PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus is in discussions to try to find solutions to a row with the German government over a ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia that threatens a border security contract, Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said on Tuesday.
The planemaker has warned of legal action against Germany after taking financial charges over the long-delayed border contract between Airbus’s defence unit and the Gulf kingdom.
“We are not yet there,” Faury told reporters when asked about possible legal action.
“We are very much impacted by the situation which is now being extended and trying to find different solutions,” Faury said, adding that Airbus had been forced into a corner by the unexpected national export embargo.
Germany acted alone with a ban in October after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, irritating other European arms exporters including France, where Airbus is based. The measure was extended in March.
The row comes as France and Germany study a new combat jet, in which Airbus is the industrial partner on the German side.
Faury said Airbus remained committed to the manned and unmanned system, adding it could be eventually opened to other nations including Britain “as a more united Europe”.
The arms row also coincides with a separate spat with Germany over 600 million euros of development loans for the A380 passenger jet, which Airbus has said it will stop producing.
The Berlin government said in March it was in talks with Airbus about the outstanding loans, which also feature in a separate trade dispute about mutual claims of illegal aircraft subsidies between the European Union and the United States.
Faury said Airbus “would not be where it is” without its project to build the world’s largest airliner.
Asked at a media event whether the separate disputes with Germany could be settled in a single negotiation, Faury said “We just want to execute the contracts as they are and I will not say more.”
Airbus continues to have good relations with Germany and other founder Airbus nations, Faury said at the event, taking place as Airbus celebrates its 50th anniversary as a planemaker.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Susan Thomas)
Airbus celebrated the delivery of its 12,000th aircraft ever in its 50-year history. The aircraft was an A220-100, assembled in Mirabel, Canada and handed over to U.S.-based Delta Air Lines.
The aircraft is the 12th A220 delivered to date to Delta Air Lines since the carrier received its first A220 in October 2018. The A220 started scheduled service with Delta in February 2019. Delta is the first U.S. airline to operate the A220 and is the largest A220 customer, with a firm order for 90 aircraft.
This milestone delivery of a Canadian-made Airbus aircraft to a U.S.-based airline highlights the growing presence of Airbus in North America. Since Airbus’ leadership of the A220 programme became effective on 1 July 2018, ground was broken in January this year in Mobile, Alabama for the construction of a second A220 final assembly line, set to start deliveries to U.S. customers in 2020.
Airbus delivered its first aircraft, an A300B2 to Air France, back in 1974. Fast forward to 2010, Airbus handed over its 6,000th aircraft, 36 years after its first. The pace continued to accelerate, taking Airbus just nine years to double that number, reaching 12,000th Airbus aircraft delivery on May 20, 2019.
PARIS (Reuters) – European missile maker MBDA’s chief executive is returning to Airbus as head of strategy as the planemaker seeks to modernise its factory system and explores future options in defence, two people familiar with the matter said.
Antoine Bouvier, 59, replaces Patrick de Castelbajac who becomes head of Airbus Asia-Pacific, the sources said. Castelbajac’s responsibility for Airbus international operations had already been transferred to sales chief Christian Scherer.
At Airbus, Bouvier will be embarking on a battle of wits with a new strategy head at arch-rival Boeing CO.
Chris Raymond, until recently head of Boeing’s Autonomous Systems business, recently became vice-president for enterprise strategy under finance director Greg Smith, sources said. Raymond’s appointment has not been officially announced.
Airbus and MBDA declined to comment on Bouvier’s appointment, which was first reported by AeroDefenseNews. It is the latest step in a management reshuffle accelerated by the recent official appointment of Guillaume Faury as Airbus CEO.
Bouvier, a former civil servant who narrowly missed out on running France’s DGA defence procurement agency two years ago, brings experience in forging defence partnerships to Airbus, which is embroiled in a row with Germany over arms controls.
He is expected to be replaced at MBDA by former OneWeb chief Eric Beranger.
Although there is fierce day-to-day competition, with Taiwan’s China Airlines opting last week to switch to Airbus, the European planemaker is not expected to exploit the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX jetliner for now, industry sources said.
NEXT GENERATION
The future of the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX – the industry’s most successful models – is seen as strategically entwined and insiders say Airbus is also worried about the impact of the grounding on global certification..
But the planemakers are crafting crucial strategies for the next generation of single-aisle jets from about 2030 – both likely to define the aircraft industry well beyond mid-century.
Insiders say Faury wants Airbus to focus more on industrial strategy and closing a perceived gap with Boeing in production technology, as well as responding to the threat of increased environmental regulation of air travel, as well as new products.
