EADS expects Airbus to start breaking even on its A380 programme in 2014-15 following improvement to the production cycle on the type.

Speaking at a seminar ahead of the Paris air show, EADS chief executive Louis Gallois said the programme management had "remarkably improved" and the A380 was "out of the woods".

He said it would break even in 2014-15, assuming a US-European exchange rate of €1.35.

Gallois acknowledged that EADS's profitability was "certainly not at a satisfactory level today" but that the company would see a "significant recovery" in 2012, putting it "on the right track if there are no accidents".

EADS needs to balance its commercial aviation business with growth in other sectors, he added.

"Airbus's growth is not making things easy but I can't complain," he said. "This is a luxury problem."

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news