Company Watch - Airbus.

Nov 27, 2006

French prosecutors appealed on Tuesday against a court ruling that cleared six people including an air traffic controller for a 1992 Air Inter (was a unit of Air France at the time of the crash) plane crash that killed 87 people in the eastern city of Strasbourg. Families of the victims have also appealed against the ruling earlier this month, which found Airbus and Air France liable for damages. The six defendants in the criminal case -- a former air traffic controller, four former managers from the civil aviation authority (DGAC), Air Inter and Airbus Industries, and a former Air Inter deputy director general -- were cleared after pleading not guilty to manslaughter. Prosecutor Pascal Schultz told reporters the decision to appeal followed the appeal by families. A long investigation failed to single out one particular reason why the Air Inter Airbus A320 crashed into a mountain as it approached Strasbourg Airport on January 20, 1992. Only nine people survived the crash. The investigation suggested a range of possible factors which might, together, explain what caused the crash. These included the quality of guidance the plane was given to direct it towards Strasbourg and the composition of the crew. Nov 22, 2006

Airbus A350 XWB airliner is on hold until shareholders in parent firm EADS settle differences over how to fund the USD$10 billion project, industry sources said. A board meeting set for Friday was canceled because of disagreement between founding shareholders Lagardere, DaimlerChrysler and the French state, one source said. The two industrial shareholders oppose a proposal by France which would see the French state take a larger stake in EADS, a second source said. Such a move would dilute their stakes and upset the equal balance of German and French ownership in the company, a move which Germany would oppose. EADS declined to comment. Nov 24, 2006

Airbus expects its A380 superjumbo to receive technical certification by December 13, a senior company official said in remarks published in a newspaper on Friday. Deliveries of the A380, the world's biggest commercial airliner, are two years behind schedule, partly due to problems with installing wiring on the aircraft. Airbus parent EADS said on Tuesday it had had no fresh order cancellations for the A380 since FedEx canceled an order for 10 of the A380-800F freighter version this month. A delegation from Emirates, the biggest buyer of the plane, visited Airbus manufacturing plants last week to assess progress on re-cabling the aircraft. Nov 24, 2006

Airbus forecasts that 21,900 new 100-plus-seat passenger aircraft will be needed over the next 20 years, creating average deliveries of about 1,100 annually, up from around 800 it predicted two years ago. It said its projection is based on average annual traffic growth, as measured by RPKs, of 4.8%, slightly below Boeing's projected 4.9% rise. Transpacific, Europe-to-Asia and transatlantic long-haul routes will increase 60% over the next 20 years, it said. Nov 23, 2006

Airbus predicts that more than 70% of all deliveries between now and 2025 will be single-aisle types seating 100-220 passengers, which it said translates into more than 15,300 aircraft, or 42% by value of all passenger aircraft deliveries. "While mainline single-aisle aircraft demand will be highest in Europe and North America, in Asia the low-cost market is expected to quintuple its fleet from 236 to over 1,300 by 2025." Nov 23, 2006

Airbus raises 20-year forecast more than 30% to 22,700 aircraft. Airbus significantly boosted its long-term projection for commercial aircraft demand in its "2006 Global Market Forecast" released yesterday, predicting that 22,700 new passenger and freighter aircraft valued at $2.6 trillion will be required over the next 20 years, 5,400 more than it predicted just two years ago. Nov 23, 2006

Airbus said "Most significantly, the [2006-25] period will be marked by an increasing demand for new, more fuel-efficient airliners to help address airline operating costs as well as environmental concerns," the company said. "This factor will lead to a higher replacement rate of over 12,000 aircraft." Nov 23, 2006

Airbus said rapid growth in emerging markets like China, India and the Middle East was citied as the main reason for the increase, which boosts the value of commercial aircraft demand through 2025 by $700 billion over the 2004 projection of $1.9 trillion. Nov 23, 2006

Airbus's forecast for "very large aircraft" sales, which contrasts sharply with rival Boeing's prediction. The Toulouse-based builder, which believes its troubled A380 program will be critical to meeting future demand, projects airlines will need 1,260 passenger aircraft with at least 400 seats over the next 20 years, as well as 400 similarly sized freighters. Nov 23, 2006

Airbus said freight tonne kilometers are forecast to increase 6% annually over the same period by Airbus against Boeing's 6.1% prediction, generating the need for 3,580 freighter deliveries of which 800 (22%) will be factory-built. The rest will come from converted passenger models. Nov 23, 2006

