Paris stages air show
Specifically, 1,924 aerospace enterprises, 41 countries and regions and 238 airplanes participated in the show; the exhibition area was also greater than that of the previous one, which was close to 100,000 square meters; more than 60 airplanes put on air show every day. The four countries--Russia, which brought forth its airspace exhibition platform for the first time, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Qatar, were the new participants in the show. Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates also jointly set up the first Middle East Hall.
A380 becomes superstarA380 became the belle of the ball. The greatest technical breakthrough is the use of carbon fiber reinforced composite for the fuselage. The use of composite helps greatly reduce the weight of the airplane, and under the circumstance of same volume, it can carry more passengers and less oil and increase the flying range. New technology is used in the control system of the aircraft, in the layout of personified passenger cabin, in new-type aircraft engine and the airplane operational system. Automatic control and energy saving have become the new characteristics. A350, in which carbon fiber reinforced composite is also used, is greatly welcomed. These two types of airplane have not been fully put into use, but they have presented a bright market prospect. On the first day of the air show, Qatar placed an order for 60 A350 and, on the next day, Kuwait and India also ordered a dozen or so A350 and A330 airplanes respectively. According to the estimation made by the airbus press center, orders might have been placed for more than 100 such planes upon the end of the event.Talking about the market prospect for airbus in China, Mr. Bo Long, president of the Airbus China, was full of confidence. He said: At present, there are orders placed for 154 A380 airplanes worldwide and China takes up one-fifth of which. He estimated that in the next 20 years, China's purchase volume would reach to 250 such planes, while the present total number of airbuses of various models ordered by China is close to 300 units.
Two giants engaged in "dragon-tiger fight"Among the large medium-range civil aircraft, Airbus and Boeing are old rivals. Due to the Iraq war, the United States did not participate in the 45th air show two years before. This year, the exhibition hall, the viewing stand and the press center of Boeing and Airbus are linked together, airplanes were arranged with a view of making comparison, although Boeing did not have large airplane at the same level of A380, the company placed a large air freighter behind the A380, so as to strike a balance. At its exhibition center, it also set up an impending B--787 exhibition hall, to show its idea of a "dreamlike" new-type airplane. At the air show, the Airbus gave prominence to the charm of its star airplanes, while Boeing stressed its commercial success.Judging from the first days of the air show, the star effect of A380 is very great. Many French visitors said that they came this year mainly for the purpose of watching A380. While A380 put on an air show, each of its takeoff and landing won warm applause and cheers. Seeing that A380 overawed others by displaying its strength, reporters liked to assemble at the Airbus exhibition center, so did photographers. The authors were lucky enough to board the plane together with other Chinese correspondents stationed in Paris to watch the facilities inside this flight test vehicle. In market competition, the devaluation of US dollars has provided Boeing with great advantage to win more market share, while the Airbus adopts the advance booking and loaning methods to attract clients to begin participation from the aircraft research and development stage, so as to obviate part of R&D risks. Reporters have learned that competition between large airplane manufacturing companies has gladdened the insiders of industry. Firstly, it has given clients the advantage of price choice, secondly, it is conducive to technical progress and service improvement. As far as these two companies are concerned, the most crucial thing is to see which can lead in the development of new plane models. The one leading in this respect will dominate the market of same plane models. China's aviation industry shows its initial strengthThe No.1 group company of the Chinese aviation industry sent out its delegation to participate in the air show. The product models they brought with them demonstrated their own advantage, for instance, Xinzhou-60, Xiaolong, Jian-7 and Yun-7 as well as feeder passengerARJ21 lured in many professionals and evoked clients' inquiries. According to the leader of the Chinese delegation, there was a continuous stream of visitors in the past days, many of them said that though started late, Chinese aviation industry has already had the ability to develop specific markets, its trainer aircraft and feeder passenger planes oriented to developing countries, in particular, have very fairly strong competitive capacity. In the trip the Chinese delegation aimed to display the characteristics and abilities of the Chinese aviation industry, particularly the industry's processing manufacturing capability, it shows to the world that China can subcontract a variety of professional work in the aircraft manufacturing process. On the first day of the air show, French President Jacques Chirac visited the Chinese exhibition platform.Judging from the development trend of aircraft manufacturing industry, competitiveness can be augmented only through international cooperation On the second day of the air show, the No.1 group company of the Chinese aviation industry signed a cooperation agreement with the Airbus, according to the agreement, the two sides will set up a new R&D center in Beijing, the Chinese side will send out over 50 engineers to participate in the new project design and R&D work of the Airbus. By People's Daily Online | ||||||
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.people.com.cn/ |
