Airbus weighs production boost for A320 jetliner
TOULOUSE – Airbus Group NV is thinking of further increasing its output of the popular A320 singleaisle jetliner by as much as 26% to more than 60 a month, the company's chief airplane salesman said.
"I, for one, am looking for a rate over 60" aircraft a month, said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer for customers. Building 63 narrow-body jets a month "is clearly justified" by market conditions, Mr. Leahy said.
Airbus already has announced plans to increase output of its A320 jetliner to 50 planes a month in early 2017 from 42 currently.
The company is studying higher output levels, Mr. Leahy said. A decision to build more of the single-aisle planes could come before year-end, he said. The ability of suppliers to support higher output levels is being examined, he said.
Boeing Co., Airbus's main rival, is also raising output of its rival 737 jetliner to 52 aircraft a month from 2018. It currently builds 42 such planes a month.
Mr. Leahy played down concerns the big order backlogs that Airbus and Boeing have built up can't be sustained. The appetite for air travel among the emerging middle class in developing economies will help sustain demand, he said.
Airbus from next year will start building A320 jetliners in Mobile, Alabama, adding a fourth assembly site to those in Toulouse, Hamburg, Germany, and Tianjin, China.
Mr. Leahy also said the plane maker is poised to win "significant" orders for its A330 long-range jets at the Paris Air Show, scheduled to take place next month. Airbus has announced plans to reduce output of the plane from 10 aircraft a month to six a month from next year on weak demand. A further cut in output may be averted if Airbus secures the orders it currently is pursuing, he said.
Airbus continues to study the business case to upgrade its poorly selling A380 superjumbo, Mr. Leahy said.
Emirates Airline, the largest customer for the plane, has been pushing Airbus to build an upgraded version with new engines, dubbed the A380neo. Airline President Tim Clark has said he would buy as many as 200 of the new planes
Mr. Leahy said the business said the plane maker isn't yet ready to launch the program and that it would be difficult to do with just one customer, though he suggested there could be strong demand for such a plane. (WSJ)