Airbus has urged airlines to change the make of the majority of speed sensors on about 200 long haul aircraft.

Airbus has issued a bulletin to airlines recommending that they switch the parts, also known as pitots, to those made by US manufacturer Goodrich.

The moves comes as investigations continue into the cause of the fatal crash of an Air France Airbus in June.

Investigators have said speed sensors, or pitots, may have been a factor.

“Airbus has decided to recommend that A330/A340 operators with Thales pitot tubes, exchange at least two of them with Goodrich probes,” the company said in a statement sent to the BBC.

The company said it was making the recommendation “on the basis of the very limited available information” from the Air France accident, and “despite the fact that the pitot tubes meet the certification objectives”.

“This precautionary measure will allow our customers to benefit from the greater in-service experience of the Goodrich tubes on the A330/A340,” it said.

The move would affect about 200 of the A330 or A340 planes which were fitted with sensors manufactured by France’s Thales company, reported Reuters.

Airbus A340-600

Airbus A330-300

The last Airbus A340-300 currently on order is undergoing testing in Toulouse ahead of delivery to an undisclosed customer – believed to be a Russian VIP. Unless Airbus secures more orders, this aircraft (MSN 955) will be the last of 246 CFM International CFM56-powered A340-200/300 “Classics” to be delivered.

Last Airbus A340 leaves Airbus factory

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Airbus secured net orders for 1,341 aircraft during 2007, giving the European manufacturer a 48.7% share of the market.

It declared its total at a press briefing in Toulouse today, where it also disclosed that it had delivered 453 aircraft, up by 19 on 2006. Boeing delivered 441 aircraft last year.

Airbus gained net new orders for 1,341 jets, against Boeing’s 1,413, which were distributed as follows:

Airbus net orders:

A380                            23A330/340/350                    405A320 family                     913

The first scrapping of a new-generation Airbus widebody is looming, with a 13-year-old ex-Virgin Atlantic A340-300 expected to be broken for spares.

The A340 (MSN 0016), which is managed by lessor AerCap, was ferried from Hamburg to the company’s storage facility at Phoenix Goodyear airport in July. Although AerCap says that “the decision hasn’t been made” whether to part out the A340, industry sources say that the aircraft is set to come under the breaker’s axe.

According to Flight’s ACAS database, MSN 0016 was delivered new to Virgin Atlantic in January 1994 on lease from Airbus, and acquired by AerCap (then called Debis AirFinance) in 2000.

The aircraft was placed with BWIA West Indies Airways in 2004 and returned off lease in January this year after BWIA closed and was replaced by Caribbean Airlines.

In 1997 while operating with Virgin, the A340 was involved in a major incident at London Heathrow, when it made an emergency landing with one of its main landing-gear bogies retracted.

Although the A340 is an early-build example, its utilisation is not among the highest in the A340 fleet. According to ACAS, MSN 0016 has accumulated 55,309h and 7,148 cycles, which is around 10,000h and 6,500 cycles below the A340 fleet leader in each criterion.

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The one and only Airbus “A340-8000″ originally destined for the Sultan of Brunei’s brother has been acquired by Saudi Arabian VIP as it updates its widebody fleet, according to Flight’s ACAS database.

The A340-213, line number 204, delivered to Brunei-based HM the Sultan’s Flight in November 1998, never entered service and has been parked unfitted at Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg.

The four-engined ultra-long-range derivative of the A340-200 is one of a kind after Airbus later opted to concentrate on the ultra-long-range A340-500, which in airline configuration can carry 313 passengers over 15,750km (8,500nm).

The -8000, launched in 1995, features the 275t maximum take-off weight of the high gross weight A340-300, and auxiliary fuel tanks providing a range of 14,800km with 239 passengers.

Saudi Arabian VIP currently operates 23 VIP aircraft, from Lockheed C-130s to Boeing 747s for the exclusive use of the Saudi royal family. It is selling its two Lockheed L1011-500s to the US Sands Casino Group.

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Qatar Airways showcased its brand new Airbus A340-600 aircraft to a host of VIPs at Dubai International Airport. The Airbus comes in at 75 metres and is the world’s longest passenger jet, able to fly non-stop between Doha and the US east coast with a full load of passengers and cargo.

The airline has ordered a further 10 A340-600 aircrafts to be delivered over the next two years, as plans to break into the North American market next year with direct flights to the United States remains a priority on Qatar’s agenda.