FRANKFURT : European plane maker Airbus has a weight problem with its next-generation A350 passenger jet, a German press report said on Wednesday.

"With a programme like this one, weight is a never-ending battle," an Airbus spokeswoman told AFP. "It is not abnormal to have weight problems at this stage of development.

"What counts is that we deliver the performance promised to clients," such as fuel consumption and range, the spokeswoman said.

"Airbus plans to finalise a detailed design of its long-haul aircraft by the end of the year," she added.

The spokewoman was responding to a report in the German business daily Handelsblatt that the A350 had excess weight of at least eight tonnes owing to problems stemming from its novel carbon fibre structure.

Handelsblatt did not identify its sources.

Airbus had tackled similar issues with the superjumbo A380 plane, the spokeswoman told AFP, one of several difficulties reported two years ago that led to costly production delays for the world's largest passenger airliner.

The group has not yet provided details on the projected weight of the A350, Handelsblatt said, adding that an initial blueprint with a planned weight of 124 tonnes was discarded in 2006.

The report said Airbus also needed systems suppliers to help develop the A350, which was designed to compete with Boeing's future B787.

Problems related to the A350 cabin's electronic shielding and noise insulation remained to be solved, the German paper said.

But EADS chief executive Louis Gallois said Tuesday that development of the A350 was on schedule, the newspaper added.

Airbus is owned by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company.

Production of the A350 is scheduled to begin in 2011, with first deliveries due in mid 2013.

Boeing, which has also faced obstacles developing the B787, has set its commercial launch for next year.

- AFP /ls