Airbus eyes production in U.S., India

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UPDATE 1-Airbus eyes production in U.S., India
UPDATE 1-Airbus eyes production in U.S., India

Published: 30 May 2009 19:22:02 PST
* Born as symbol of Europe, Airbus 'must become global'

* Planemaker's chief warns against European protectionism

* National shopping lists helped delay A400M military plane

PARIS, May 29 - Weeks before the first China-built Airbus rolls off the assembly line near Beijing, the European planemaker's top official has pulled out the map and targeted future jetliner production in the United States and India.

Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders, writing 40 years after the birth of the first plane project by a four-nation European consortium, said Airbus must become global to stay competitive.

"We have to leave national sentiment behind us," Enders wrote in a column in Friday's edition of the Financial Times.

"Airbus will only remain competitive in the long term if it develops resources and markets globally and becomes a genuinely international company, with development and production also in the U.S., China, India and elsewhere."

Airbus agreed in 2006 to set up an assembly line for the A320 family of jets, its most popular model, at Tianjin in China to reduce costs and gain an edge over rival Boeing in one of the world's largest aviation markets.

The first plane will be delivered by end-June, the first time an Airbus has been assembled outside its two main host countries, France and Germany, supported by Britain and Spain.

India has pressed Airbus to consider opening a production line there also, but so far the European company has been tied up in domestic restructuring and a series of aircraft production delays, as well as fierce union opposition to offshoring jobs.

When India's civil aviation minister floated the idea of an Indian assembly line at an Airbus ceremony at the Paris air show two years ago, Airbus officials cautiously welcomed the concept but said the costs might outweigh the benefits.

The economic crisis has since threatened planemakers' orders.

TRADE WARNING

In the United States, Airbus considered assembling freighters in Alabama as part of a deal to sell mid-air refuelling tankers built from the same fuselages to the Pentagon. But the plans were suspended when Boeing appealed against the contract.

U.S. production is attractive to firms whose costs are in euros but whose products, like aircraft, are priced in dollars.

Unions and politicians in Europe, however, are concerned about job losses.

Writing days before European parliamentary elections, Enders said shutting trade borders was no fix to the economic crisis.

"Next month in Tianjin we shall deliver the first Airbus made in China ... No one will benefit more from this than Europeans."

He also blamed European governments for hobbling Airbus's first major military project, the A400M airlifter, with a wish list for customisation that only added to production delays. The four-year setback has usually been blamed on engine problems.

"Too often there has been a reversion to defending diverse national requirements that offer little in terms of performance but impact significantly on cost and deliverability," he said.

"That certainly has been the case with the A400M, and we have asked the European partners in the programme for a greater degree of realism in order to enable delivery of the aircraft we all want at a sensible price."

Parent EADS is trying to negotiate contract changes to rescue the 20 billion euro project by an end-June deadline.
 

Sridhar

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Airbus factory in India? CEO asks why not

Reuters

TimePublished on Fri, May 29, 2009 at 18:09 in Business section

Paris: Weeks before the first China-built Airbus rolls off the assembly line near Beijing, the European planemaker's top official has pulled out the map and targeted future jetliner production in the United States and India.

Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders, writing 40 years after the birth of the first plane project by a four-nation European consortium, said Airbus must become global to stay competitive. "We have to leave national sentiment behind us," Enders wrote in a column in Friday's edition of the Financial Times.

"Airbus will only remain competitive in the long term if it develops resources and markets globally and becomes a genuinely international company, with development and production also in the US, China, India and elsewhere."

Airbus agreed in 2006 to set up an assembly line for the A320 family of jets, its most popular model, at Tianjin in China to reduce costs and gain an edge over rival Boeing in one of the world's largest aviation markets.

The first plane will be delivered by end-June, the first time an Airbus has been assembled outside its two main host countries, France and Germany, supported by Britain and Spain. India has pressed Airbus to consider opening a production line there also, but so far the European company has been tied up in domestic restructuring and a series of aircraft production delays, as well as fierce union opposition to offshoring jobs.

When India's civil aviation minister floated the idea of an Indian assembly line at an Airbus ceremony at the Paris air show two years ago, Airbus officials cautiously welcomed the concept but said the costs might outweigh the benefits. The economic crisis has since threatened planemakers' orders.

Trade warning

In the United States, Airbus considered assembling freighters in Alabama as part of a deal to sell mid-air refuelling tankers built from the same fuselages to the Pentagon. But the plans were suspended when Boeing appealed against the contract.

US production is attractive to firms whose costs are in euros but whose products, like aircraft, are priced in dollars. Unions and politicians in Europe, however, are concerned about job losses. Writing days before European parliamentary elections, Enders said shutting trade borders was no fix to the economic crisis.

"Next month in Tianjin we shall deliver the first Airbus made in China ... No one will benefit more from this than Europeans." He also blamed European governments for hobbling Airbus's first major military project, the A400M airlifter, with a wish list for customisation that only added to production delays.

The four-year setback has usually been blamed on engine problems. "Too often there has been a reversion to defending diverse national requirements that offer little in terms of performance but impact significantly on cost and deliverability," he said.

"That certainly has been the case with the A400M, and we have asked the European partners in the programme for a greater degree of realism in order to enable delivery of the aircraft we all want at a sensible price." Parent EADS is trying to negotiate contract changes to rescue the 20 billion euro project by an end-June deadline

Airbus factory in India? CEO asks why not
 

Energon

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Aviation manufacturing in India is going to be very, very challenging primarily because of a lack of skilled manpower. Years of governmental control over this industry has made it highly undesirable for prospective students; and even if they get degrees in aerospace engineering, most end up doing "programming" for the private sector or migrating abroad (and probably doing more "programming").

If India wants to open up this sector they first have to make moves toward de-centralization and make it clear to the likes of HAL that they can't control everything. It'll be at least a decade long process (if not more) to just build up a competent human resource to actually contribute substantially to the aerospace industry. The Chinese got started on this a long time ago and are now reaping the benefits.
 

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Airbus lands 271 net orders in 2009 and sets deliveries record
By David Kaminski-Morrow

Airbus secured net orders for 271 aircraft in 2009, far ahead of Boeing's 142.

Gross orders for the airframer totalled 310. Airbus parent EADS had been maintaining a forecast of 300.

The figures have been lifted by the firming in December of recent agreements with Air New Zealand, LAN, Virgin Atlantic and China Eastern Airlines.

Airbus detailed the figures at an event in Seville today.

It declared gross orders for 228 A320-family aircraft, 78 A330/340/350s and four A380s.

EADS chief Louis Gallois says that 2009 was "not an easy year", and adds that the financial position of airlines in 2010 is still a "topic of concern".

Airbus A320 Family
© Airbus
Airbus A320 family

Airbus delivered 498 aircraft over the course of 2009, a record figure for the airframer.

The deliveries included 402 A320-family aircraft. It also delivered 86 A330/340s and 10 A380s.

"Considering the economical and financial environment we have done rather well in 2009," says Airbus chief Tom Enders.

But he admits that the failure to meet the A380 delivery target is a "disappointment".

The airframer is aiming to deliver "at least" 20 A380s this year.

Enders adds that, over the past 18 months, deferrals and other changes affected 600 aircraft over the 2009-11 period.

Airbus lands 271 net orders in 2009 and sets deliveries record
 

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