空客Airbus將推出新款客機A330neo

Airbus is set to launch an overhaul of its popular A330 aircraft at the Farnborough International Airshow as the plane maker seeks to overturn Boeing’s dominant position in the lucrative long-range passenger jet market.

空客(Airbus)將在英國範堡羅航空展上宣佈對其頗受歡迎的A330客機進行改造，該飛機制造商希望推翻波音(Boeing)在利潤可觀的遠程客機市場上的主導地位。

After months of speculation, the Toulouse-based company will announce a revamp of its wide-body A330, dubbed A330neo, with more fuel-efficient engines on Monday, according to people with knowledge of the plans.

據知情人士稱，在幾個月的猜測後，空客將於週一宣佈改造其寬體客機A330，新機型的名字爲A330neo，將搭載更省油的發動機。

The company is hoping to recreate the success of the re-engineered narrow-body A320. More than 2,800 A320neo planes have been sold. In June, Airbus said it could sell more than 1,000 A330neos were the plane to go ahead.

該公司希望再現窄體客機A320在更換髮動機後取得的成功。A320neo的銷量超過了2800架。今年6月，空客表示，如果改造成功，可能會銷售逾1000架A330neo。

Airbus needs to extend the life of the A330, which entered service in 1994, because there are just less than 250 orders remaining on the books to deliver to customers – about two years’ worth of production.

空客需要延長A330的壽命，因爲目前未交付的該機型客戶訂單隻有不到250架，約爲兩年的產量。這種機型是1994年開始投入使用的。

The revamp is also part of its broader strategy to overtake Boeing in the lucrative wide-body jet market. The two companies sell fewer of these larger planes compared with short-range aircraft, but usually secure higher profit margins.

此次改造也是空客試圖取代波音在利潤可觀的寬體客機市場地位的更廣泛戰略的一部分。儘管兩家飛機制造商的較大型客機銷量不及短程飛機，但利潤率通常較高。

Executives at Airbus insist that the new plane will have similar fuel efficiency to its Boeing rivals, which are chiefly the small and medium-sized versions of the Dreamliner, also known as the 787.

空客高管堅持表示，這款新機型的燃油效率將與波音競爭機型相當，波音機型主要是夢幻客機(787 Dreamliner)的中小機型。

James McNerney, Boeing’s chief executive, however, took issue with the idea that the fuel efficiency would be the same, insisting the group could maintain a clear lead over Airbus in the long-range passenger jet market.

波音首席執行官詹姆斯•邁克納尼(James McNerney)對於燃油效率相當的說法提出異議，他堅持表示，波音有能力在遠程客機市場繼續保持其相對於空客的絕對優勢。

“Our experts tell us that [the A330neo] will not get close to our 787 versions in terms of fuel efficiency,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times. “Boeing has the strongest wide-body offering by far.”

“我們的專家告訴我們，（A330neo）無法在燃油效率方面與我們的787客機相提並論，”他在接受英國《金融時報》採訪時表示，“到目前爲止，波音生產的最強優勢在寬體客機領域。”

Airbus is planning to sell the A330neo at lower prices than the Dreamliner. If Airbus could supply as many as 1,000 aircraft to airlines and leasing companies, it would broadly match the orders notched up by the 787.

空客計劃以低於夢幻客機的價格銷售A330neo。如果空客能夠向航空公司和飛機租賃公司供應多達1000架A330neo，將大抵趕上787客機的訂單數量。