Airbus demands more Government funding
03-28-2007, 12:46 PM
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Airbus demands more Government funding
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle1576815.ece
Airbus UK will require further funding from the Government to safeguard its survival, MPs were told today.
Iain Gray, the managing director of the aircraft maker’s UK division, told the Trade and Industry Committee that the struggling company is at a “crossroads” after announcing 1,600 job losses in the UK last month.
He said: “We indisputably need government funding in terms of technology investment ? It is fundamental that we secure investment in future technology.”
He said that new funds for Airbus’s plants in Broughton in Wales, and Filton in Bristol, would be needed to secure the company’s future there “for the next 20 years”.
Filton needs to be transformed to handle carbon fibre composites, which will be used in Airbus’s next generation of long-haul jets, a move that Airbus would not be able to afford without Government assistance, he said.
Airbus is seeking an industrial partner to share the risk of that project, but Mr Gray ruled out a partnership with BAE, which recently withdrew from its 20 per cent stake in Airbus.
The UK Government along with those on the continent have already provided millions of pounds of "launch aid" in the form of guaranteed loans for Airbus A380 superjumbo.
Separately, it emerged that Qatar Airways plans to sign a firm order for 80 Airbus A350 XWB jets, worth some $16 billion. The order would represent a coup for Airbus, who had faced losing the business to Boeing’s rival Dreamliner.
Airbus UK will require further funding from the Government to safeguard its survival, MPs were told today.
Iain Gray, the managing director of the aircraft maker’s UK division, told the Trade and Industry Committee that the struggling company is at a “crossroads” after announcing 1,600 job losses in the UK last month.
He said: “We indisputably need government funding in terms of technology investment ? It is fundamental that we secure investment in future technology.”
He said that new funds for Airbus’s plants in Broughton in Wales, and Filton in Bristol, would be needed to secure the company’s future there “for the next 20 years”.
Filton needs to be transformed to handle carbon fibre composites, which will be used in Airbus’s next generation of long-haul jets, a move that Airbus would not be able to afford without Government assistance, he said.
Airbus is seeking an industrial partner to share the risk of that project, but Mr Gray ruled out a partnership with BAE, which recently withdrew from its 20 per cent stake in Airbus.
The UK Government along with those on the continent have already provided millions of pounds of "launch aid" in the form of guaranteed loans for Airbus A380 superjumbo.
Separately, it emerged that Qatar Airways plans to sign a firm order for 80 Airbus A350 XWB jets, worth some $16 billion. The order would represent a coup for Airbus, who had faced losing the business to Boeing’s rival Dreamliner.
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