Airbus SE has put on hold its plan to remodel the A380 wide-body assembly line in Toulouse, France, into a “digitally enabled” line for assembling its A321 narrow-body jet. The plan was introduced in January, before the drop in new commercial aircraft orders began to impact the Airbus, and before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recently, Airbus SA announced a plan to cut its total production rates by about 33%, to adapt to “the new Coronavirus market environment,” including “a short-term cash containment plan as well as its longer-term cost structure.”
The group noted it delivered 122 new aircraft during Q1 2020, but a further 60 aircraft were completed and could not be delivered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Going forward, Airbus said it will manufacture 40 A320s per month, two A330s and six A350s.
When Airbus announced plans to convert the A380 line it was operating under the influence of a long period of rising demand for new mid-sized aircraft. The Toulouse operation would help fill a backlog of orders for the A321neo, which is assembled at Hamburg, Germany.
