Airbus delivered a record 498 aircraft in 2009, above its 2008 tally of 483 and Boeing’s score of 481. The increase masks what CEO Tom Enders called a “big disappointment” with Airbus’ newest plane, the A380 superjumbo, which also suffered from costly delays. Airbus only managed to deliver 10 A380s last year, well below its initial goal of 18, and Enders said the program will be “a financial liability” for years to come.
Enders also said Airbus should cancel the delayed and over-budget A400M military plane project if customer governments fail to commit more funds soon because it is swallowing money and valuable resources.
The hulking gray turboprop, which made its first flight only last month, is costing 100 million euros ($145 million) each month and valuable engineering resources, Enders said. Airbus was “stupid” to agree to the original fixed-price contract for the A400M, he said at the company’s New Year’s press conference in the Spanish city of Seville. “We should not accept a situation where we continue with stupidity,” he told reporters as he announced Airbus’ 2009 commercial results.
The money being spent on the A400M could be used on other Airbus projects: as well as getting the A380 on track, it is also working on a new widebody, the A350 XWB, and is thinking about fitting a new engine to its A320 single-aisle workhorse.
Analysts have said the threat is aimed at forcing governments to move ahead with a project that supports 40,000 jobs, many of which would be based in Seville, where the A400M is assembled.
The CEO of Airbus parent company EADS, Louis Gallois, said ”we need to solve the issue no later than end of January.” The A400M project was launched six years ago with an order for 180 planes from seven governments -- Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey.
