A330 "Lite" To Rival Dreamliner

If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, then the folks on Boeing's Dreamliner team should be honored. Arch-rival Airbus says it may attempt to have its A330-220 recertified for lighter loads and shorter hauls, in hopes of directly competing with the new Boeing 7E7.

Boeing's marketing team certainly hasn't missed the irony of the Airbus move. "We find it interesting that Airbus is spending so much time talking about an airplane they say they are not worried about," said Randy Baseler, Boeing's vice president of airliner marketing, in an e-mailed response to questions from Bloomberg News. "Now it appears they may be trying to respond to a game-changing aircraft with a 'lite' version of a 15-year-old design."

Airbus and Boeing have been locked in a war of philosophy chiefly centered on the Dreamliner and the mammoth Airbus A380. At the heart of the dispute is whether passengers want really big aircraft that fly long distances from major hubs, or smaller, more fuel-efficient aircraft that can fly from most airports at much lower cost per-passenger.

But Airbus is being urged on in developing a lighter, more efficient version of the A330-220 by its number-one customer, International Lease Finance Corporation.

"We've spoken with Airbus about offering the plane to Singapore as an alternative to the 7E7," ILFC Chief Operating Officer John Plueger told Bloomberg. "The advantage is, they could deliver quickly. Obviously Airbus is looking very hard at the competitive landscape as it relates to the 7E7 and this may be one of the tools they come up with."

Plueger said the recertified A330-220 could be ready within the next two years, beating the 7E7 to market by at least two years.

FMI: www.boeing.com, www.airbus.com