Airbus
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Coordinates: 43.6073046°N 1.3642356°E
Airbus SE
Lagardère production plant in Toulouse, France
Formerly Parent company:
• European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company NV (2000 –
2014)
• Airbus Group NV (2014–2015)
• Airbus Group SE (2015–2017)
Subsidiary:
• Airbus Industrie GIE (1970–2001)
• Airbus SAS (2001–present)
Type Societas Europaea (SE)
Traded as • Euronext Paris: AIR
• BMAD: AIR
• FWB: AIR
• CAC 40 Component
• Euro Stoxx 50 component
ISIN NL0000235190
Industry Aerospace, defence
Predecessor Aérospatiale-Matra, DASA, and CASA
Founded 18 December 1970; 49 years ago (as Airbus Industrie GIE)
Founder • Roger Béteille
• Felix Kracht
• Henri Ziegler
• Franz Josef Strauss
Headquarters • Blagnac, Greater Toulouse, France (main office) [1]
• Leiden, Netherlands (headquarters)
• Madrid, Spain (international office)
Area served Worldwide
Key people • René Obermann (Chairman) [2]
• Guillaume Faury (CEO)[3]
Products • Civilian:
A220, A300, A310, A318, A319, A320, A321, A330, A340, A350, A380
• Unmanned aerial vehicles
Revenue €70.5 billion [4] (2019)
Operating €5.04 billion [4] (2019)
income
Net income €3.05 billion [4] (2019)
Total assets €115.19 billion [5] (2018)
Total equity €9.72 billion [5] (2018)
Owner As of 31 December 2019: [6]
• SOGEPA (France): 11.0%
• GZBV (Germany): 10.9%
• SEPI (Spain): 4.1%
• Others: 74.0%
Number of 133,671 (2018 [5])
employees
Divisions • Airbus Defence and Space SAS
• Airbus Helicopters SAS
Subsidiaries • Airbus S.A.S.
• Airbus Group, Inc.
• Airbus Corporate Jets
• Airbus Operations S.A.S.
• Navblue
• Stelia Aerospace
• Airbus Transport International
• Testia
Website [Link]
Airbus SE (/ˈɛərbʌs/; French: [ɛʁbys] ( listen); German: [ˈɛːɐ̯bʊs] ( listen); Spanish: [ˈejɾbus])
is a European[7] multinational aerospace corporation. The 'SE' in the name means it
is a societas Europaea, which enables it to be registered as European rather than
Dutch. As of 2019, Airbus is the world's largest airliner manufacturer and took the
most airliner orders.[8] Airbus is registered in the Netherlands; its shares are traded in
France, Germany and Spain. It designs, manufactures and sells civil and
military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft in the European
Union and various other countries. The company has three divisions: Commercial
Aircraft (Airbus S.A.S.), Defence and Space, and Helicopters, the third being the
largest in its industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. [9]
The company's main civil aeroplane business is conducted through the French
company Airbus S.A.S.,[10] based in Blagnac, a suburb of Toulouse, with production
and manufacturing facilities mostly in Europe (France, Germany, Spain, United
Kingdom) but also in China, the United States and Canada. Final assembly
production is based in Toulouse, France; Hamburg, Germany; Seville, Spain; Tianjin,
China; Mobile, United States; and Montreal, Canada.[11] The company produces and
markets the first commercially viable digital fly-by-wire airliner, the Airbus
A320,[12][13] and the world's largest passenger airliner, the A380. The 12,000th aircraft,
an A220, was delivered to Delta Air Lines on 20 May 2019.[14] By October 2016, the
global Airbus fleet have performed more than 110 million flights, totalling over 215
billion kilometres and carrying 12 billion passengers. [15]
Airbus's registered headquarters is in Leiden, Netherlands, with the operating head
office located in Toulouse.[16] The company is led by CEO Guillaume Faury and is a
component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index.
