Trade.Information

Company Name: Airbus

Company Type: Aircraft Engineering

Company Profile

The four national entities which had previously formed the Airbus consortium transferred their Airbus-related assets to the new company and became shareholders in Airbus -- Airbus France, Airbus Deutschland and Airbus Espana merging as the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) with 80% shares and BAE Systems with 20%. In 2006, following the sales of BAE Systems' shares, Airbus became an EADS company.

Manufacturing, production and sub-assembly of parts for Airbus aircraft are distributed around 16 sites in Europe, with final assembly in Toulouse and Hamburg.

There are also centres for engineering design, sales and support in North America; and sales and customer support centres in Japan and China. Airbus has a joint engineering centre in Russia with Kaskol.

Around the world Airbus has five spare parts centres, 120 field sites and three fully-fledged training centres -- in Toulouse, Miami and Beijing. Airbus has an agreement with CAE to provide Airbus-approved training courses in many more sites around the world.

Airbus draws on a global network of more than 1,500 suppliers in over 30 countries. The company fosters ties with industry in all the countries where it is represented, aiming to place its suppliers where its customers are.

About Company

Airbus is one of the world's leading aircraft manufacturers, and it consistently captures approximately half or more of all orders for airliners with more than 100 seats.

Airbus' mission is to provide the aircraft best suited to the market's needs and to support these aircraft with the highest quality of service. The Airbus product line comprises 14 aircraft models, from the 100-seat single-aisle A318 jetliner to the 555-seat A380 - which will be the largest civil airliner ever when it enters service.

In 2006, Airbus experienced its best year ever in terms of deliveries, and the second best year in terms of sales. This resulted in a record backlog, ensuring work for the next five years at very high production rates. Its total fleet of delivered aircraft exceeded the 4,500 milestone at the end of 2006, with total sales surpassing the 7,000 mark.

Airbus also has expanded into the military transport aircraft sector. The A400M multi-role military airlifter - being produced under management of the Airbus Military company - will replace ageing fleets of C-130 Hercules and C-160 Transalls beginning in 2009. In addition, aerial tankers for in-flight refueling and transport missions are available in aircraft variants derived from the A310 and A330.