As Boeing jets sit idle, Airbus can’t make planes fast enough
The troubles plaguing Boeing after the yearlong grounding of its 737 Max plane have created an unusual opening for Airbus to swoop in and grab business. There’s just one hitch: Airbus is in no position to benefit. The aerospace giant has such a large backlog of orders to fill that it cannot immediately produce more of its popular narrow-body jets that airlines view as an alternative to the Max. “It might look like a paradox, but in the short term, we don’t benefit from the situation with our competitor,” Airbus’s CE Guillaume Faury said Thursday. Airbus has been unable to take advantage of the shortfall at Boeing partly because it can’t build planes fast enough. Production of Airbus’s A320 jets — the main competitor to the 737 Max and the bulk of Airbus’s commercial business — is months behind schedule because of slowdowns at some of its European factories. As it is, the company’s A320 jets are sold out through 2025, Faury said, making it “difficult if not impossible” to make new planes quickly for airlines that have been left scrambling to find an alternative since Boeing stopped producing the Max. Even so, in the long-running duel between the two rivals for the top spot in commercial aviation, Airbus is riding high. Story has more details.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2020-02-14/general/as-boeing-jets-sit-idle-airbus-can2019t-make-planes-fast-enough
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As Boeing jets sit idle, Airbus can’t make planes fast enough
The troubles plaguing Boeing after the yearlong grounding of its 737 Max plane have created an unusual opening for Airbus to swoop in and grab business. There’s just one hitch: Airbus is in no position to benefit. The aerospace giant has such a large backlog of orders to fill that it cannot immediately produce more of its popular narrow-body jets that airlines view as an alternative to the Max. “It might look like a paradox, but in the short term, we don’t benefit from the situation with our competitor,” Airbus’s CE Guillaume Faury said Thursday. Airbus has been unable to take advantage of the shortfall at Boeing partly because it can’t build planes fast enough. Production of Airbus’s A320 jets — the main competitor to the 737 Max and the bulk of Airbus’s commercial business — is months behind schedule because of slowdowns at some of its European factories. As it is, the company’s A320 jets are sold out through 2025, Faury said, making it “difficult if not impossible” to make new planes quickly for airlines that have been left scrambling to find an alternative since Boeing stopped producing the Max. Even so, in the long-running duel between the two rivals for the top spot in commercial aviation, Airbus is riding high. Story has more details.<br/>