Contents
• 1History
• 2Products
o 2.1Civilian
o 2.2Consumer products
o 2.3Military
o 2.4Airbus aircraft numbering system
▪ 2.4.1Engine codes
o 2.5Orders and deliveries
• 3Organisation
o 3.1Divisions
▪ 3.1.1Commercial aircraft
▪ 3.1.2Defence and space
▪ 3.1.3Helicopters
o 3.2Subsidiaries
▪ 3.2.1Joint ventures
o 3.3Governance
o 3.4Corporate affairs
o 3.5International manufacturing presence
o 3.6Financial information
• 4Environmental record
• 5Controversies
o 5.1Government subsidies
o 5.2Cluster bomb allegation
o 5.3Insider trading investigation
o 5.4Bribery allegations
▪ 5.4.1South Africa
▪ 5.4.2Saudi Arabia
▪ 5.4.3British and French investigations
• 6See also
• 7Ref erences
• 8Further reading
• 9External links
History[edit]
Main article: History of Airbus
The current company is the product of consolidation in the European aerospace
industry tracing back to the formation of the Airbus Industrie GIE consortium in 1970.
In 2000, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) NV was
established. In addition to other subsidiaries pertaining to security and space
activities, EADS owned 100% of the pre-existing Eurocopter SA, established in
1992, as well as 80% of Airbus Industrie GIE. In 2001, Airbus Industrie GIE was
reorganised as Airbus SAS, a simplified joint-stock company. In 2006, EADS
acquired BAE Systems's remaining 20% of Airbus.[17] EADS NV was renamed Airbus
Group NV and SE in 2014, and 2015, respectively. [18][19][20] Due to the dominance of the
Airbus SAS division within Airbus Group SE, the executive committees of the parent
and subsidiary companies were aligned in January 2017, but the companies were
kept as separate legal entities. The holding company was given its present name in
April 2017.[21]
Airbus Aérospatiale-Matra
SE (Est. 1999) Aérospatiale
(Formed 1970)
(Est.
2000,
renamed Matra
2017) (Est. 1937)
DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG
(Est. 1989) Daimler-Benz's aerospace interests
MTU München
(Est. 1934)
Dornier Flugzeugwerke
(Est. 1922)
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm
(Est. 1968)
Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA
(Est. 1923)
• v
• t
• e
The logos of Airbus Industrie GIE and Airbus SAS displayed a stylised turbine
symbol, redolent of a jet engine, and a font similar to Helvetica Black. The logo
colours were reflected in the standard Airbus aircraft livery in each period. The EADS
logo between 2000 and 2010 combined the logos of the merged
companies, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (a four-ray star) and Aérospatiale-Matra
(a curved arrow), after which these elements were removed and a new font with 3D
shading was chosen. This font was retained in the logos of Airbus Group NV (2014–
2015) and Airbus Group SE (2015–2017), then Airbus SE:
Original, for Airbus A300
2014–2017
2017–Present
Products[edit]
Civilian[edit]
The Airbus A380, the world's largest airliner
The Airbus product line started with the A300 in 1972, the world's first twin-
aisle, twin-engined aircraft. A shorter, re-winged, re-engined variant of the A300 is
known as the A310.
Building on its success, Airbus launched the A320, particularly notable for being the
first commercial jet to use a digital fly-by-wire control system. The A320 has been,
and continues to be, a major commercial success. The A318 and A319 are shorter
derivatives with some of the latter under construction for the corporate business
jet market as Airbus Corporate Jets. A stretched version is known as the A321. The
A320 family's primary competitor is the Boeing 737 family.[22]
The longer-range widebody products— the twin-jet A330 and the four-engine A340—
have efficient wings, enhanced by winglets. The Airbus A340-500 has an operating
range of 16,700 kilometres (9,000 nmi), the second longest range of any commercial
jet after the Boeing 777-200LR (range of 17,446 km or 9,420 nautical miles).[23]
All Airbus aircraft developed since then have cockpit systems similar to the A320,
making it easier to train crew. Production of the four-engine A340 was ended in 2011
due to lack of sales compared to its twin-engine counterparts, such as the Boeing
777.[24]
Airbus is studying a replacement for the A320 series, tentatively dubbed NSR, for
"New Short-Range aircraft".[25][26] Those studies indicated a maximum fuel efficiency
gain of 9–10% for the NSR. Airbus however opted to enhance the existing A320
design using new winglets and working on aerodynamical improvements. [27] This
"A320 Enhanced" should have a fuel efficiency improvement of around 4–5%,
shifting the launch of an A320 replacement to 2017–2018.
