FleetBuzzEditorial.com

Record Deliveries For Airbus In Single Year

A320 Leads Delivery Surge

A350XWB Margin Shrinks

Airbus ended 2009 on a high and looks to the forthcoming year with questions surrounding the fate of the $44bn A400M transporter.

Despite suffering a near 4% fall in revenue, Airbus managed to deliver 10 A380′s, down from its initial projects of 18 earlier last year.

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In contrast to arch-rival Boeing, the end figures for 2009 ended up like this:

Single Aisle:

Boeing 737NG : 372 deliveries
Airbus A320  : 402 deliveries
 
Twin Aisle Widebody:

Boeing 767/777 : 101 deliveries
Boeing 787 : 0 deliveries

Airbus A330/A340 : 86 deliveries
Airbus A350XWB : 0 deliveries
 
Large Widebody:

Boeing 747-400 : 8 deliveries
Boeing 747-8 : 0 deliveries

Airbus A380-800 : 10 deliveries 

The immediate challenge for Airbus will be to make good on attempting to deliver double the amount of A380′s this year in contrast to 2009 while trying to alleviate the spate of technical glitches that have led some to question the maturity of the model given the frequency and variety of faults that have plagued the current operators of Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qantas and Air France.

“The A380 will still be a financial liability of the company for years to come,” said CEO Tom Enders.

“I’m not happy with the cost situation, it needs significant improvement.“

In declaring the A380 a financial liability, Enders made clear that definitive action on the other big drain, the A400M, was also needed.

“Airbus won’t be taking a cent of profit on the aircraft [A400M] should it still be being manufactured twenty years from now for domestic Europe or export. Maybe the same is true for the A380 program as well,” says senior BGC Strategist Howard Wheeldon.

However, he cautions against culling the A400M.

“To my mind what matters most now is that having got this far it would be quite ridiculous for governments to walk away.“ 

Terminating the A400M would incur significant penalties and would obliterate the €8bn cash that EADS currently has, much of which will be used on the R&D expenses as costs on the A350XWB program peak prior to assembly of the first prototype.

The most interesting numbers that emerge from Airbus’ 2009 achievements is that of the A340 family.

The order spreadsheet now no longer lists the six outstanding A340-600′s for Virgin Atlantic – most likely dropped as part of their order for A330-300′s. In a stunning reversal of fortune since launch, it appears that the A340-500/600 have come to a sudden industrial death less than a decade after being launched.

Airbus has had a great 2009 – no question.

While securing 310 orders (gross), the challenge for the next twelve months starts immediately with the work on the A350XWB family – while Airbus affirms its 2013 service entry date, Chief Operating Officer Fabrice Bregier noted that the A350 had used some of its margin in relation to first deliveries as the company trades cutting excess weight for a timely first handover to launch customer Qatar Airways.

Questions have been raised about the viability of sustaining production rates on the 737 and A320 and perhaps this is the year adjustments are made. With 80% of Airbus deliveries comprising A320′s, it’s a decision that will not be made lightly, particularly as customers have already deferred orders across both model families.

Expenses during 2010 will underscore Airbus’ ability to deliver.

A decision on the A400M, funding required for the A350XWB as well as Enders criticism on the A380 and the shifting of resources away from the commercial division serve only to remind that Airbus, like Boeing, has more hurdles ahead than have been cleared.

Whether 2010 yields results for either OEM will depend on where their portfolio of airplanes are on December 31st.