Building the Airbus A-330 XTR

The A-350 XWB is basically a replacement for the discontinued A-340 airliner. As such, this leaves the A-330 as the real Airbus competitor to the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. That leaves Airbus at a disadvantage at this market segment with an older design with older engines.

Egyptair Airbus A330-200 (SU-GCI) lands at London Heathrow Aug2007 (Adrian Pingstone)

What Airbus is now trying to do is studying to upgrade the A-330 to make it more competitive at this segment with the B787 Dreamliner. See http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/airbus-to-decide-on-a330-enhancement-in-second-half-of-2012-367981/. I am calling the updated A-330 the Airbus A-330 XTR along the lines of the A-350 XWB, that can mean "Extra" capabilities, efficiencies and range.

Aside from being more competitive in its segment with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the A-330 XTR can also serve as a buffer for the A-350 XWB, as the B-767 was to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner when its introduction to operational service was delayed. It can also be a good 'payment' airliner for whatever delays that might happen.

Airbus A-320 with Aviation Partners blended winglets Dec 2008

As usual for updates like this, changes may include

1. Engine inserts. Re-engining might not be economic as it's expensive and a short production run.
2. Structural weight reduction as stated in the Flightglobal article, as A-340 reinforcements for commonality can be removed, reducing also material and possible production costs.
3. Sharklets like the Airbus A-320 modifications.
4. Aerodynamic tweaks.
5. Avionics tweaks

Assuming the market for efficient airliners remains strong, and the A-330 can be updated for this market segment requirements, we may see the Airbus A-330 XTR in the skies in the next 5 years.

Will Airbus Reengine the A330 with a P&W Geared Turbo Fan (GTF)?

Will 737 MAX Improvements Trickle Down To The NG

Aside from re-engining the Boeing 737NG with the GE LEAP engine, Boeing has mentioned adding the following features

1. Adding chevrons to the rear of the engine nacelles to reduce the noise footprint, as initially introduced to the B787 Dreamliner and B747-8 jumbo jet.

2. A revised tail cone design similar to the B787 Dreamliner for better aerodynamics.

3. A natural laminar flow nacelle for better aerodynamics.

4. A hybrid laminar flow vertical stabiliser for better aerodynamics.

Boeing 737 MAX LEAP

All of these can be integrated to the 737NG structure. The advantages in doing these are:

1. Unified design and production methods.

2. Premium pricing on the 737NG's that will have these options.

As Boeing will do continuous incremental improvements on the 737NG, we will see convergence between the 2 models as it moves forward.

What I would like to see Boeing do with the 737MAX LEAP are:

1. Slimmer, lighter and more space-efficient seats.

2. Thinner and more space-efficient cabin walls.

3. More space-efficient seating configurations.