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EADS
gives go ahead for Airbus to launch the A350
•
Strong market demand for all-new A350
• 140 firm commitments from nine customers
• EADS opens window of opportunity to resolve trade
dispute |
Amsterdam, 6 October 2005 – The EADS Board of
Directors has given the go ahead for Airbus to launch the
industrial programme for a new A350 airliner family. This
go ahead together with that received from BAE SYSTEMS, means
that Airbus is now launching the programme.
“The A350 programme has a very promising business case,”
the EADS CEOs Tom Enders and Noël Forgeard said. “The
new airliner family will deliver strong value not only to
Airbus customers but also to Airbus shareholders. With technologically
advanced innovations, many of them stemming from the A380,
the new aircraft is designed to be at the forefront of our
ongoing strategy of offering our customers the most up-to-date
and the
most efficient passenger aircraft in the world. The all-new
A350 will add a new chapter to the already outstanding Airbus
family success story.”
With the official industrial launch of the A350, Airbus
will now be able to book firm orders and expects around
200 of these by the end of the year. Earlier this year,
advanced stage marketing of the aircraft confirmed the extremely
positive market response and has led to 140 firm commitments
from 9 Airbus customers to date. They will only be added
to the already strong Airbus order backlog once they are
turned into firm orders.
Over the summer Airbus had re-examined its global engineering
and manufacturing resources in order to optimize its capabilities.
It has led to the hiring of additional engineers and the
mobilisation of EADS business units, new partners and subcontractors
thus providing the full amount of required resources. “We
are convinced that Airbus will be in a position to deliver
on its promises to all its customers,” the EADS CEOs
concluded.
The A350 is a key part of EADS' internationalisation strategy
as the group is increasingly making use of global sourcing
and high-tech innovation from all over the world while at
the same time strengthening its industrial sites across
Europe.
Backed by the Airbus shareholders BAE SYSTEMS and EADS,
Airbus has applied for support in France, Germany, Spain
and the UK. The European governments have provided letters
of general support for the A350. However, Airbus, EADS and
BAE SYSTEMS have decided that no disbursement should take
place throughout 2006 as long as there is a credible prospect
of negotiations and similar restraint is being undertaken
in the United States.
This further confirms the willingness of EADS, BAE SYSTEMS
and Airbus to settle the trade dispute through negotiations.
EADS CEOs Tom Enders and Noël Forgeard said: “We
strongly support government efforts to find an equitable
and mutually supported resolution and we call upon our competitor
to do the same.”
EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related
services. In 2004, EADS generated revenues of € 31.8
billion and employed a workforce of about 110,000. The EADS
Group includes the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the world's
largest helicopter supplier Eurocopter and the joint venture
MBDA, the international leader in missile systems. EADS
is the major partner in the Eurofighter consortium, is the
prime contractor for the Ariane launcher, develops the A400M
military transport aircraft and is the largest industrial
partner for the European satellite navigation system Galileo.
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