Air India Air Crash A Wake-Up Call For Global Aviation Sector, Says Airbus

Speaking in Paris, Christian Scherer, Airbus’s head of commercial aircraft, dismissed any suggestion that the tragedy could offer a competitive advantage to one manufacturer over the other.

Airbus remains committed to delivering 820 aircraft this year.

Source : Airbus

In the wake of a devastating air crash in India involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Airbus SE has called for a renewed focus on aviation safety, urging the global aviation sector to treat the incident as a critical reminder of the responsibilities it bears.

Speaking during a media interaction in Paris, Christian Scherer, Airbus’s head of commercial aircraft, dismissed any suggestion that the tragedy could offer a competitive advantage to one manufacturer over the other in the Boeing-Airbus duopoly, reported Bloomberg.

“Safety is in everything that we do, so the tragedy in India, we don’t see that in any way, shape or form as a competitive input,” Scherer said. “It is, if anything, a reminder to us all that aviation has become so safe that, statistically speaking, every accident is totally unacceptable.”

The crash, which involved a Boeing 787 operated by Air India, resulted in the deaths of over 270 individuals, including those onboard and several on the ground in a densely populated neighbourhood. The event is being counted among the most severe aviation catastrophes in over a decade. While the cause of the accident is yet to be determined, the incident has raised concerns amid a period when commercial air travel has seen a sharp drop in fatal accidents. 2023 notably saw no deadly crashes involving large jetliners.

Airbus Maintains Focus on Deliveries and Operations

Despite the sombre context, Airbus executives, including CEO Guillaume Faury and CFO Thomas Toepfer, reiterated their operational targets ahead of the upcoming Paris Air Show. Faury acknowledged that production ramp-up goals remain intact, although challenges from global disruptions and supply chain issues continue to add complexity. “A little bit more difficult,” is how Faury described the outlook.

Airbus remains committed to delivering 820 aircraft this year. Scherer noted a positive development on the operational side, pointing to a “meaningful decline” in the number of missing parts as supply chains begin to stabilise.

Meanwhile, Toepfer hinted at a cautious approach to capital deployment, noting that current market uncertainty makes share buybacks unlikely in the near term.

Boeing’s CEO, Kelly Ortberg, will not attend the Paris Air Show, choosing instead to oversee his company’s response to the tragedy. As Scherer reflected, “Every incident in this industry is an immediate reminder of what can go wrong.”