Julian Moxon/PARIS
The managing director of Airbus Industrie, Noel Forgeard, has confirmed that the restructuring of the four-nation consortium around a single corporate entity (SCE) is not now likely until the end of 1999. He reiterates that the reorganisation is so urgent that it should go ahead independently of the European aerospace and defence grouping, if necessary.
"Boeing has just finished reorganising and will seize the initiative. We must advance at a forced march," he told the French aviation press club on 10 November. Airbus has a "-gigantic portfolio to manage and products to develop and we must reduce our production costs even more". He says this can only be achieved with a centralised management structure.
Joining the wider European group, however, is inevitable, Forgeard says. "Remaining a standalone entity is not on the cards. This is a cyclic business, so there is a big advantage in using the crossover of technologies and funding between the military and civil sides," he says. He refutes suggestions that the SCE process will be significantly delayed. "We told the shareholders in 1996 that it would be done by 1999. We are redoubling our efforts to achieve that," he says, but he acknowledges that the original deadline of January 1999 is likely to slip to the end of the year.
An industry source says that the four partners have recently agreed on the methodology of how the separate industrial elements that will be contributed to the new company will be evaluated. Forgeard says only that "very significant" progress has been made in some areas.
Talks also centre on whether the unanimity rule, used by the consortium for taking major programme decisions, will stand. Forgeard says: "We're trying to set this up to be as close as possible to a normal company, and we would like to see major decisions taken with a two-thirds majority and simple decisions with a straight majority." He admits, however, that there will "-probably be a need for a level of unanimity" during the transition period to the full company.
The programme launch of the 480/660-seat A3XX family is also targeted for late 1999 and Forgeard says that it should go ahead, whether the SCE has been formed or not, "-because the decision is market driven-we can't risk losing the launch window".
The A3XX will be launched once there are commitments from "three airlines, for around 60 aircraft". Forgeard adds that the $10-12 billion cost of development and industrialisation would cover all of the initial versions of the aircraft.
So far, only European partners have signed up for a risk-sharing stake in the programme, although Forgeard says that talks with the USA's Aerostructures (previously part of Textron) and "three competing Japanese groups" continue. Airbus is still looking for at least 30% of the programme to be taken up by outside partners. "We're not far from that", he says, adding that Finmeccanica is interested in risk and revenue sharing.
Commitments for the new A340-500/ 600 stand at 124, says Forgeard, who adds that the aircraft will relegate the planned long-range Boeing 777X "to the ranks of a regional aircraft", and suggests that a go-ahead for the new, 107-seat, A318 could be imminent.
Source: Flight International
