Government ministers from France, Germany, Spain and the UK have unanimously thrown their weight behind moves to establish Airbus Industrie as a commercial company. The ministers cite the need to safeguard the competitiveness of the consortium's existing products and the need to allow it to expand into the large-airliner market.
Edzard Reuter, former Daimler-Benz chairman and Airbus supervisory committee head, is due to submit a report in June to Airbus partners Aerospatiale, British Aerospace, CASA and Daimler-Benz on restructuring proposals. At the same time, Airbus is studying launching a rival to the Boeing 747, known as the A3XX.
Following a meeting on 13 May at the Berlin show, the ministers responsible for civil aerospace in the four countries pledged their support for the restructuring, but stressed that only the industry itself could determine exactly what form this reshaping should take.
Germany's Dr Norbert Lammert, who chaired the meeting, says that the issues of restructuring Airbus and expanding its product range go hand-in-hand. He adds: "There is a shared political and industrial objective to bring this [restructuring] about as quickly as possible."
Tim Eggar, the UK's minister for industry and energy, says that there is agreement between all four governments that Airbus' cost base must be lowered. "This recognition means that the restructuring of Airbus is inevitable and desirable," he says, "even without extension to the product range. Restructuring is an absolutely essential part of a movement into new products. Quick decisions have to be taken."
Bernard Pons, France's minister of transport, admits that Aerospatiale was "rather hesitant at the beginning". He adds: "Aerospatiale is also now convinced of the need for restructuring."
Source: Flight International