Airbus chief executive Fabrice Bregier has reiterated his stance that the aircraft manufacturing company will not abandon its A380 superjumbo, despite slow sales.
However, Bregier did admit that Airbus would only be pursuing its long-term plans of improving performance of the aircraft, once the company had implemented a successful business model.
Speaking to Les Echos newspaper in France, Bregier said: “Long-term, the question will be how to improve its performance by working on aerodynamics and motorisation. But we will not do that until a good business plan can be found. That is not the case now and we have no intention to spend indiscriminately”.
Airbus made headlines at the Aircraft Interiors Expo 2015, when it showcased its mock-up for a proposed A380 11-abreast Budget Economy configuration featuring an 18-inch seat width.
The design is noteworthy as most existing A380 customers today offer the same economy class seat width, but in a 10-abreast layout. Therefore, being able to stack 11 seats in a row without compromising on comfort could prove to be an attractive draw for existing and future customers alike.
Bregier also confirmed that the A380 program would break even later this year, thereby allowing Airbus to maintain and improve the aircraft’s financial performance.
In truth, the chance of the superjumbo program ever getting cancelled was minimal at best. After all, one must consider the effect that such a move would have to Airbus.
For example, Emirates is the largest operator of the A380, with a total of 59 in its fleet currently. The Gulf carrier also has a further 81 on order. Should the superjumbo program be cancelled, Emirates would probably turn their focus to Boeing’s B777-X program – of which it already has a 150 on order.
It would be a very poor business decision by Airbus to cancel the A380 production, and effectively help its biggest rival Boeing to sell more planes. While the American manufacturer has often insisted that the marketshare for “Very Large Aircraft” is small, it has continued to push on with its own B747-8 program.
Airbus is now looking into the possibility of pursuing an A380neo (New Engine Option) project – a development that has been strongly supported by Emirates, as that would allow the superjumbo to be more fuel-efficient and thus lower the number of seats airlines have to sell in order to break even. Bregier has stated that such a decision would require more time to make, due to the financial repercussions it could have.
For more information, visit airbus.com
Clement Huang