On 24 September 2009, the COO Fabrice Bregier stated to Le Figaro that the
company would need from €800 million to €1 billion over six years to develop the
new aircraft generation and preserve the company technological lead from new
competitors like the Chinese Comac C919,[28] scheduled to operate by 2015–2020.[29]
In July 2007, Airbus delivered its last A300 to FedEx, marking the end of the
A300/A310 production line. Airbus intends to relocate Toulouse A320 final assembly
activity to Hamburg, and A350/A380 production in the opposite direction as part of its
Power8 organisation plan begun under ex-CEO Christian Streiff.[30]
Airbus supplied replacement parts and service for Concorde until its retirement in
2003.[31][32]
Product list and details (date information from Airbus)
1st Production
Aircraft Description Seats Max
flight ceased
2 engines, single aisle, originally 108– 133– 2013-09-
A220
Bombardier CSeries 130 160 16
228– 1972-10- 2007-03-27 (561
A300 2 engines, twin aisle 361
254 28 built)
Product list and details (date information from Airbus)
1st Production
Aircraft Description Seats Max
flight ceased
2 engines, twin aisle, modified 1982-04- 2007-03-27 (255
A310 187 279
A300 03 built)
2 engines, single aisle, shortened 2002-01- 2013-12-31 (80
A318 107 132
6.17 m from A320 15 built)
2 engines, single aisle, shortened 1995-08-
A319 124 156
3.77 m from A320 25
1987-02-
A320 2 engines, single aisle 150 186
22
2 engines, single aisle, lengthened 1993-03-
A321 185 240
6.94 m from A320 11
246– 406– 1992-11-
A330 2 engines, twin aisle
300 440 02
239– 380– 1991-10- 2011-11-10 (377
A340 4 engines, twin aisle
380 440 25 built)[24]
270– 2013-06-
A350 2 engines, twin aisle 475
350 14
2005-04-
A380 4 engines, double deck, twin aisle 555 853 2021 (planned)[33]
27
VIP aircraft Airbus A330 of Qatar Amiri Flight taxiing on Zagreb airport
Airbus Corporate Jets markets and modifies new aircraft for private and corporate
customers. It has a model range that parallels the commercial aircraft offered by the
company, ranging from the A318 Elite to the double-deck Airbus A380 Prestige.
Following the entry of the 737 based Boeing Business Jet, Airbus joined the
business jet market with the A319 Corporate Jet in 1997. Although the term Airbus
Corporate jet was initially used only for the A319CJ, it is now often used for all
models, including the VIP widebodies. As of December 2008, 121 corporate and
private jets are operating, 164 aircraft have been ordered, including an A380
Prestige and 107 A320 family Corporate Jet.[34]
In September 2014, Aerion partnered with Airbus (mainly Airbus Defence)[35] to
collaborate on designing the Aerion AS2, a supersonic 11-seater private business
jet, hoping for a market entry in 2021.[36] Airbus was replaced with Lockheed Martin in
2017.[37]
Consumer products[edit]
In June 2013, Airbus announced that it was developing a range of "smart suitcases"
known as Bag2Go for air travellers, in conjunction with luggage-maker Rimowa and
IT firm T-Systems.[38][39] The cases feature a collection of built-in electronic gadgets
which communicate with a smartphone app and with the IT systems of the airline, to
assist the traveller and improve reliability and security of baggage handling. Gadgets
include a weighing scale and a location tracker, using GPS for location
tracking, RFID for identification, and a SIM card for messaging.[40][41] Since then,
similar products have been announced by other companies.
