LordTyrannus
BANNED
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2014
- Messages
- 2,310
- Reaction score
- -29
- Country
- Location
Airbus CEO Says Turkish Delay in Taking A400M Threatens Ramp-Up
Airbus Group NV (AIR) Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders said hes frustrated by Turkeys failure to accept delivery of the third production A400M airlifter, even though two planes are flying successfully with French forces.
Enders said today that his company is still bargaining over the delivery process with Turkey, which has 10 A400Ms on order and is one of seven so-called core customers that signed up for the military transport plane almost 11 years ago.
The aircraft is ready to go, the CEO said at a press conference. Its the same aircraft that we delivered to the French Air Force that has been instantly operational and fit for flight. I find the situation increasingly unacceptable.
Airbus is ramping up A400M production following years of delays and cost increases that mean the program wont make a profit unless additional orders are won beyond the 174 already secured. The companys travails with the model underscore shortcomings in military activities that last month prompted it to adopt the name of its jetliner unit and drop the European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. identity after 13 1/2 years.
Airbus should deliver 10 or 11 A400Ms this year while working on upgrading the turboprop to its full capabilities, according to Enders, who said the first planes have performed well in ferrying French troops to Mali to combat insurgents.
Support Sought
Enders declined to go into detail about the spat with Turkey, saying: I constrain myself to one word. Bargaining.
He added: In a multinational program thats really a problem. How can you efficiently ramp up production if you have no certainty that your customers are taking those aircraft?
Airbus will seek support from other nations very soon in pressing its case, Enders said. The other core buyers for the A400M, which fits between Boeing Co.s C-17 and Lockheed Martin Corp.s C130J, are Germany, France, Spain, the U.K., Belgium and Luxembourg, with Malaysia as the only export client.
Turkey is a 5.5 percent shareholder in the A400M program, with Turkish Aerospace Industries supplying fuselage and wing parts for the plane to Bremen in Germany and Filton, England, for integration before final assembly in Seville, Spain.
Murad Bayar, head of Turkeys Defense Industry Undersecretariat in Ankara, wasnt available when calls were placed to his office.
Airbus CEO Says Turkish Delay in Taking A400M Threatens Ramp-Up - Bloomberg
Airbus Group NV (AIR) Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders said hes frustrated by Turkeys failure to accept delivery of the third production A400M airlifter, even though two planes are flying successfully with French forces.
Enders said today that his company is still bargaining over the delivery process with Turkey, which has 10 A400Ms on order and is one of seven so-called core customers that signed up for the military transport plane almost 11 years ago.
The aircraft is ready to go, the CEO said at a press conference. Its the same aircraft that we delivered to the French Air Force that has been instantly operational and fit for flight. I find the situation increasingly unacceptable.
Airbus is ramping up A400M production following years of delays and cost increases that mean the program wont make a profit unless additional orders are won beyond the 174 already secured. The companys travails with the model underscore shortcomings in military activities that last month prompted it to adopt the name of its jetliner unit and drop the European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. identity after 13 1/2 years.
Airbus should deliver 10 or 11 A400Ms this year while working on upgrading the turboprop to its full capabilities, according to Enders, who said the first planes have performed well in ferrying French troops to Mali to combat insurgents.
Support Sought
Enders declined to go into detail about the spat with Turkey, saying: I constrain myself to one word. Bargaining.
He added: In a multinational program thats really a problem. How can you efficiently ramp up production if you have no certainty that your customers are taking those aircraft?
Airbus will seek support from other nations very soon in pressing its case, Enders said. The other core buyers for the A400M, which fits between Boeing Co.s C-17 and Lockheed Martin Corp.s C130J, are Germany, France, Spain, the U.K., Belgium and Luxembourg, with Malaysia as the only export client.
Turkey is a 5.5 percent shareholder in the A400M program, with Turkish Aerospace Industries supplying fuselage and wing parts for the plane to Bremen in Germany and Filton, England, for integration before final assembly in Seville, Spain.
Murad Bayar, head of Turkeys Defense Industry Undersecretariat in Ankara, wasnt available when calls were placed to his office.
Airbus CEO Says Turkish Delay in Taking A400M Threatens Ramp-Up - Bloomberg
