HV at Airbus: If you want to express criticism, you have to take the corona risk

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The aerospace company Airbus is one of the candidates for promotion to the upper class of the German stock exchange when 40 instead of 30 companies are listed in the Dax in autumn.

How the group involves its shareholders in the annual general meeting in times of Corona is not reminiscent of a high-tech company.

While practically all German DAX companies are currently moving their general meetings to the Internet and shareholders can submit their questions in advance, Airbus is sticking to the old variant.

Although there is a warning about the risk of viruses at the meeting, there is no alternative for shareholders to actively participate.

On this Wednesday (April 14th) another Airbus general meeting will take place in Amsterdam.

The company, which is dominated by Germany and France, has its legal headquarters in the Dutch metropolis.

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Shareholders who want to ask a question face a dilemma.

On the one hand, the group expressly advises against personal participation because of the corona pandemic.

On the other hand, an Airbus spokesman confirmed that shareholder questions can only be asked at the general meeting itself and not online or in advance.

So if you want to protect your shareholder rights, you can't avoid traveling to Amsterdam - including the corona risk.

At least Airbus is making it possible for shareholders to follow this year's Annual General Meeting entirely on the Internet.

However, completely passive.

Questions can not be asked, nor can you vote online.

The group had advised that voting should be transferred to proxy in advance.

The Airbus strategy is in contrast to developments at German corporations as far as virtual general meetings are concerned during Corona times.

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The current special regulation is causing a lot of criticism that shareholders have to submit their questions in advance until shortly before the Annual General Meeting.

In addition, it was said at the Siemens general meeting in the spring that the connection of shareholders to online AGMs was not legally guaranteed.

But there are now loosening and a departure from the “never let one have a say” attitude.

For the first time, Lufthansa and SAP want to play small, pre-submitted three-minute videos by shareholders with questions at their virtual general meetings in order to symbolize their involvement.

Deutsche Bank goes one step further.

At this year's online annual general meeting, it wants to create the possibility for shareholders or shareholder representatives to be connected live with images and sound during the event.

Airbus argues that the form of the general meeting in person in the Netherlands would not allow questions to be submitted in advance.

But why does the aviation group with the former German Telekom boss René Obermann as Chairman of the Board of Directors not choose an Internet AGM?

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To take an example from the Netherlands: The Philips Group has an online general meeting.

Shareholders can submit questions in advance and will be connected live for additional questions.

Controversial topics for shareholder questions

Airbus is a long way from this modern form of shareholder participation.

However, the general meetings of the aviation group were already a specialty before the Corona crisis.

In the two decades since the group was founded, the shareholders' meetings have never been huge events with thousands of participants as they are at large German corporations.

Few shareholders traveled to Amsterdam.

They had plenty of space in a larger hotel room.

The major shareholders are Germany and France with just under eleven percent each and Spain with a good four percent.

There are some controversial issues for shareholders' questions.

This includes the mega armaments project FCAS (Future Combat System) with a new fighter jet.

After speculation about a possible failure of the billion dollar project, there was allegedly a rapprochement between Airbus and the French Dassault concert on contentious points.

However, the budget committee of the Bundestag has to approve the next development step by the end of June.

The group’s increased focus on environmental protection and climate-friendly propulsion concepts for the flying of tomorrow are also causing a stir in the industry.

Airbus wants to present a hydrogen-powered aircraft by 2035.