Airbus’s New A321XLR Jetliner Faces Shorter Flight Times on Fire Safety Concerns

(Bloomberg) -- Airbus SE may need to reduce the top range of its coming A321XLR jetliner, a key selling point for the new narrowbody, as European regulators seek to lessen the fire risk from an extra fuel tank in its rear fuselage, according to people familiar with the matter.

Improvements to fire safety design around the rear center tank are likely to add weight to the XLR and have a minor impact on how far it can fly, according to the people, who asked not to be named discussing a confidential matter. Some buyers have been told of potential changes to specifications, they said.

Discussions with regulators are also set to delay the model's entry into service. Airbus said Wednesday that the launch of the A321XLR would slip by around a quarter to early 2024.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency in January 2021 flagged the fuel tank's unique design, integral to the fuselage itself, as posing a particular risk in the event of fire, and hence presenting a “special condition” requiring a safety fix to protect the passenger cabin.

Airbus rival Boeing Co. subsequently highlighted the issue, while the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration proposed similar special conditions for the A321XLR last month.

Extra Weight

Airbus is studying ways to offset the range the plane could lose, according to one person. Discussions include an increase in the jet's maximum takeoff weight to 101.7 metric tons from 101. Until recently the company had assured customers that design changes were unlikely, another person said.

Airbus is discussing certification requirements with EASA, said Stefan Schaffrath, a spokesman for the Toulouse, France-based manufacturer.

“Safety is our number one priority,” he said. “We let independent authorities take all the necessary time to make a decision and would listen carefully to any requirements if they come.”

Airbus shares traded 2.8% lower at 103.50 euros as of 4:55 p.m. in Paris. They're down 7.8% this year.

Certification of the A321XLR is ongoing, EASA spokeswoman Janet Northcote said in an email. “The complete set of conditions in relation with the installation of the rear center tanks is still under definition” and will be published for comment when ready, she said.

The tank, sitting under the floor of the passenger cabin, gives the XLR an advertised range of 4,700 nautical miles -- about 18% more than the current A321LR -- allowing it to connect city pairs such as Tokyo to Sydney, Dubai to Johannesburg or London to Miami.

Boeing's 737 Max can't match the XLR's combination of distance and capacity, highlighting the importance of the Airbus jet and the significance of the setback. Through February, it had won 515 orders, with some airlines using it to replace retiring Boeing 757s and 767s.

Burn-Through

Despite the plane's appeal, fitting the rear-center tank has proved to be a challenge.

Airbus told EASA it was installing insulation under the passenger floor to keep the fuel stored below from making their feet cold. In its January 2021 paper the regulator said the insulation posed issues in terms of fire safety and burn-through risk, and that Airbus must show the XLR was as safe as previous A321s.

In subsequent input, Boeing pointed out further concerns tied to issues such as landing-gear failures or a plane sliding off the runway, saying that “fuel tanks integral to the airframe structure inherently provide less redundancy than structurally separate fuel tanks.”

EASA said in February 2021 that it would address them by evaluating the rear center tank for crashworthiness and issuing other special consultations.

In the U.S., the FAA says the current design won't be adequate to protect passengers from an external fire or ensure that they have time to safely evacuate after a survivable crash. The agency has given the public until May 23 to file comments, which it will consider before issuing a final rule.

Fuel-tank protection requirements are typically met through the use of flame-retardant materials inside a jet's thin aluminum fuselage wall.

They were put in place in recent decades after a series of accidents in which passengers were uninjured when the plane came to a stop, but multiple deaths occurred because they couldn't escape quickly enough as fire and smoke penetrated the fuselage.