PARIS (Reuters) – The head of Europe’s Airbus urged suppliers to prepare industrially and financially for steep increases in jet output floated earlier on Thursday, and said the industry was returning towards pre-crisis trends for its most-sold model.
Airbus sees demand for single-aisle medium-haul jets like the A320neo as fundamentally strong, gradually resuming a trajectory seen before COVID-19 triggered production cuts.
“It is just there. The pent-up demand is very strong for those flights,” Chief Executive Guillaume Faury told Reuters.
“That is why we are sharing (production scenarios) with them and we are asking them to be prepared, and they have the means to do that. There is a lot of liquidity in the market.”
Airbus earlier firmed up plans for increased output in 2021 and issued a mix of firm targets and industrial scenarios that could almost double single-aisle output by 2025.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by GV De Clercq)
