Airbus entered 2011 with a clear perspective on its main challenges and opportunities. In the start-of-year press conferences staged by both the European airframer and its EADS parent during January, executives identified the overriding challenge as the continuing battle to control costs. In fact, costs on the troubled A380 program have continued to undermine profitability as the manufacturer struggles to increase output rates in the face of new challenges, such as those resulting from the failure of a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine on a Qantas A380 last November.
Meanwhile, Airbus treads cautiously as it endeavors to keep development of its new A350XWB widebody on track. It has been noticeably muted in terms of how little detail it offers by way of updates on the new program, but COO Fabrice Br⁄gier told the press on January 17 in Toulouse that it seeks to avoid costly engineering and planning errors that could result in work having to be redone. The Airbus financial team also sustains an ongoing strategy for hedging against the continued imbalance between its cost currency, the Euro, and its income currency, the U.S. dollar.
More In Aircraft
