By Olivia Bugault

 

Airbus SE has asked suppliers to be prepared for a possible production boost of its A320 family of jets by up to 18% for the second half of 2021, the European plane maker said Friday.

The news, which was reported by the Financial Times on Thursday, comes as the aerospace industry is still crippled by the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

In April, Airbus slashed its production rate by roughly a third to adapt to collapsing travel demand and what many expect to be years of reduced traffic. At that time, Airbus decided to reduce its production of A320 aircraft to an average of 40 a month compared with 60 previously.

Following a reevaluation of the market after the summer, the aerospace giant plans to maintain this level of production for its best-selling narrow-body family jet until summer and has asked its supply chain to "protect" a rate of up to 47 aircraft a month to be ready for when the market recovers, it said.

"This decision aims to provide some visibility to our supply chain and ensure that our industrial ecosystem will be adequately prepared to gradually increase production eventually when the right conditions are met," Airbus said. "This reflects the view that we see the single-aisle market coming back first," is said.

Airbus said the decision isn't final but a "preparation" for "when certain conditions are met."

Shares at 0941 GMT were trading 5.3% higher at EUR67.86.

 

Write to Olivia Bugault at olivia.bugault@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 23, 2020 05:57 ET (09:57 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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