Airbus has announced that it will be increasing production on its popular passenger jet, the A320neo, by as much as 18% for the second half of 2021 to help the struggling aviation sector recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Photo by: Alexandr Podvalny/Pexels
The British aircraft manufacturer has asked suppliers to be ready to ramp up production of the jets from 40 to 47 a month from next July onwards.
This comes as a rare piece of good news as the industry has been at risk of going under owing to significantly lower demand for travel leading to some lobbying governments for bailouts to help floundering aerospace companies.
Airbus recently announced its intention to move towards carbon-neutrality in another move to help it recover from the effects of the crisis using greener and more renewable methods of powering their crafts, offering them another avenue by which they could explore market expansion following a rough year.
However, the ongoing feud with Boeing, which has been dragging on for 16 years now, has put further strains on the company as they are being lobbied by the US to repay loans given by European nations.
The news comes as its US rival prepares to return the 737 Max to the skies after being grounded for nearly 18 months due to safety concerns.
Aerospace is among the industries that may be heavily affected in the case of a no-deal Brexit, signalling a further unknown variable for an already battered sector.
Production of the A320 was slashed back in April in order to cut costs and to minimise losses during the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement made at the time, it said they were "in the process of assessing the implications of the pandemic on its operations and the potential mitigation measures that could be implemented."
British aviation developers also cut 15,000 jobs during the pandemic, which has become an alarming trend in the industry as a whole as they pinch their purses to stay out of the red as the crisis lingers on.
This represents the biggest cut since the business was founded 50 years ago.
Airbus put out a statement explaining the new move. It said: “We have done a re-evaluation of the situation after the summer period. We have refined the plan for the A320 Family programmes based on our current view of the market.”
However, the company stressed that no final executive order had been made, saying: “It is a preparation to increase when certain conditions are met. We have asked the supply chain to protect up to rate 47 to be prepared for when the market recovers. This decision aims to provide some visibility to our supply chain.”
This month, Airbus also announced it had delivered 57 aircraft in September, which provides an optimistic look into the future.
The company has notified suppliers that it may be able to sell aircraft at an even higher rate of production in the coming months.
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