After a solid commercial and industrial performance at the beginning of the year, Airbus is now reducing its production rate to adapt to the new coronavirus industry environment.

In the first quarter of the year, the plane maker gained 290 net commercial aircraft orders and delivered 122 aircraft.

A further 60 aircraft were produced during the quarter, but remain undelivered due to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.

36 aircraft were delivered in March across the different aircraft families, down from 55 in February 2020. This reflects customer requests to defer deliveries, as well as other factors related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

New average production rates going forward

• A320 to rate 40 per month
• A330 to rate 2 per month
• A350 to rate 6 per month

This represents a reduction of the pre-coronavirus average rates of roughly one third.

Airbus is working in coordination with its social partners to define the most appropriate social measures to adapt to this new and evolving situation. Airbus is also addressing a short-term cash containment plan as well as its longer-term cost structure.

“The impact of this pandemic is unprecedented. At Airbus, protecting our people and supporting the fight against the virus are our chief priorities at this time. We are in constant dialogue with our customers and supply chain partners as we are all going through these difficult times together”, said Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury. “Our airline customers are heavily impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. We are actively adapting our production to their new situation and working on operational and financial mitigation measures to face reality.”

Photos: Final Airbus A380 wing leaves Broughton in Wales

In its effort to support the fight against the Covid-19, Airbus has carried out extensive work in coordination with social partners to ensure the health and safety of its employees. This has been achieved by implementing new stringent work standards and processes.

The company is also contributing to the development, sourcing and ferrying of medical equipment, including facemasks and ventilators, in support of medical health services.

Postponed assembly line plan

Airbus has postponed plans for an assembly line for its A321neo in France. The plans were made public in January to meet record demand for the aircraft from its site in Hamburg, Germany.

As Airbus winds down production of the A380, which is the world’s largest passenger plane, the existing facilities for the jumbo jet were meant to be converted to increase production capacity and accommodate a new digitalised assembly line.

“Our plans for an A321 line in Toulouse are paused, on hold,” an Airbus spokesman confirmed. “When we see rates going up again, we will reconnect to the plans.”

Airbus
www.airbus.com

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