Airbus must also assess how to respond to rising defence spending after its failure to merge with Britain’s BAE Systems in 2012 left it heavily skewed towards commercial markets that are now approaching the end of an extended upcycle.
It is involved on the German side of a nascent Franco-German fighter project along with French partner Dassault Aviation but faces competition for valuable systems work and a growing spat with the German government over export controls.
At MBDA, Bouvier helped forge an Anglo-French agreement on the use of shared missile technology.
Bouvier followed the classic path of a French mandarin from the prestigious Polytechnique engineering school to France’s ENA civil service academy. He had been linked with a number of top aerospace posts such as Safran and Thales.
“His appointment will be very credible with the French government,” a person familiar with the appointment said. France and Germany own 11 percent each of Airbus.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Luke Baker and Alexander Smith)
The first A330neo of the Americas has been delivered to Azul Linhas Aéreas on lease from Avolon, becoming the first airline from the Americas to fly the A330-900. The aircraft is the first of 15 A330neo ordered by Avolon.
The A330neo, Airbus’ new generation A330 aircraft, will be used by the airline to expand its international route network between Brazil and Europe and the United States. Fitted with a three-class cabin layout accommodating 34 business class, 96 economy Xtra, and 168 economy class seats, the A330neo offers passengers greater comfort along with the newest and the most advanced in-flight experience while the airline will benefit from the aircraft’s unrivalled operating economics.
“We are very proud to be the first A330neo operator in the Americas. This new aircraft will play a key role in the expansion of our international markets supporting our strategy of having a modern and fuel-efficient fleet”, celebrates John Rodgerson, Azul’s CEO.
“With its many new features and an Airspace cabin, the A330neo can only add to Azul’s many travel awards said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer. “Innovation packed, superior passenger comfort and 25% fuel efficiency all rolled in to one – that’s the A330neo.”
The A330neo is the true new-generation aircraft building on the most popular wide body A330’s features and leveraging on A350 XWB technology. Powered by the latest Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, the A330neo provides an unprecedented level of efficiency – with 25% lower fuel burn per seat than previous generation competitors. Equipped with the Airbus Airspace cabin, the A330neo offers a unique passenger experience with more personal space and the latest generation in-flight entertainment system and connectivity.
Founded in 2008, Azul is a Brazilian carrier that serves 108 destinations across South America, the United States and Portugal.
Airbus has sold 1,200 aircraft, has a backlog of nearly 600 and nearly 700 in operation throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, representing a 56 percent market share of the in-service fleet. Since 1994, Airbus has secured nearly 70 percent of net orders in the region.
DUBAI (Reuters) – Emirates will “work smart and hard” to improve its performance after the Gulf airline’s profit hit a decade low as soaring fuel costs and a strong dollar took a toll on earnings, while passenger growth stalled.
After years of growth, during which it has become one of the world’s biggest airlines as other long-established national carriers have struggled, Dubai-based, state-owned Emirates warned last week profit would be lower than previous years.
It revealed just how badly it had fared on Thursday, reporting a 69 percent fall in net profit to 871 million dirhams ($237 million) in the year to March 31.
Meanwhile, the number of passengers flying Emirates rose 0.2 percent to 58.6 million, its weakest growth rate in at least 15 years, while cargo increased 1.4 percent to 2.7 million tonnes.
Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum said in a statement that the year had been “tough”, with higher oil prices, a strong dollar and stiffer competition, adding “our performance was not as strong as we would have liked”.
While revenue at the airline rose 6 percent to 97.9 billion dirhams, its profit fell to its lowest level since 2009. And profit at Emirates Group, which includes other units, fell 43.7 percent to 2.3 billions dirhams, its lowest since 2012.
Despite the profit fall, Emirates said it will pay the Investment Corporation of Dubai a dividend of 500 million dirhams for the year.
“SMART AND HARD”
Sheikh Ahmed said it was difficult to predict the year ahead but Emirates would “work smart and hard to tackle the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities.”
Unfavorable currency moves in key markets cost Emirates $156 million, while operating costs rose 8 percent with the airline recording its biggest ever fuel bill of 30.8 billion dirhams.
Emirates filled an average of 76.8 percent of passenger seats, slightly lower than the previous year, while increasing the number of available seats by 4 percent.
Fare increases helped Emirates register a 3 percent increase in passenger margin, despite it filling fewer seats.
The number of airline employees fell by 2,074, or 3.3 percent. Overall group workforce rose 1.9 percent to 105,286.
Emirates agreed with Airbus in February to cancel dozens of A380 orders and buy smaller A350’s and A330’s as the planemaker scrapped production of the world’s largest passenger jet.
Emirates, which will take 14 more A380’s between this year and the end of 2021, is developing a new route network for a fleet that will include smaller aircraft, it said last week.
Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Alexander Smith
FILE PHOTO: Emirates Airline Boeing 777-300ER planes are seen at Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Christopher Pike/File Photo
A four co-primes consortium formed by Airbus and Thales Alenia Space (both in Spain and France) has been selected by Hisdesat Servicios Estratégicos S.A. (Spanish Governmental Satellite Operator) to build two SpainSAT NG satellites. Used for governmental communications, these new generation satellites will replace the existing Spainsat and Xtar-EUR satellites. Airbus will act as “lead partner” of the consortium.
The SPAINSAT NG programme includes two satellites, SPAINSAT NG I and II which will be situated in different geostationary orbital slots to operate in X, military Ka and UHF bands.
The first of these New Generation Spainsat satellites will be launched in 2023 guaranteeing the continuity of the secure communications services to the Spanish Ministry of Defense and Governmental Agencies using the current fleet.
SPAINSAT NG will provide coverage on a wide area of the world ranging from the United States and South America to the Middle East, including Africa and Europe and till Singapore in Asia. Both satellites will allow to:
• Ensure effective command and control for beyond line-of-sight operations in 2/3 of the Earth.
• Guarantee communication capability in theatres of operation lacking communications infrastructure.
• Develop more satcom on the move, higher capacity, better secured and assured communications.
• Unlock the potential of the network centric battlespace-netcentric warfare and operations.
The communication payloads of both satellites will be provided by the Spanish industry, including the integration of the Communications Module in Spain, a major step forward for the Spanish industry. Airbus in Spain will be responsible for the X band payload, while Thales Alenia Space in Spain will be responsible for the UHF and mil-Ka band payloads. Other companies from the Spanish space industry will also be involved.
UHF is a new capability that was not available on the previous Spainsat fleet. Both satellites will offer redundancy in the zones of interest for the Spanish Armed Forces and will also incorporate advanced protection technologies for anti-jamming and anti-spoofing, plus hardened protection against nuclear phenomena at high altitude.
The satellites will be based on the Eurostar Neo platform, Airbus’ new geostationary telecommunications satellite product, a significant evolution of the highly reliable and successful Eurostar series with an entire range of major innovations. These include an X band fully flexible payload, employing active antennas with in orbit reconfiguration capability, an onboard digital processor that will interconnect the X and mil-Ka band payloads for cross-banding, and a dedicated high speed service link enabling fast re-configuration. This will result in a greater capacity, and increased flexibility allowing for electronic reorientation of the beams depending on the coverage needs.
Hisdesat is the owner and operator of the new generation of communication satellites, SPAINSAT NG. The main customer is the Spanish Ministry of Defence having a Public Private Partnership with Hisdesat and, among others, the new satellites will also contribute to other Spanish governmental bodies, allies and friendly countries with bilateral agreements, the EU governmental Communications programme, “Govsatcom” and hopefully to the future NATO CP130 capabilities package for satellite communications. In addition, SPAINSAT NG will continue providing services to the existing and future customer base of XTAR LLc.
The development of SPAINSAT NG is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, as well as the Spanish Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) in the framework of a public-private partnership between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the satellite operator Hisdesat.
The SpainSAT NG satellites will have an operational lifetime of 15 years being in service up to 2037.
About Airbus
Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2018 it generated revenues of € 64 billion and employed a workforce of around 134,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as one of the world’s leading space companies. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.
Air Transat, a Canadian leisure and holiday travel airline, took delivery of its first Airbus A321LR aircraft. The A321LR is one of 15 the Montreal-based carrier is scheduled to receive. Air Transat leases the A321LR from AerCap.
The A321LR, with its unique Airbus Cabin Flex configuration allowing for installation of additional fuel tanks, will have a range of up to 4,000 nautical miles. Air Transat plans to use the A321LR for long-distance flights out of Canada, principally on more extended, thinner routes to European, Caribbean, Central and South American destinations. The A321LRs will replace older planes with an ultra-modern, highly cost-efficient aircraft equipped with state-of-the-art interior amenities for an enhanced and enjoyable passenger experience.
“The arrival of this new generation of aircraft is an important moment for our company and our passengers in many respects,” says Annick Guérard, Chief Operating Officer at Transat. “The Airbus A321LR represents what Air Transat stands for today and what we strive for in the coming years. It reinforces our position as a leader in sustainable tourism, while also offering our passengers a superior on-board experience.”
“We are proud to deliver the A321LR to Air Transat and to be associated with such a fine, innovative airline,” said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer. “The A321LR, with its increased range and low operating costs, enables Air Transat to increase flight frequencies, expand its network and strengthen its competitive position. Airbus will provide Air Transat with world-class support and work to ensure its ongoing success.”