Airbus and EADS have pledged to keep a significant presence in the UK, and the government as Europe's biggest defence buyer holds considerable leverage. The German government and DaimlerChrysler have agreed the basics of a deal for future investment in EADS, a government spokesman in Berlin said on Wednesday. Nov 22, 2006

Airbus has orders for more than 2,000 aircraft, which represent about five years' work, Blair said. Delays in the Airbus A380 superjumbo have forced EADS to examine changes in the way it produces large commercial jets, prompting fears in Germany that it could lead to substantial job cuts there. Wings for Airbus planes have been made in Britain by BAE Systems for decades, and like the governments of Germany, France and Spain, Britain has long supplied loans to Airbus to help it develop new planes. The UK government wants those jobs to stay put and wants a voice in how any future loans it provides are spent. Nov 22, 2006

Airbus will boost production of A320 family aircraft to 36 per month from the current 30 over the next two years, Reuters reported. It had intended to produce 34 per month by the second quarter of 2008. Nov 21, 2006

Airbus A380 launched a series of global route proving flights this week as it approaches type certification, Airbus said. A Trent 900-powered aircraft--the second A380 produced--will fly Singapore-Toulouse today after leaving France on Nov. 13 and stopping in Seoul. It will depart tomorrow on a Toulouse-Hong Kong-Tokyo Narita-Toulouse routing and a third journey starting Nov. 21 will include stops in Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai before a Nov. 24 return. The final flight traverses both poles and will stop in Johannesburg on Nov. 26, continue to Sydney and land in Vancouver before finishing in Toulouse on Nov. 30. Nov 20, 2006

Airbus said that CFM-powered A318s received EASA approval for 180-min. ETOPS. US FAA approval is expected in the first half of 2007. Certification of the Pratt & Whitney-powered A318 is planned for the first quarter of next year before entry into service with LAN Airlines. Nov 20, 2006

UK's Prime Minister Tony Blair said the government would continue to do all it could to support Airbus, even though BAE Systems has sold its shares in the European aircraft maker. BAE recently sold its 20 percent stake in Airbus to European aerospace firm EADS, raising concern over the 13,000 Airbus jobs in Britain. Asked in parliament on Wednesday what Britain was doing to ensure those jobs had a long-term future, Blair said: "What we are doing is making a huge investment in Airbus, and that has paid off for the taxpayers since Airbus has been a tremendous success story. Nov 22, 2006

Analysts say Airbus EADS could mount a rights issue or new bond, with some suggesting the company could need EUR3 billion (USD$3.93 billion) to see it through development of the A350 XWB (extra wide body). A weakening dollar is also a threat as planes sell in dollars and EADS sources many components in euros, a currency which hit a fresh 19 month high against the dollar on Friday. The company also faces lower-than-expected income for several years because of delays of the A380 superjumbo, triggering speculation that EADS will need to find fresh funding, possibly by attracting new investors. Russian bank Vneshtorgbank has already bought a stake of more than 5 percent and the Spanish government has said it could be interested in raising its 5.5 percent holding. The exit of European defence firm BAE Systems from Airbus this year has added to speculation that new investors could be on the horizon. Yet analysts said the French will be hesitant about ceding too much control to new investors ahead of French elections set for next April. Nov 24, 2006

Germany does not expect to take a direct stake in aerospace group EADS via state bank KfW or other federal or state institutions, a senior government official said on Thursday. Germany has been thinking about ways to safeguard its influence in EADS should core shareholder DaimlerChrysler cut its 22.5 percent holding by 7.5 percent as Daimler has said it wants to do. Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Berlin wants to keep German-French parity in the group. Her government is concerned that a reduction of DaimlerChrysler's stake could diminish German influence at a time when Airbus is about to push through substantial cost cuts. Under a model being discussed by the government, DaimlerChrysler would retain its current voting rights. Details of the plan have yet to be fully agreed. Nov 23, 2006

Tarom Hungarian took delivery of the first of four CFM-powered Airbus A318s last week in Hamburg. Nov 23, 2006

Editor: Aram Gesar, eMail: [e-mail]

For more global news, reviews, features and analysis, please go to: http://www.airguideonline.com/onlinenews.htm

To Subscribe to our Newsletters: http://www.airguideonline.com/order_formsubs.htm#news

To Advertise: [e-mail]

Nov 13, 2006