After missing out on key program selections for the new Airbus A350XWB and Boeing 787 programs, French nacelle maker Aircelle is laying plans for what
it could offer the next generation of narrowbody airliners. The company says it has plenty of work from existing programs, including a subcontract for Goodrich on the A380 program. However, it has acknowledged that it will need to move some manufacturing into lower-cost economies to become competitive in the face of the dollar’s weakness against the euro.
Nacelles currently account for 85 percent of Aircelle’s business. In addition to providing them for both the General Electric/Pratt & Whitney GP7200 and Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines on the A380, the company also houses the A318’s Pratt & Whitney PW6000 powerplant, the Snecma-NPO Saturn SaM146 turbofan on Russia’s new Superjet 100 airliner and the Dassault Falcon 7X’s Pratt & Whitney Canada PW307 engine.
