general

Airbus Commercial Aircraft president Guillaume Faury expects the company to have produced around 100 A320neo family aircraft by end of June that will then have to wait for engines to be attached. The situation came about after Pratt & Whitney encountered problems with its new geared turbofan while the other supplier, CFM International, has had delivery delays with the new LEAP-1A. “This is a rather unique situation,” Faury said Saturday. “We have an industrial crisis to manage. It is not a good situation, but we try to communicate with our customers as best we can.” Airbus decided to continue A320neo production in a linear way rather than holding off on building the aircraft. That should allow Airbus to deliver the aircraft in the second half of the year, when delivery rates will be “unprecedented,” Faury said. <br/>

Recaro Aircraft Seating anticipates even faster growth of its seat business in the coming years as demand for retrofits picks up. “The retrofit market is coming back,” Recaro CE Mark Hiller said Saturday. Even if airlines decide to reduce capacity expansion because of higher fuel prices or other reasons Hiller said he does not see growth in the seat market flattening. Recaro’s revenues have grown by around 10% annually over the past few years. Hiller expects that rate to accelerate to around 15% in 2018 and beyond. The company’s focus historically has been supplying economy-class seats for short- and long-haul markets, but it is expanding into the business class segment, where it sees good margins despite more complexity and customisation. <br/>