The world civil airliner market looks set to soften during the second half of this year on the back of weakening airline demand for narrowbodies. Order backlogs for widebodies look solid, however, according to aerostructures maker and key Airbus supplier GKN.
Marcus Bryson, chief executive at GKN Aerospace, speaking as his company took possession from Airbus of the wing trailing edge manufacturing facility at Filton in Bristol that it has bought as part of the airframer's Power8 restructuring and outsourcing scheme, says work is so far carrying on at normal rates for GKN.
However, he said he was concerned that second-half output could fall in line with a potential drop to as few as 30 units a month in Airbus single-aisle output.
Bryson says, however, that the Airbus A330 and A340 order backlog looks solid. He says he is confident that if Airbus could make more A380s then airlines would take them immediately, such was the operational and passenger appeal of the superjumbo.
The acquisition of the Filton manufacturing unit makes the company a tier 1 aerostructures supplier to rival the likes of Spirit Aerostructures with projected 2009 revenue of £3 billion ($4.4 billion) and a key strategic partner for Airbus, according to Bryson.
Source: Flight International