Military[edit]
In the late 1990s, Airbus became increasingly interested in developing and selling to
the military aviation market. It embarked on two main fields of development: aerial
refuelling with the Airbus A310 MRTT (Multi-Role Tanker Transport) and the Airbus
A330 MRTT, and tactical airlift with the Airbus A400M Atlas.
The first A400M in Seville, 26 June 2008
In January 1999 Airbus established a separate company, Airbus Military SAS, to
undertake development and production of a turboprop-powered tactical
transport aircraft, the A400M.[42][43] The A400M is being developed by
several NATO members, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey,
and the UK, as an alternative to relying on foreign aircraft for tactical airlift capacity,
such as the Ukrainian Antonov An-124 Ruslan[44] and the American C-130
Hercules.[45][46] The A400M project has suffered several delays;[47][48] Airbus has
threatened to cancel the development unless it receives state subsidies. [49][50]
Pakistan placed an order for the Airbus A310 MRTT in 2008, which will be a
conversion of an existing airframe as the base model A310 is no longer in
production.[51] On 25 February 2008 Airbus won an order for three air refuelling MRTT
aircraft, adapted from A330 passenger jets, from the United Arab Emirates. [52] On 1
March 2008 a consortium of Airbus and Northrop Grumman had won a $35 billion
contract to build the new in-flight refuelling aircraft KC-45A, a US built version of the
MRTT, for the USAF.[53] The decision drew a formal complaint from Boeing,[54][55] and
the KC-X contract was cancelled to begin bidding afresh. [56][57]
Airbus aircraft numbering system[edit]
The Airbus numbering system is an alpha numeric model number followed by a dash
and a three digit number.[58]
The model number often takes the form of the letter "A" followed by a '3', a digit, then
followed normally by a '0', for example A350. There are some exceptions such as:
A220, A318, A319, A321 and A400M. The succeeding three digit number represents
the aircraft series, the engine manufacturer and engine version number respectively.
To use an A380-800 with Engine Alliance (EA) GP7200 engines as an example; The
code is 8 for series 800, 6 for Engine Alliance and engine version 1, thus the aircraft
number is A380-861.
An additional letter is sometimes used. These include, 'C' for a combi version
(passenger/freighter), 'F' for a freighter model, 'R' for the long range model, and 'X'
for the enhanced model.
The typical Airbus numbering system does not apply to the A220, therefore it would
be incorrect to label an A220-300 as "A220-371".
Engine codes[edit]
Code Manufacturing company
0 General Electric (GE)
1 CFM International (GE and SNECMA, now a subsidiary of Safran)
2 Pratt & Whitney (P&W)
International Aero Engines (P&W, R-R, MTU, Kawasaki, Mitsubishi, and IHI) (IAE
3
V2500 for A320ceo Family)
4 Rolls-Royce (R-R)
Code Manufacturing company
5 CFM International (GE and SNECMA/Safran) (CFM-I LEAP-1A for A320neo Family)
6 Engine Alliance (GE and P&W) (EA GP7200 for the A380)
7 Pratt & Whitney (P&W) (PW1100G for A320neo Family)
Orders and deliveries[edit]
Aircraft Orders Deliveries In operation Unfilled
A220 658 111 111 547
A300 561 561 235 —
A310 255 255 65 —
A320ceo* 8,127 8,065 7,602 62
A320neo* 7,395 1,248 1,248 6,147
A330ceo* 1,486 1,449 1,394 37
A330neo* 337 46 46 291
A340* 377 377 236 —
A350* 935 358 358 577
A380 251 242 240 9
Total 20,382 12,712 11,535 7,670
* All models included.
Data as of 29 February 2020.[59]
