But the pressure was intense, and some within Airbus saw this as a glorious opportunity to derail the Boeing plan, which was using the earlier in-service target as its major trump card. The decision to switch to a faster track was made, and news of the change of heart emerged in mid-September 1996 when the engine makers were asked to prepare more detailed specifications, which indicated an overall program acceleration of about one year.
The switch, driven by airlines such as British Airways, SIA, United, JAL, and Thai Airways International, allowed them to see much more detailed proposals on specifics such as fuel burn, range, payload, and direct operating costs. In concert with these moves, Airbus also decided to undercut the expected $200 million-plus price tag of the new 747 derivatives by offering the A3XX at “no more than $198 million,” according to Airbus Senior Vice President John Leahy.
Plans by now covered three possible family variants, including a base 555-seat (three-class) A3XX-100 with a slightly increased range of 7,500 nautical miles; the stretched 656-seat -200; and a longer range, higher gross weight derivative of the -100, the -100R, that would be capable of flying 8,520 nautical miles.
The Airbus move appeared to outflank Boeing, which, until relatively late in 1996, had appeared certain to launch the first stretch of the 747 since its launch some three decades earlier. Throughout the year, it had seemed only a matter of time before the two derivatives were to be unleashed on the market, with entry into service of the first variant—the 546-passenger, 7,500-nautical mile-range 747-600X—expected to be about December 2000. The smaller -500X, carrying 487 passengers over longer ranges up to 8,150 nautical miles, was likely to follow in six months.