“Airbus is doing well globally,” said Fabrice Brégier, CEO of Airbus, told a recent gathering of French journalists. He said the market is still well oriented, and a book-to-bill of 1 remains a goal for this year. Brégier presented the update about the main challenges facing the European airframer to members of the Association des Journalistes Professionnels Aéronautiques et de l’Espace (AJPAE) in April.

The main problem, he said is deliveries. Airbus is about to increase the rate of monthly production for the A320 from the current 42 to 50 by 2017. A rate of 60 per month by 2020 is being considered, “if it becomes necessary,” said Brégier. Contributing to reaching that goal of 50 per month will be the new A320 final assembly line (FAL) in Mobile, Alabama, set to begin production this summer, with an official opening scheduled for September 14. It is expected to produce four aircraft per month by 2017, as is the final assembly line in Hamburg, Germany. Questioned about the possibility of an eventual new A320 FAL, Brégier said, “Four FALs are sufficient.” The other two are in Toulouse and Tianjin.

The new Pratt & Whitney PurePower 1100G-powered A320neo, of which almost 3,800 units have been sold, will be part of this increase in production. “A customer who wants to buy an A320 has to wait until 2020 to get a production slot,” said Brégier. The A320neo is still in flight tests; Brégier said certification of the P&W-powered A320neo is still scheduled before autumn, with an entry to service at year-end.

A350XWB Production

Ramp-up for production of the new A350XWB, 15 of which are to be delivered this year, has started, and is expected to reach a monthly rate of 10 to 12 by 2017, according to Brégier. “A350’s ramp-up is key to beating Boeing in tems of deliveries,” said the Airbus CEO. He added that, in 2017, a reengined version of the A330neo, powered by the Rolls-Royce’s Trent 7000, which offers10 percent better fuel consumption, will steadily replace the A330 classic. At that time, the monthly production rate of the A330 will decrease from nine to six aircraft.

Another major challenge facing Airbus is related to its supply chain. “Cabin equipment suppliers should have the same level of industrial standards as airframe suppliers, but generally they haven’t,” said Brégier. He said that serious delivery delays to both Airbus and Boeing by seat supplier Zodiac Aerospace, for example, has signaled a warning. In his opinion, Zodiac isn’t an isolated case.

Brégier also addressed the lack of orders in the A380 program, but said he doesn’t consider it a “trauma” for Airbus. He stressed that Airbus has done everything possible to improve the program. “Perhaps this aircraft came too early but I’m sure it will address the market needs.” Around 30 A380s are to be delivered this year–the breakeven point at which the program is profitable.

Brégier further said an A380neo is off the table until a business case can be found to cover the $2 billion investment that would be necessary. The recent $9.2 billion order won by Rolls-Royce to power 50 Emirates A380s with its Trent 900 could have been considered a sign that the British OEM will develop a new version of the Trent 900 (possibly a Trent 9000), as Rolls did with the Trent 7000, but Brégier has not expressed interest.