Airbus slashes jet output to deal with virus crisis

PARIS — Airbus announced plans to cut jetliner production across the board after the coronavirus epidemic triggered aviation’s worst industrial crisis and drastically reduced deliveries to cash-starved airlines.

In its largest-ever production adjustment, the European manufacturer said it was reducing output of its best-selling A320 narrow-body family by a third to 40 aircraft a month.

It also cut production of larger wide-body jets with the A350 falling by about 40 per cent to six aircraft a month, and the A330 family down by more than 40 per cent to two aircraft a month, based on the most recently published Airbus production figures. Announcing a parallel slowdown in new investments, chief executive Guillaume Faury said the cuts reflected the “new realities” of airlines, whose industry association warned this week of the loss of 25 million jobs dependent on air transport.

“We have no short-term cancellations in front of us, but we have a lot of requests for postponements and deferrals... for 2020 and sometimes 2021,” Faury told reporters. “That’s why we are decreasing our production rates.” The move, which Airbus said represented an average output reduction of a third, came as data showed that March deliveries halved to 36 jets.

Reuters reported last week that Boeing’s European rival was considering sharp cuts in all models in the face of plunging demand, cash problems at airline customers and logistical difficulties in delivering aircraft. Aviation has been hit worldwide by the pandemic.

Airbus has experienced particular disruption since France and Spain — two of its host nations alongside Britain and Germany — put populations in lockdown after March 17.

Since then, it has delivered just six aircraft. Total first-quarter deliveries fell 25 per cent to 122.

Airbus produced a further 60 jets that it was unable to deliver because of the crisis, which has forced many airlines to seek postponements and prevented others from sending teams. —