|
|
 |
A350 to Fly Past Russia’s United Aircraft Corp
All previous agreements notwithstanding, Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) won’t be the first-level cooperator with the 5-percent share in the work under the Airbus A350XWB project. Another offer of Airbus is up to 10 percent in the program for designing A320 of the next generation. But this cooperation is hardly probable. A direct rival of A320 here is Russian MS-21, which sales UAC intends to launch five years prior to A320.
Airbus will finally conclude all basic contracts under A350XWB project in September. UAC was to become the first-level cooperator with the right for carrying out 5 percent of all work under the project and with the risk-sharing liability. But Russia abandons the full-fledge participation in the project, sources with both companies said, and UAC President Alexei Fedorov confirmed the information. “It isn’t the decision of EADS, but our decision,” the official specified, attributing it to “limited engineering resources.”
According to Fedorov, UAC is ready to supply components for A350 and will seal a respective contract with one of the first-level cooperators. Airbus CEO Thomas Enders refused to comment, specifying that the question should be posed to the Russians.
Enders said Airbus may offer to UAC to become the first-level cooperator and share the risks of the project for a new economic À320NG (Next Generation). Fedorov confirmed the receipt of the offer, adding they hadn’t found it attractive enough.
“Airbus proposes up to 10 percent in the project, holding to itself the role of the system operator. Our condition is the parallel final assembly in Russia for domestic market and for CIS,” Fedorov explained. What’s more, the sources say Airbus made clear to UAC that it doesn’t regard expedient Russia’s project of mid-distance MS-21, reasoning only an aircraft family will make an undertaking successful.
That jet will be ready five years ahead of A320NG, in 2015, and five years of selling it prior to the launch of À320NG in 2020 is enough time to cover its market portion, Fedorov said. MS-21 will be less efficient than A320NG, he acknowledged, but its creation will generate the experience for future projects.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of July 18, 2008
|
|
|