The Air Transat A321LR is configured for 199 seats in two classes, including 12 premium Club Class seats in an exclusive cabin with personalized service and ergonomic seating. Economy Class seats are wider, provide more personal space and are equipped with a state-of-the-art entertainment system.
The A321LRs are part of a larger leasing deal Air Transat has with AerCap to convert to an all-Airbus fleet by 2022 as it phases out older widebody and narrowbody planes.
Air Transat is Canada’s number one holiday airline. It flies to some 60 destinations in more than 25 countries in the Americas and Europe, offers domestic and feeder flights within Canada, and carries some 5 million passengers every year. Based in Montreal, the company employs 3,000 people. Air Transat is a business unit of Transat A.T. Inc., a leading integrated international tourism company specializing in holiday travel and offering vacation packages, hotel stays and air travel.
The first ACJ319neo successfully completed a 16-hr. and 10-min. test flight on 26th April, setting a new record for the longest A320 Family flight by an Airbus crew.
It flew from Toulouse to northern Greenland and back, in an endurance flight that included a simulated diversion under 180 min ETOPS rules, for which the A320 airliner family is already certified.
The aircraft is due to be delivered to K5 Aviation of Germany in the coming months, after ACJ319neo flight trials are completed.
“We want to fly customers to their destination using the quickest routes, as well as delivering unsurpassed comfort and service, and it’s impressive to see such long-range capability at first hand,” said K5 Aviation CEO and Chief Pilot Erik Scheidt, who participated in the flight.
The ACJ319neo is derived from the A320neo airliner family, which features new engines and wingtip-mounted Sharklets.
“Airbus’ modern aircraft family takes the world in its stride with robust reliability, and corporate jet operators are natural beneficiaries of this airliner heritage, which also brings comparable operating costs to traditional business jets,” said ACJ President Benoit Defforge.
K5 Aviation’s ACJ319neo is fitted with five additional centre tanks (ACTs) in its cargo-hold, and includes improvements such as a lower cabin altitude for greater passenger comfort.
Corporate jet orders and commitments for A320neo Family-derived aircraft now total 14.
Airlines and corporate jet customers have ordered almost 15,000 A320
Family aircraft to date, with more than 700 of the new A320neo version
already serving airlines worldwide.
Around 200 Airbus corporate jets are in service worldwide, flying on every continent, including Antarctica.
Fiji Airways has adopted the A350 XWB as part of its expansion plans to broaden its international network. Two A350-900s will be leased from Dubai-based DAE Capital, making Fiji Airways the newest operator and DAE Capital the latest customer.
With its common type rating with the A330 Family, the A350 XWB was the natural aircraft choice to seamlessly join the airline’s existing fleet of four A330s. The common rating between the A350 XWB and A330 means that pilots who are qualified and current on the A330 can already commence preparations to take the A350 XWB’s controls by undergoing “differences training” only, meaning a significant cost savings and operational flexibility.
The aircraft will be configured with 33 full lie-flat Business Class and 301 Economy Class seats. The aircraft will be deployed to enhance existing long-haul services between Fiji, Australia and the U.S., and to provide the opportunity to open additional routes.
The A350 XWB is the world’s most modern and eco-efficient aircraft family shaping the future of air travel. It is the long-range leader in the large widebody market (300 to 400+ seats). The A350 XWB offers by design unrivalled operational flexibility and efficiency for all market segments up to ultra-long haul (9,700 nm). It features the latest aerodynamic design, carbon fibre fuselage and wings, plus new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce engines. Together, these latest technologies translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency, with a 25% reduction in fuel burn and emissions. The A350 XWB’s Airspace by Airbus cabin is the quietest of any twin-aisle and offers passengers and crews the most modern in-flight products for the most comfortable flying experience. At the end of March 2019, the A350 XWB Family had received 890 firm orders from 50 customers worldwide, making it one of the most successful widebody aircraft ever.
PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus on Thursday declined to say whether it was interested in buying Bombardier’s Belfast plant after the Canadian firm put it up for sale, but described the Northern Ireland facility as a “key supplier”.
An Airbus spokesman noted the plant makes wings for the A220, formerly known as the CSeries, which Airbus bought from Bombardier last year, and some engine casings for the Airbus A320 family.
Industry sources say the plant uses new technology for carbon fibre wings that could interest Airbus for a future A320 replacement and other long-term projects.
Bombardier’s sale of its Belfast wing and structure-making operation, the largest high-tech manufacturer in Northern Ireland, has stunned workers. They have called on the British government to retain jobs, with the plant employing 3,600 people.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Matthias Blamont)
