace shares rose 2.7%.
Selected aerospace manufacturers daily share price movements (% change): 06-Apr-2011
