Aviation: A320 "wing on a wing" reduces fuel burn by more than 3%

The new tips are a standard fit on the A320neo family which already has substantial fuel savings due to new (hence "neo") engines.

The fuel savings are one part of the attraction. Another is the reduction in CO2 emissions: a typical A320 with the new tips will, Airbus say, cut its own annual emissions by the equivalent of that of 200 family cars.

Airbus say that the combined engine and aerodynamic changes will reduce fuel consumption by about 15% as against its own and rivals' current technology.

The A320neo range has attracted approaching 1,500 orders since launch a little over a year ago, many from regional and low-cost carriers.

Airbus is not standing still in other areas: the first A350 AXB is in final assembly as the parts arrived in Toulouse in mid December 2011.

And the company delivered its 7,000th aircraft. It's a surprise to many to learn that the largest operator of Airbus in the world is... US Airways. It was to that airline that the A321 was delivered in December 2011 - just two years after Airbus delivered its 6,000th aircraft. The first aircraft was delivered to Air France in 1974, showing the rapidly increasing pace of delivery.

Also in December, Airbus scored a victory in the World Trade Organisation which found in its favour and against Boeing although it was not an unqualified "win."

And Airbus has received an order from Hong Kong Airlines for 10 A380s, said to be worth approx USD3,800 million.

But its not all plain sailing for Airbus: after its disastrous engine problems with a Qantas A380 (which everyone with any sense accepts is not actually an Airbus problem), engineers in Singapore who are still working to repair that aircraft have found tiny cracks in the wing ribs. But it is not related to that incident nor unique to that aircraft. In fact, Airbus has said that it is a known problem affecting a known number of aircraft and is due to a defect in manufacturing the materials used in some ribs. But it is not a structural issue and there are no safety issues. Even so, Airbus has produced a maintenance fix that will be done as aircraft make their scheduled major service at four years intervals.

However, Airbus may be about to fly into a political storm in the USA: having been consistently rebuffed by most US airlines and even the US government in supposedly open tender, the town of Wichita is reported to be courting Airbus.

Boeing has announced the closure of its Wichita plant in 2013. The town is seriously upset although Boeing has said that while the plant will close, the ripple effect will be minimised as the company continues to take components from its existing suppliers in the region.

Stuff, that, says Wichita. If Boeing's going, we want Airbus to come instead.

Of course, it's highly unlikely that Boeing will willingly hand over its plant or even empty facility to Airbus: one only has to look at the recent death of SAAB at the hands of GM to see how US companies do business once they lose interest something.

That will mean long delays for construction, loss of greenfield and many more complications. It's a long way from that first "come to Kansas" phone call to seeing an Airbus built there. And certainly far longer than is needed to save the 2,000 plus jobs that Boeing is ditching.