Company Watch - Airbus.

Airbus

Airbus to say good-bye to the airplane that started it all. Airbus will halt production of its first airliner. The France-based aircraft maker, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., said the last model from its wide-bodied A300/A310 family will roll off the production line in July 2007 with the handover of the last A300-600F currently on order. "It is in Airbus's best business interest to optimize the use of its resources at this time. . .in response to growing demand from our customers for the newer Airbus products like the A321, the A330/A340 family and the new A350 aircraft," President and CEO Gustav Humbert explained in a statement. The A300, launched in May 1969, was the first Airbus jet and the world's first twin-engine wide-bodied airliner when it entered service with Air France five years later. The A310, launched in 1978, was the first to use TV-style displays in the cockpit. But the much newer A330/A340 jets now account for most of Airbus' wide-bodied plane sales. Airbus took just seven orders for A300/A310 models last year and none in the first two months of this year, the company said today. A300 production backlog at Jan. 31 numbered 19 aircraft, all of them A300-600Fs for delivery to FedEx Express, UPS and Galaxy Airlines. Airbus has been producing about one aircraft per month during the past two years using approximately 150 employees on the final assembly line. They will be offered new positions within the company. Airbus has logged a total of 821 orders for the A300/A310 family since the A300, its first aircraft and the first widebody twin, was launched in May 1969. The first A300 entered service with Air France in May 1974. The A310, a shrink of the A300, was launched in 1978 and entered service in April 1983 with Lufthansa and Swissair, featuring the first two-man cockpit on a widebody and introducing digital avionics and CRT displays. Mar 8, 2006

Airbus said it received orders for 52 aircraft in February from two customers. Air China ordered nine A319s and Indian Airlines finalized a previously announced order for 43 A320 family aircraft. In February 2005, Airbus booked orders for five aircraft--three A319s and two A320s. In the first two months of 2006, it sold 71 aircraft compared with 43 in the year-ago period, compared with U.S. rival Boeing Co.'s 65. Mar 8, 2006

NATO needs Boeing C-17s, Airbus A-400Ms, official says. The head of the U.S. European Command and the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe said NATO needs Boeing's C-17 and Airbus' A-400M aircraft to meet airlift requirements in Afghanistan and sub-Saharan Africa. Marine Corp Gen. James Jones said the alliance might buy or lease aircraft through common funding. Mar 8, 2006

Study supports Boeing, Airbus for tanker contract. A study found commercial transport planes from Airbus and Boeing are cost-effective candidates for conversion into Air Force aerial refueling tankers. The RAND Corp. study found the planes "provide the required refueling capability at the lowest overall cost." Mar 8, 2006

EADS Tops Targets, Gives Cautious Outlook. Strong sales of helicopters, missiles and Airbus planes helped EADS to beat financial targets in 2005, but the European defense group gave a cautious outlook and mixed signals on where future growth will come from. European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. also said Airbus could soon draw government funding for its A350 _ a step that would worsen transatlantic tensions over aircraft subsidies. European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. (EADS)' joint Chief Executive Noel Forgeard of France answers questions during a statement for the 2005 FY earnings in Paris, Wednesday, March 8, 2006. EADS company is benefiting from the aerospace market upturn but posted a 13 percent decline in fourth quarter net profit, largely due to higher Airbus research and development costs and unfavorable currency effects. Franco-German EADS, which owns 80 percent of Airbus, said net profit rose 39 percent to 1.68 billion euros ($2.00 billion) last year from 1.2 billion euros in 2004, on an 8 percent increase in revenue to 34.21 billion euros ($40.75 billion). That was despite a 13 percent decline in fourth-quarter net profit, which fell to 405 million euros ($482 million) from 466 million euros a year earlier. Mar 9, 2006

JetBlue mulls slowing aircraft deliveries. JetBlue Airways may consider slowing deliveries of new airplanes, Chief Executive David Neeleman said. The airline might also consider issuing new equity. Mar 10, 2006

Wizz Air will launch thrice-weekly Gdansk-Cologne service from June 7. It added its eighth A320 last week on lease from Aviation Capital Group. Mar 7, 2006

Yemenia chooses the A350. Yemenia Yemen Airways signed a preliminary agreement to purchase six A350-800s, with options for an additional four, Airbus announced yesterday. No engine was selected for the aircraft, which will seat 18 in first class and 265 in economy and begin delivering in 2012. Yemenia currently operates four A310s and two A330-200s in its long-haul fleet. Airbus said it has received 182 orders and commitments for the A350 from 14 customers. Mar 7, 2006