Airbus wants to seize the skies from Boeing

Every morning, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury scans global air traffic data before checking in with carriers, suppliers, and the leasing companies that keep aircraft deliveries ticking along, even during a time of unprecedented crisis. Although the numbers make for grim reading, this meticulous approach has given Faury an unvarnished view of the aviation industry and the contours of life after the pandemic. This much is clear: Travel patterns have changed fundamentally, and so will aircraft requirements. The biggest planes serving long routes will be the last to return to the skies as carriers favor shorter trips with small aircraft that are nimble and fuel-efficient. Those trends could favor Airbus, which keeps expanding its popular A320 family of jetliners and is considering a hydrogen-powered model for smaller distances by 2035. Boeing remains restrained by the recent grounding of its top-selling 737 Max following two deadly crashes and production flaws with another cash cow, the 787 Dreamliner. It’s also trying to introduce a massive widebody airliner, the 777X, which is three years late. Airline customers have cooled on big aircraft they’ll probably struggle to fill, particularly with business travel likely to remain subdued for years. “We’re quite lucky that the change coming from the pandemic is fitting with today’s product lineup,” Faury says, referring to Airbus’s stable of jets. Story has more.<br/>