Airbus announces relaunch of A350 mid-sized jets

FARNBOROUGH, England, July 17 (Reuters) Crisis-hit planemaker Airbus has announced a radical revamp of its mooted A350 model, setting out a billion plan for three versions instead of two and tossing out a fuselage design it has relied on for decades.

Airbus, battered in new order sales by archrival Boeing Co. this year, said on Monday it was responding to demands from would-be A350 buyers who urged an all-new design, not the upgrade of an existing model it first offered.

''What's new? Virtually everything,'' top Airbus sales executive John Leahy told reporters at the Farnborough International Airshow which opened near London on Monday.

The France-based company said the design was now set and would carry a new name -- the A350 XWB for ''extra wide body''.

The A350 XWB will come in three versions -- the -800, -900 and -1000, and is designed as a response to the hot-selling Boeing 787 due in 2008 as well as the current 777.

The A350 XWB, which will debut in mid-2012, will be three inches wider than the 787 yet 13 inches narrower than the 777.

The world's largest plane leasing firm International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC) told Reuters it was happy with the revamp and would not cancel its existing orders for 16 planes.

Airbus, 80-percent-owned by European aerospace group EADS , is grappling for a response to the fast-selling Boeing models and has spent two years trying to get the A350 concept right.

Combined with wiring complications that will delay deliveries of the new A380 superjumbo for years, the planemaker is in crisis.

''Airbus is in the middle of a severe crisis in its relations with its customers,'' new Chief Executive Christian Streiff told reporters.

Streiff said he wanted three months to prepare for formal industrial launch of the new A350 project.

''What is needed now in this critical situation is not to be hasty but to act quickly,'' he told the year's biggest air show.

He also announced a full review of the supply chain for the A380.

BOEING AHEAD Leahy said the A350 would offer cheaper operating costs than the Boeing 787 or larger 777.

He said Airbus had tossed out plans to base the plane on the same fuselage it has used since the 1970s and which is the basis of its current A330 and A340 models.

At the same time, he expressed confidence the plane would not cannibalise Airbus' backlog of twin-engined Airbus A330 or four-engined A340 planes worth over billion.

The twin-engined Boeing 777 outsold the A340 at a rate of 10-to-1 last year as high fuel prices prompted airlines to buy the thriftier plane.

''We are quite comfortable we have a market for the A340 for the next 10 years,'' Leahy said.

Leahy said the new plane would enter service in mid-2012, with the third and last variant due in 2014 or 2015.

Airbus has booked more orders than Boeing for five consecutive years but that streak is at risk, with the U.S.

planemaker leading this year by more than 360 planes.

On Monday Boeing announced that Indonesia's Lion Air would take 30 of its 737-900 jetliners, worth just over FARNBOROUGH, England, July 17 (Reuters) Crisis-hit planemaker Airbus has announced a radical revamp of its mooted A350 model, setting out a $10 billion plan for three versions instead of two and tossing out a fuselage design it has relied on for decades.

Airbus, battered in new order sales by archrival Boeing Co. this year, said on Monday it was responding to demands from would-be A350 buyers who urged an all-new design, not the upgrade of an existing model it first offered.

''What's new? Virtually everything,'' top Airbus sales executive John Leahy told reporters at the Farnborough International Airshow which opened near London on Monday.

The France-based company said the design was now set and would carry a new name -- the A350 XWB for ''extra wide body''.

The A350 XWB will come in three versions -- the -800, -900 and -1000, and is designed as a response to the hot-selling Boeing 787 due in 2008 as well as the current 777.

The A350 XWB, which will debut in mid-2012, will be three inches wider than the 787 yet 13 inches narrower than the 777.

The world's largest plane leasing firm International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC) told Reuters it was happy with the revamp and would not cancel its existing orders for 16 planes.

Airbus, 80-percent-owned by European aerospace group EADS , is grappling for a response to the fast-selling Boeing models and has spent two years trying to get the A350 concept right.

Combined with wiring complications that will delay deliveries of the new A380 superjumbo for years, the planemaker is in crisis.

''Airbus is in the middle of a severe crisis in its relations with its customers,'' new Chief Executive Christian Streiff told reporters.

Streiff said he wanted three months to prepare for formal industrial launch of the new A350 project.

''What is needed now in this critical situation is not to be hasty but to act quickly,'' he told the year's biggest air show.

He also announced a full review of the supply chain for the A380.

BOEING AHEAD Leahy said the A350 would offer cheaper operating costs than the Boeing 787 or larger 777.

He said Airbus had tossed out plans to base the plane on the same fuselage it has used since the 1970s and which is the basis of its current A330 and A340 models.

At the same time, he expressed confidence the plane would not cannibalise Airbus' backlog of twin-engined Airbus A330 or four-engined A340 planes worth over $30 billion.

The twin-engined Boeing 777 outsold the A340 at a rate of 10-to-1 last year as high fuel prices prompted airlines to buy the thriftier plane.

''We are quite comfortable we have a market for the A340 for the next 10 years,'' Leahy said.

Leahy said the new plane would enter service in mid-2012, with the third and last variant due in 2014 or 2015.

Airbus has booked more orders than Boeing for five consecutive years but that streak is at risk, with the U.S.

planemaker leading this year by more than 360 planes.

On Monday Boeing announced that Indonesia's Lion Air would take 30 of its 737-900 jetliners, worth just over $2.2 billion at list prices.

At 1510 GMT, EADS shares were down 2.1 percent at 20.18 euros. Shares in Britain's BAE Systems Plc, which owns 20 percent of Airbus, were down 0.7 percent at 330-3/4 pence.

Government ministers from Britain, France, Germany and Spain are expected to brief reporters later on Monday regarding their stance on providing loans to Airbus to develop the plane, a subject which has triggered a stand-off with Washington at the World Trade Organisation.

Reuters PKS DB2200 .2 billion at list prices.

At 1510 GMT, EADS shares were down 2.1 percent at 20.18 euros. Shares in Britain's BAE Systems Plc, which owns 20 percent of Airbus, were down 0.7 percent at 330-3/4 pence.

Government ministers from Britain, France, Germany and Spain are expected to brief reporters later on Monday regarding their stance on providing loans to Airbus to develop the plane, a subject which has triggered a stand-off with Washington at the World Trade Organisation.

Reuters PKS DB2200