KUALA LUMPUR: European planemaker Airbus SE is working closely with its suppliers as the manufacturer accelerate its production to meet the demand of over 40,000 new aircraft globally in the next 19 years.
Airbus Asia Pacific president Anand Stanley said the company has also increased its workforce post pandemic as well as provide assistance, including finance to suppliers to keep them afloat.
"It's not a single state. It's a journey (of ramp up). We're definitely through that journey, putting a lot of effort working with our suppliers, working internally, staffing up - today we have more employees at Airbus than we had pre-Covid.
"There is more engagement on all sides as much or if not more than pre-Covid. We're monitoring our supply chain and working with them. We have watchtowers. We have suppliers working in-house. We have Airbus experts working in the supply chain," he told Business Times in an exclusive interview at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines' 68th assembly of presidents in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunie last week.
The production that is being accelerated include the A320 family aircraft with a target production rate of 75 per month by 2027 from the current mid-40s, and the A220 production that will be increased to 14 aircraft monthly by 2026.
The A330 production is increased to four per month from 1.5 while the A350 production will be up to 12 by 2028 from the current four monthly.
Stanley said the industry's skyrocket demand for new aircraft post pandemic has led some suppliers not being able to catch up as they face their own challenges during the pandemic which has spilled over to today.
"The rate of demand was so fast post-Covid-19 that the supply has not been able to catch up. There has always been bumps where from time to time there are delays or the synchronisation is not perfect, but we're working on it."
"The goal is to reach these targets (accelerated monthly production) so that we can start to really meet the demand, the huge demand forecast we have out there," Stanley added.
Airbus expects 42,430 new aircraft to enter the global market by 2043, of which 19,500 will be needed in Asia Pacific itself driven by airlines' fleet growth and replacements.
The planemaker said the region will need 16,000 single-aisle aircraft such as the A220 and A320neo (new engine option) family to support short-to-medium haul routes, as well as 3,500 widebody airplanes such as the A330neo and A350 for long-haul routes.
Recent widebody aircraft orders in Asia Pacific included Cathay Pacific's order of 30 A330neo and the A350 orders by EVA Air, Japan Airlines and Korean Air.
Airbus is targeting to achieve its target of delivering a total of 770 commercial aircraft by end-2024. The company has so far delivered 487 airplanes between January and September this year.
As at Sept 30 this year, Airbus' workforce stood at 156,569 employees, up six per cent from 147,893 employees in Dec 31 last year.
Speaking on Airbus' engagement with airlines, Stanley said the company has been working closely with their customers in terms of supporting them through their recovery after the pandemic and re-start their operations.
"In most countries and Asia Pacific, traffic is almost back to pre-Covid levels because airlines have been able to bring up their fleet, and we work very closely with them to accomplish that. We're making progress. We're delivering many more aircraft this year than last year, the year before, and next year we will deliver more than we have this year."
"But at times, we're very disappointed when even if there are slight delays that impact the customers, but we work on recovering them and delivering them as soon as we can," he added.