Airbus Executive: Won't Cut Prices To Keep Orders
November 20 2009 - 12:02AM
Dow Jones News
Airbus won't cut prices to keep orders from airlines that have
been hit hard by the economic downturn, a senior executive said
Friday.
"There will be no deals on pricing; we will not destabilize our
pricing or profit margins," Airbus Executive Vice President for
Europe and Asia Pacific Christopher Buckley told Dow Jones
Newswires on the sidelines of the Association of Asia Pacific
Airlines conference in Singapore.
He said Airbus is trying to be flexible and facilitating
customers' requests on deferred deliveries. He noted that the firm
has taken into account airlines' needs on deliveries for the A380
planes, which means it is taking longer to stabilize the production
program.
"But we cannot renegotiate signed contracts," Buckley said.
The executive said Airbus "is on track for deliveries in 2010
and 2011."
Buckley also said that Airbus may cut its A320 production to 32
planes a month from 34 planes currently, "although indications are
that we may not need to do it."
-By Costas Paris, Dow Jones Newswires; +65 6415 4151;
costas.paris@dowjones.com