Emmanuel Duteil 10:38 am, November 16, 2021
A new wind is blowing in the aeronautics industry.
At the Dubai show, Airbus recorded 366 orders for new aircraft in two days.
After several months of crisis, this is the sign of an encouraging recovery but which remains to be confirmed for our columnist Emmanuel Duteil.
EDITORIAL
The crisis is far from over for the airline sector, but a small wind of optimism is blowing in Dubai.
The emirate has been hosting the Dubai Airshow since Sunday, where manufacturers from around the world gathered.
Present in aeronautics, the European manufacturer Airbus is for the moment full box.
366 of its devices were sold in two days.
A success that remains to be confirmed for Emmanuel Duteil, the head of the economy of Europe 1.
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The aeronautics sector, which chained up orders with the arrival of the Covid-19, found itself on its knees in a few weeks.
Giants like Airbus and Boeing have had to, at the speed of care, reduce the number of planes in production.
And for months, it is the cancellations of orders that the aeronautical giants have recorded.
With the Dubai show, Airbus is pushing hard and relaunching the control meter.
What is interesting is that the European manufacturer sells almost all the models in its range.
He even registered a symbolic first order for his A350F, the cargo version of the A350.
With these new orders, Airbus confirms its upcoming rate increases.
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The market still far from its 2019 level
The clouds are far from being all dispersed.
Global traffic has picked up strongly, of course, but it is far from its record level of 2019. In the third quarter of 2021, the European market was only 52% of its activity in 2019. Airbus mainly sells its single-aisle, sign that the traffic for long links is not ready to take off again.
Even today, it is almost impossible to fly to China from Europe.
The boss of Airbus says it very clearly: the crisis is not over, but this little breeze of freshness on the market is reassuring.
The mere fact that this Dubai show is held face-to-face is a symbol of this recovery.
Especially since the aeronautics industry, like the automobile industry, has made structural adjustments to meet the major challenges that lie ahead. And that's a hell of a storm that can sweep away the traditional players if they can't innovate. Sign of the times: Airbus presented a mock-up of its future zero-emissions aircraft in Dubai. Expected by 2035, this aircraft will fly on hydrogen. The industry will have to respond to a quadruple objective: to fly more and more people while consuming less, by being more responsible, all without causing the prices of airplanes for Airbus and Boeing to explode.
The challenge is great, especially since the race will not be played indefinitely.
The Chinese Comac could become a serious competitor in the years to come.
When we see how Ariane went from an almost undisputed leader at the cutting edge of technology to a group which is now chasing SpaceX, we know what not to do: rest on its laurels and imagine that this that looks crazy today on paper cannot be realized tomorrow.
On this, Airbus has a head start and is teeming with projects.
It remains to transform all these tests to offer a bright tomorrow.