Bad news that Virgin Atlantic has postponed taking delivery of the Airbus A380 s until 2013 – six years after it was due to acquire the first of the six superjumbos it has on order.
It cannot be denied that Airbus is in trouble, only two years after the plane was hailed as a 747-beater. Wiring problems have put the project back by two years and a number of airlines are reassessing their commitment to buy it.
This is a crucial time for the UK Airbus operation. The company is by far the biggest manufacturing employer in North Wales, with over 6,000 workers at its Broughton plant and more than 20,000 additional jobs throughout Wales and the North West depending on it. Two weeks ago, BAe disposed of its 20 % stake in the company, leaving it with no British equity interest. There will, we are told, be a UK government-appointed director on the Airbus board, but his influence will be limited.
The next big product to come out of the company will be the wide-bodied longhaul jet, the A350XWB. This will be a revolutionary aircraft, constructed principally of lightweight composite material. It will be going head to head with a lightweight Boeing rival. It will probably be a make or break offering by Airbus.
The wings for the new plane will be made of carbon fibre, an entirely new technology. It is vital for the UK aircraft industry that they are made in Broughton. However, the Spanish arm of Airbus is making a strong bid to build them in Spain, which has an equity interest in the company and hence, it would appear, more influence within Airbus than Britain.
We cannot afford to let the A350 wings be built anywhere but Broughton – it is too crucial to the North Wales economy. The government has been in talks with Airbus for some time over the building of a new wing-making R&D facility in the UK. Airbus must be given total support for that project, but in return it must give guarantees of its commitment to Britain.
It cannot be denied that Airbus is in trouble, only two years after the plane was hailed as a 747-beater. Wiring problems have put the project back by two years and a number of airlines are reassessing their commitment to buy it.
This is a crucial time for the UK Airbus operation. The company is by far the biggest manufacturing employer in North Wales, with over 6,000 workers at its Broughton plant and more than 20,000 additional jobs throughout Wales and the North West depending on it. Two weeks ago, BAe disposed of its 20 % stake in the company, leaving it with no British equity interest. There will, we are told, be a UK government-appointed director on the Airbus board, but his influence will be limited.
The next big product to come out of the company will be the wide-bodied longhaul jet, the A350XWB. This will be a revolutionary aircraft, constructed principally of lightweight composite material. It will be going head to head with a lightweight Boeing rival. It will probably be a make or break offering by Airbus.
The wings for the new plane will be made of carbon fibre, an entirely new technology. It is vital for the UK aircraft industry that they are made in Broughton. However, the Spanish arm of Airbus is making a strong bid to build them in Spain, which has an equity interest in the company and hence, it would appear, more influence within Airbus than Britain.
We cannot afford to let the A350 wings be built anywhere but Broughton – it is too crucial to the North Wales economy. The government has been in talks with Airbus for some time over the building of a new wing-making R&D facility in the UK. Airbus must be given total support for that project, but in return it must give guarantees of its commitment to Britain.
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