The corona crisis is not over, but Airbus is optimistic for the near future. The aircraft manufacturer is also relying on a business area that its competitor Boeing has previously dominated.
After surprisingly lucrative deals in the Corona crisis, the aircraft manufacturer Airbus is becoming much more confident for the current year.
Group boss Guillaume Faury now expects a profit of four billion euros in day-to-day business, twice as much as previously targeted as a minimum. In addition, the aircraft manufacturer wants to deliver a little more aircraft than in the crisis year 2020, as Airbus announced on Thursday in Toulouse.
In the months of April to June, the group increased sales by 70 percent to 14.2 billion euros compared to the same period in the previous year, which was marked by Corona. The operating profit adjusted for special items (adjusted EBIT) reached a good two billion euros, after a loss of 1.2 billion a year earlier. Now the group performed significantly better than analysts expected on average.
The figures primarily reflect the development of the largest part of the group, the commercial aircraft division. The defense and space division kept its operating profit almost stable, Airbus Helicopters even increased it by more than a fifth.
Despite the recent recovery in the aircraft business, CEO Faury warned that the corona crisis was not over yet. The environment remains unpredictable, he said. Last year, Airbus cut aircraft production by around 40 percent on average and initiated the shedding of thousands of jobs. Now the manufacturer is working on at least gradually ramping up production of the medium-haul jets again.
Airbus also wants to compete with its rival Boeing in the large cargo aircraft: The company is planning a cargo version of the A350 passenger jet. The first copy should go into service in 2025, said Faury. “So far, we have hardly been represented in the market for large-capacity freighters. This is almost exclusively a Boeing field. “
Airbus sees one argument in favor of the A350 freighter in the future CO2 requirements for aircraft, which will apply from 2028. The model is equipped for this, said Faury. The freight version of the older Airbus A330 has so far not had much success with customers.
In the meantime, the manufacturer has won a new customer in Germany for the modernized A330neo passenger version: the Condor holiday airline is renewing its long-haul fleet. By mid-2024, all 16 Boeing 767 jets will be replaced by the same number of brand-new Airbus A330neos. The first copy is expected to arrive in autumn 2022. In this context, however, Airbus only receives additional orders for seven jets. An Airbus spokesman said that Condor will receive the remaining nine machines from leasing companies.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
