Airbus
Airbus SAS (/ˈɛərbʌs/, French: [ɛʁbys], German: [ˈɛːɐbʊs], Spanish: [ˈerβus]) is a division of Airbus Group SE that manufactures civil aircraft. It is based in Blagnac, France, a suburb of Toulouse, with production and manufacturing facilities mainly in France, Germany, Spain, China and the United Kingdom.
Airbus began as a consortium of aerospace manufacturers, Airbus Industrie. Consolidation of European defence and aerospace companies in 1999 and 2000 allowed the establishment of a simplified joint-stock company in 2001, owned by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) (80%) and BAE Systems (20%). After a protracted sales process BAE sold its shareholding to EADS on 13 October 2006.
Airbus employs around 63,000 people at sixteen sites in four countries: France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. Final assembly production is based at Toulouse, France; Hamburg, Germany; Seville, Spain; and, since 2009 as a joint-venture, Tianjin, China. Airbus has subsidiaries in the United States, Japan and India.
Airbus (band)
Airbus was a rock band from Portishead, near the city of Bristol in the UK. A group of friends who attended Gordano School formed the band in 1987 under the name of Carrion, soon changing the name to Airbus.
The original line-up was Nick Davidge (guitar and vocals), James Childs (guitar and vocals), Simon Hedges (bass) and Chris Fielden (drums). This line-up remained consistent until 2000. Late in 2000, Simon left the band and was replaced by Oliver Morris. Oli did one tour with Airbus and was then replaced by Sargon Dooman.
In 1993, after the release of the single Inertia which sold well in Bristol record shops, Airbus won ITVs prestigious First Cut competition. This was broadcast on the television and the filmed live performances gave the band a lot of exposure in the South West of England. The £5,000 cash prize allowed the band to invest in recording equipment and set up their own recording studio. In 1993, Airbus were approached by Geoff Barrow of the band Portishead and asked to record a B-Side for their first single, Sour Times. The band members had been friends with Geoff since school. He gave them a tape with a click track on it and Beth Gibbons’ vocal, refusing to play them the full song until they’d written and recorded the music. The Airbus Reconstruction was released as a B-Side on a British CD release of Sour Times, gaining Airbus more good exposure.
Airbus A320neo family
The Airbus A320neo family is a series of airliners developed since December 2010 by Airbus, with the suffix "neo" meaning "new engine option". It is the last step of the A320 Enhanced (A320E) modernisation programme, which was started in 2006. The A320neo replaces the original A320 family, which is now referred to as A320ceo, for "current engine option".
In addition to the new engines, the modernisation programme also included such improvements as: aerodynamic refinements, large curved winglets (sharklets), weight savings, a new aircraft cabin with larger hand luggage spaces, and an improved air purification system. Customers will have a choice of either the CFM International LEAP-1A or the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines.
These improvements in combination are predicted to result in 15% less fuel consumption per aircraft, 8% lower operating costs, less noise production, and a reduction of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by at least 10% compared to the A320 series, as well as an increase in range of approximately 500 nautical miles (900 km). A rearranged cabin allows up to 20 more passengers enabling in total over 20% less fuel consumption per seat.
