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Published: Monday, 19 August 2024 16:47
World’s biggest jet maker has had a frustrating change in fortunes, having been confident it could capitalize this year on a postpandemic surge in demand Christian Scherer, head of Airbus’s commercial aircraft unit, has sought to ramp up production. ‘I thought we were going to be in a better place,’ he says. Christian Scherer, head of Airbus’s commercial aircraft unit, has sought to ramp up production. ‘I thought we were going to be in a better place,’ he says.
When Christian Scherer took the job of running Airbus’s AIR -0.03%decrease; red down pointing triangle commercial aircraft division at the start of the year, the gig looked like a slam dunk.
The plane maker had just smashed its record for annual orders, airlines were still clamoring for more jets and production was ramping up. The company’s only significant rival, Boeing BA -0.15%decrease; red down pointing triangle, had been flung into a fresh and escalating crisis after a door-size panel blew off the side of a 737 midflight.
Since then, Airbus has been dogged by delays, prompting the company to cut its annual delivery guidance and defer a long-heralded production target. Orders during the first half of the year were less than a third of the intake in the same period of 2023, and the company’s stock is now down more than 20% since it hit a record high in March.
It is a frustrating change in fortunes for the world’s biggest jet manufacturer, which was confident it could capitalize this year on a postpandemic surge in demand. Instead, Airbus is mired in supply-chain issues.
Excerpt from WSJ
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