By Sangeeta Saxena.
Munich. 22 June 2016. Timelines, innovation and marketing seem to be the key drives for improving sales of Airbus Defence & Space. Dirk Hoke, CEO Airbus DS, informed the TMB16 audience, “We have to become more agile, more faster, increasing the speed of our business, learning to integrate start-up ideas. We are looking at how via technology we can grow our business again. We have to look at our traditional business, military aircraft, to increase the speed of our work and growth.”
Addressing journalists from all across the globe at the Trade Media Briefing he also agreed that developing skills specific to need will be the aim of the European aviation major to be accurate and fasten the production. Competency mapping and identification of key areas of resource development should be the right methodology to be able to improve, he felt.
A new chain of thought which emerged this TMB was the stress that USA is not an ignored or tabooed market, even if it had its own transport aircraft to choose from. “The US will be our target, but clearly not today,” Fernando Alonso, Head of the Military Aircraft division explained . He was optimistic that in foreign sales of at least 200 A400Ms in the next 30 years, US would be the largest prospective client nation. The future step would be to fly an Atlas to Washington and showcase the plane to the US Air Force.
It may be recalled that Mobile, Alabama, already has a state-of-the-art Airbus manufacturing facility for A320s and the same could be used for the assembly of A400M if the order was procured. There is already reasonable American content in aircraft and the percentage would rise in case of sealing a deal. “All this will happen as the Airbus staff in the US are drafting a marketing program, which will draw on an expected strategic plan with a focus on digital systems and connectivity capabilities that will be proposed on the range of military aircraft built by Airbus, “ he said.
He also added, “export campaigns are more difficult, and I prefer to talk about this when we have found the solutions for the issues we are experiencing. But as I am convinced that it is a great aircraft, our determination remains intact.”
It may be recalled that recently Airbus bore the brunt of adverse media for issues coming up with the propeller gearbox on the engine and cracks on the central fuselage of the A400M.
Two planes are expected to have flown 100 hours by June 24 to test an interim Avio propeller gearbox replacing the present system. “Cracking is not a safety issue,” Alonso said. “Safety is guaranteed by inspection intervals.” Once the interim fix is installed, the gearbox will be inspected every 600 flight hours compared to the current 20 hours. This new gearbox from General Electric and Italian subisidary Avio is expected to be delivered next year if all goes well and Airbus is satisfied. Airbus DS will have a revised delivery schedule in two or three weeks.
