The co-chief executive of Airbus parent EADS said the company would be in a better position at the end of 2006 despite a turbulent year that saw major delays to the A380 superjumbo and a loss of ground to U.S. rival Boeing Co.
Co-CEO Tom Enders told Dow Jones Newswires that despite 2006 being the company's "annus horribilis" the integration of EADS and its unit Airbus has made progress.
In an interview late Monday, Enders said the European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. would be better positioned at the end of 2006 than it was at the beginning of the year.
After concentrating massive resources on its flagship A380, Airbus has been outmaneuvered by Boeing's two-engine 787, which delivers better fuel economy than older four-engine Airbus jets in the same size category. Higher fuel prices have made the fuel-efficiency argument more persuasive.
Airbus set an industry record in 2005 with 1,111 orders to Boeing's 1,002, but its market share by value fell to 45 percent from 54 percent in 2004, as its widebody airliners lost ground to the rival Boeing 777 and upcoming 787. That share is set to fall to about 37 percent this year, based on the catalog value of the 635 orders it has taken so far, to Boeing's 823.
The Franco-German company said its A350 program also depends on the achievement of cost-cutting targets announced in the wake of a second setback to production of the 555-seater A380, revealed earlier this year.
The superjumbo's overall two-year delay wiped euro4.8 billion (US$6.39 billion) from profit forecasts over four years and has forced Airbus to consider basing assembly work on new models at a single site, rather than splitting it among several countries.
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