Airbus A350
Initially [as of early 2006] the A350 design was based on the A330 jet but used new engines and a lighter airframe, thanks to a composite-plastic wing and a fuselage made from aluminum/lithium alloy. However, it had the same fuselage cross-section Airbus had 30 years earlier, and the wing shape was unchanged. This approach had the lowest investment and lowest risk. By June 2006 Airbus officials was informally giving airline executives details of the redesigned long-range, two-aisle jet, which would seat nine passengers in each economy-class row, instead of eight in the original A350 version. Initial customer reaction was positive. As a result of the redesign, Airbus may not be able to deliver the first of the new planes until at least 2012, two years later than originally planned and four years after Boeing's competing 787 model was scheduled for delivery.
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