‘Overloaded’ Airbus promises A350XWB will hit its targets

Airbus insists the A350-800XWB will make it to market on time in 2013, despite the company’s failure to close on plant divestments that would have helped p

By Gregory Polek • Senior Editor

July 2, 2008

Airbus insists the A350-800XWB will make it to market on time in 2013, despite the company’s failure to close on plant divestments that would have helped pay for $1.5 billion in needed upgrades to key manufacturing sites. Capital investment won’t present a problem, it contends, and lessons learned from the A380 and the Boeing 787 will only improve the chances that the airplane could roll out early, regardless of the pressures of various other projects that must accelerate in parallel.

“Some observers say that Airbus is overloaded,” commented CEO Thomas Enders during a mid-May Technical Press Briefing at the company’s headquarters in Toulouse. “And ladies and gentlemen, in some sense they’re right. Yes, we have a lot on our plate… But I believe we have no alternative; there are no options. We have to find a way, and I think we have found a way to manage most of these issues at the same time.”

The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background. The rest of this article continues for AIN Members with the full report, analysis and background.

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