With COVID-19 in full stream, Airbus is preparing to cut its production rates from its factories.
The Airbus Family – Image, Airbus.
The manufacturer managed to deliver 36 aircraft in March, down from the 55 in February 2020, with customers requesting deferrals due to the current pandemic.
As such, Airbus is reducing the outputs per month – these are now:
- A320 to rate 40 per month
- A330 to rate 2 per month
- A350 to rate 6 per month
For Airbus, this will be a reduction of production by one-third, in which it will meet customer demand and will allow the manufacturer to adapt as needed.
Airbus Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury states
- “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”,
- “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.”
As well as the aircraft production work, Airbus is working with partners to ensure the safety of its employees too. In addition, the manufacturer is Airbus is contributing to the development, sourcing and ferrying of medical equipment, including facemasks and ventilators, in support of medical health services.
Opinion: Settling in for a long downturn
Let’s be honest – airlines won’t want to take new deliveries of aircraft in the current situation unless they’re phasing out older aircraft, or using them as freighters at the moment.
With the production cuts, Airbus is preparing for a downturn in orders as well as deliveries.
As Boeing has also suspended production at its facilities too, a cold winter is starting to emerge for the airframers….
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