Airbus to limit customisation to lessen reconfiguration cost

Airbus’s decision to limit customisation options for cabin interiors on its new A350 model is set to boost residual values when the aircraft change hands by minimising work required to outfit them for other users.

While Airbus has given customers a broad set of options for seats, galleys and lavatories, it has dropped the carte blanche approach taken with the A380 superjumbo, Chris Emerson, senior vice-president of marketing, said yesterday in Hamburg.

Leasing companies, banks and other financial institutions prefer assets that can be moved from one customer to another without incurring huge charges for reconfiguration, Mr Emerson said.

“A good part of the A350 market is lessors, who wanted a quick way to lower their costs of configuration.”

The executive spoke as Airbus unveiled a new cabin-design centre in Finkenwerder, outside Hamburg, where the planemaker also outfits cabins for the A380 and has final assembly lines for short-haul A320-series aircraft.

The A350 so far has won more than 800 orders, including 589 for the A350-900 set to be delivered first. – (Bloomberg)