Airbus has made this announcement:

Airbus SE notes the decision of the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding the level of countermeasures it authorizes the United States to impose on products from the European Union (EU). If the United States Trade Representative (USTR) chooses to impose tariffs on the importation of aircraft and/or aircraft components, this will create insecurity and disruption not only to the aerospace industry, but also to the broader global economy. Yet it is still avoidable.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury stated: “Airbus will continue working with its US partners, customers and suppliers, to address all potential consequences of such tariffs that would be a barrier against free trade and would have a negative impact on not only the US airlines but also US jobs, suppliers, and air travelers. Airbus is therefore hopeful that the US and the EU will agree to find a negotiated solution before creating serious damage to the aviation industry as well as to trade relations and the global economy.”

In the coming months, the WTO will determine the amount of tariff countermeasures the EU can impose on US products – including imported Boeing aircraft – in the parallel counter case regarding illegal subsidies to Boeing. The WTO has already found that the US failed to address illegal subsidies causing harm to Airbus. This will provide the EU with grounds to claim countermeasures on US products at a level that could exceed US sanctions.

If applied, these tariffs on both sides will severely impact US and EU industries, putting high costs on the acquisition of new aircraft for both US and EU airlines. Aviation is a global industry. Evidence of that is the fact that close to 40 percent of Airbus’ aircraft-related procurement comes from US aerospace suppliers. This US supply chain supports 275,000 American jobs in 40 states through spending that has totaled $50 billion in the last three years alone. If tariffs are applied, the entire global industry will be harmed.

The only way to prevent the negative effects of these tariff would be for the US and EU to find a resolution to this long-running dispute through a negotiated settlement. Airbus continues to encourage the US Administration and the European Commission to find a settlement to this dispute, and thereby preserve the free, fair competition and open trade that have proven beneficial to the public and essential for a successful and growing global aviation industry.

Airbus has inaugurated its highly automated fuselage structure assembly line for A320 Family aircraft in Hamburg, showcasing an evolution in Airbus’ industrial production system.

With a special focus on manufacturing longer sections for the A321LR, the new facility features 20 robots, a new logistics concept, automated positioning by laser measurement as well as a digital data acquisition system. These will further support Airbus’ drive to improve both quality and efficiency while bringing an enhanced level of digitalisation to its industrial production system.

“By embracing some of the latest technologies and processes, Airbus has begun its journey to set new standards in A320 Family production. This new fuselage structure assembly line is an essential enabler for the A320 Family ramp-up. Increasing the level of automation and robotics enables faster, more efficient manufacturing while keeping our prime focus on quality,” said Michael Schoellhorn, Airbus Chief Operating Officer. “Given the enormous success of the A320 Family and the order backlog, we are taking the necessary steps to ensure our production system can match the excellence of our products and that we are able to satisfy our customers’ needs for our single-aisle aircraft.” He added: “A high level of trust and investment has been placed in our people and factories in Hamburg. We now need to deliver in line with our commitments made to customers while ensuring overall competitiveness.”

For the initial section assembly, Airbus is using a modular, lightweight automated system, called “Flextrack”, with eight robots drilling and counter-sinking 1,100 to 2,400 holes per longitudinal joint. In the next production step, 12 robots, each operating on seven axes, combine the centre and aft fuselage sections with the tail to form one major component, drilling, counter-sinking, sealing and inserting 3,000 rivets per orbital joint.

Besides the use of robots, Airbus is also implementing new methods and technologies in material and parts logistics to optimise production, improve ergonomics and shorten lead times. This includes the separation of logistics and production levels, demand-oriented material replenishment as well as the use of autonomous guided vehicles.

The Hamburg structure assembly facility is responsible for joining single fuselage shells into sections, as well as final assembly of single sections to aircraft fuselages. Aircraft parts are equipped with electrical and mechanical systems before eventually being delivered to the final assembly lines in France, Germany, China and the U.S.

Featuring the widest single-aisle cabin in the sky, the efficient A320neo Family which includes the A321, incorporates the very latest technologies including new generation engines and Sharklets, which together deliver more than 15% fuel and CO2 savings from day one and 20% by 2020 as well as a 50% noise reduction. To date, the A320neo Family has captured more than 6,500 orders from over 100 customers.

Photo: Airbus.

During the 2019 Paris Air Show, Airbus achieved new business for 363 commercial aircraft, comprising 149 firm orders and 214 commitments. In addition to these totals, airlines and lessors also converted 352 existing aircraft orders – mostly from the A320 single-aisle aircraft up to the larger A321neo and also to the new A321XLR. This clearly reflects Airbus successful strategy in offering customers longer-range aircraft in this segment. Moreover, Le Bourget saw successes for the A220 which won new business for 85 aircraft, and for the widebody A330neo for which Airbus received orders and commitments for 24 new aircraft.

The star of the show was clearly the new A321XLR – the next evolutionary step from the A321LR. The XLR is world’s most efficient and longest-range single-aisle aircraft, which will enable operators in this segment to access markets requiring even more range and payload. Overall, this newest model won orders for 48 aircraft, commitments for a further 79 aircraft and 99 conversions from A321 to XLR. These came from a wide range of launch customers from around the world.

In the widebody segment, the new A330neo has built on its positive market reception with additional business from Cebu Pacific and Virgin Atlantic. Particularly pleasing was the sales momentum at Le Bourget for the A220.

Photo: Airbus.