Airbus believes the support of export credit agencies will be important to assist the funding of deliveries to customers during the air transport crisis.
But the airframer is not intending to extend financing itself, unless particular circumstances warrant such a measure.
Airbus chief financial officer Domink Asam, speaking on 29 April, said the company was “starting to re-engage in much more intensive dialogue” with export credit agencies, adding that only a small fraction of recent deliveries, some 2%, had used them.
“We think it will be a super-important tool going forward,” he says. “We’re very encouraged by signals we’re getting from our home nations in terms of supporting us in this very difficult journey.”
Asam says Airbus is working on the first instances with customers for which it will try to leverage these tools.
But he stresses that, while Airbus is “well-protected” by its cash-flow and liquidity situation, this “doesn’t mean we can support the entire eco-system”.
While the company would not rule out offering financing to facilitate deliveries in exceptional circumstances, he says, this could only be done “very selectively” and as “a means of last resort”.
