The Evolution of Airbus: On the brink of bankruptcy to a masterclass
The Evolution of Airbus: On the brink of bankruptcy to a masterclass
In December 1970, a jet landed on American soil for the first time. The plane was more efficient and powerful than its counterparts. The name is said to be the Airbus A300. Airbus sent the plane on a tour across the globe. But due to it being unproven, no one wanted to take a risk on it. Rather, the airline industry said that this plane doesn’t have any future.
Airbus A300
Source: Airbus
The Europeans set standards for the aviation industry after World War II. But the Americans soon caught up and surpassed the Europeans. In the mid-1960s, the world was flying American jets. Manufacturers like Boeing and McDonnell Douglas gave tough times to the European manufacturers in terms of competition. Soon, 80% of the jets used in the aviation industry were made in America. European manufacturers like BAC, Fokker, and Dassault were struggling to compete. As they had a limited amount of resources, they were busy building jets for their own
Image: Statistics regarding Market share between Europe and America
Source: ResearchGate
countries. But the structure of competing with America was being built into the project Concorde. The Concorde was the first supersonic commercial jet to break the speed of sound, and it was built with the cooperation of France and Britain. Though Concorde was a political project, it laid the foundations of a cooperative aviation industry in Europe.
Image: Concorde
Source: Aviation Geek
As the world was going through a global recession, oil prices were increasing. The aviation industry wanted a plane that would be cheaper to operate and could carry more passengers, likely to be named "AirBus.”. The European giants like France, Britain, and Germany came together to build aircraft. Later, the Dutch and the Spanish joined them. Thus, the company Airbus was formed.
Different countries brought their expertise to build the aircraft.
France: Aircraft control System.
Germany: Made the Fuselage.
British: Made the wings.
Dutch: Control surface of the Aircraft.
Spain: Made the tail of the aircraft.
Image: Distribution system of Airbus
Source: Bloomberg
Image: General Electric CF6
Source: General Electric
On September 28, 1972, the Airbus A300 made its debut flight. But it was only the beginning, as no one wanted to take a gamble on this company. The plane was unproven, and no validation was given to it by the airline companies. In 1973, the aircraft was sent on a sales tour in America. During this tour, the plane demonstrated more than 40 flights. From the core, this plane was made for America. Actually, one-third of the plane components used were made by American companies. But none of the American companies ordered one. In 1974, Boeing Vice President Jim Austin said, "A typical government airplane. They’ll build a dozen or so and then go out of business.”
The comment of the Boeing vice president can’t be ignored, as Airbus, from December 1975 to May 1977, couldn’t sell a single airplane. The government told them to seize the operation. In 1977, Airbus gave Eastern Airlines four of it’s aircraft to operate for a time period of six months, which could be said to be the biggest gamble any company has made.
Image: Eastern Airlines Airbus a300 landing in Zurich International Airport, Switzerland
Imperial found the plane to be at least 20% more efficient than other planes in its fleet. Eastern offered $778 million for 23 aircraft, which is said to be the single largest order given by an American airline company. Airbus would go on to break the ETOPS 60-minute rule by FAA.
In the 1980s, Airbus got more than 200 orders. The A300 set the standards for the aviation industry and Airbus. Airbus would go on to make the largest commercial passenger on the basis of their A300 framework. That plane was named the Airbus A380 and would go on to become arguably the second-largest manufacturer of commercial jets after Boeing.
Image: Airbus Family
Source: Airbus
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