Initially, the idea was laughed at initially, nobody wanted to believe it was an aircraft manufacturer from Europe. And Yes, at the Start everything ran smoothly. But 50 years later, the Airbus from the sky is not indispensable.
It was a milestone for the European industry history: 50 years Ago, the birth of the aircraft manufacturer Airbus hit in Germany and France. What was ridiculed in the US as a nice attempt, developed a model for success.
Today, Airbus is in addition to the US group Boeing, the only significant manufacturers of larger passenger aircraft at all. And because of the rival of the us after the crash of two Jets and the flight ban for the type 737 Max in a serious crisis, could Airbus upgrade, of all things, in the anniversary year for the biggest aircraft builders in the world.
A plane like a Bus?
It was actually already in 1965, when the German company Messerschmitt, Bölkow, Dornier-Werke, Hamburger Flugzeugbau, and the United flight Technische Werke founded the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Airbus, a competitor to the US manufacturers Boeing and McDonnell Douglas to build.
The Name Airbus made at the time for some to ridicule. The mission of the Germans was actually the Bus: simultaneous boarding and Alighting, low fares, quick frequency. Of these ideas was later implemented, however, as good as nothing – airports and infrastructure to rebuild, which would have cost billions.
From the early days of Airbus, The A300. Here, as a cargo plane for the Turkish ACT on the road.
A very French of German
Until the merger with France’s Aerospatiale, is regarded as the true founding date of Airbus. 29. In may 1969 by the German Federal government’s Minister of economy Karl Schiller and the French transport Minister, Jean Chamant their signatures under the Treaty, of the European agreement. The British were shortly dropped out previously.
Later, the Spaniard joined the project yet. The work could now begin. The main site in the southern French city of Toulouse. The first production Director of the German Felix was a wreck.
The weekly newspaper “The times” described him in 1979 as follows: “As a native French, the yellow Gauloise cigarette falls to him Talking out of the corner of his mouth.” In the Airbus factory in Toulouse, it was argued, it would not Pass, but the Can.
The breakthrough Americans brought
In the South of France was then fiddled on the A300 is a widebody aircraft for Long – and medium-haul routes. Today it is regarded as a milestone in the internationalisation of aviation – at the time, was less convinced. The magazine “der Spiegel” called the machine a “thick-bodied Provinzjet”.
Initially, the passenger machine with 250 to 300 seats, in fact, hardly any customers – although rival Boeing at the time had to offer in this Segment is nothing comparable to.
CSU politician Franz Josef Strauß, who was, in 1970, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Airbus, campaigned on his travels for the plane. But the breakthrough came in first, as, of all things, an American airline with a large order gave.
The Airbus A320 to a landing on the small airport of Sylt – the largest of Airbus’s success.
The British are in the same boat
In 1979, the British Airbus joined now – today, Airbus has concentrated almost all of its Tragflächenbau in the UK. Airbus continued over the decades, technical accents, which, although initially controversial, but the market prevailed. The “fly-by-wire”technology is one of the witnesses in the case of passenger aircraft. This electronic flight control is now Standard in modern Cockpits.
Air and space travel, military and civil
In the year 2000, Germany, France and Spain were the largest portion of their business in the civil and military aviation and space travel – it is Europe’s largest aerospace and arms group. The new company was called Aeronautic Defense and Space Company – in short, EADS. EADS brought it but never to a strong brand, and was eventually completely rebuilt and after its main subsidiary called Airbus.
The rivals finally caught up
In Germany, Airbus has the world’s second-greatest work. In Hamburg-Finkenwerder, more than 13 000 employees work on the construction of transport aircraft. There, Airbus is celebrating this Wednesday his birth with all the staff.
In Finkenwerder be produced, for example, for the giant Jet, the A380 parts of the hull and the cabin. More than half of all annually produced machines for the A320 family comes from Hamburg.
Overall, Airbus in Germany, with more than 46 000 employees in 27 locations of the largest employers. Even if the history of the Airbus founding company goes back much further, is not the group itself even half as old as its rival Boeing, the celebrated in 2016, its 100-year anniversary. However, shortly after the turn of the Millennium, Airbus collected more orders than the US group. And in the year 2018, the Europeans, with 800 pre-advanced delivered Verkehrsjets on only six machines at Boeing.
The A380. The giant plane with four engines turned out to be a Giant miscalculation.
Giant plane as a giant flop?
Contributed to this rise of the giant plane type A380 at least. In the case of the double-Decker aircraft, replacing the beginning of the Millennium, Boeing’s Jumbo as the world’s largest passenger jet, had Airbus rather bad offset: in the absence of new orders, the group’s top management announced in February, the end of the production for the year 2021.
To the true best seller of the since the 1980s, built of medium-range jets, the A320-series developed. Your new edition of A320neo aircraft with larger, more fuel-efficient engines, drove the Boeing 737 and even supremacy in the strongest airplane segment – the production is fully booked for years to come.
The competitor stumble
Boeing went with a modernization of its model – but the move became a Disaster. Two machines crashed, 346 people died, partly responsible for a Cockpit to be Software. Since mid-March, a world of prohibition-wide flight, the deliveries are stopped, the production is throttled.
While rivals from Europe, no gloating, nevertheless. “I am no one to say: This can’t happen to us,” said the longtime Airbus chief Tom Enders, shortly before he handed over the group’s management in April to the French Guillaume Faury.
Enders left his successor, however, also a lot of work: anti-corruption investigations in the UK and France, have placed the group in the last time, under severe pressure.
Ultimately, Airbus in 2019 could deliver more planes than Boeing. It would be a victory with a bland aftertaste. But the Europeans had achieved in spite of failures, bad luck and breakdowns of the A380 and the burned billion for the A400M military Transporter, the goal is to be in the aircraft business at the top of the world.
-
A380: No future for the Super-AirbusThe Giant
The A380 looks impressive, and represents almost every competitor on the field, in the shadows. At a length of 72.7 meters, the machine has a wingspan of 79.8 m, their height is to 24.1 m. On both Decks, the Airline Emirates promoted, for example, in the “Three-class Version of ‘Extra-large'” 489 and in the “Two-class Version of ‘expansive'” up to 615 passengers.
-
A380: No future for the Super-AirbusThe first copy
Singapore Airlines was the first airline to put the A380 into service. Here are the proud owners gathered at the airfield in Toulouse, to the big day to be documented. 15. In October 2007, was: The future of commercial aviation lies in the mass. Meanwhile, Singapore has set the premiere plane out of service.
-
A380: No future for the Super-AirbusAt the beginning of an Era?
In the case of the passengers of the aircraft is good. The Boarding of as many passengers will take in, sometimes a little longer. The infrastructure of most of the airports is unable to cope with the A380, however. Therefore, the machine flying most often between the major Airports: London, Frankfurt, New York, Singapore.
-
A380: No future for the Super-AirbusThe first landing
Landing after 3:54 hours of flight time: 27. In April 2005, the first official flight of the giants took place. The concept with four engines seemed no alternative. In the meantime, it is clear: with only two turbines under the wings, you can fly such a giant safe, and cheaper. Airbus had planned twin-engined Neo Version, due to cost Billions, but decided against it.
-
A380: No future for the Super-AirbusExplosion of Turbine number Four
30.By September 2017, there was over Greenland to a spectacular incident in an A380 Air France: On the flight to Los Angeles, a wave broke in the outer starboard Turbine, the first Fan broke and crashed to the ground. The pilots were able to land the machine safely. Overall, the A380 but has a good reputation – it is considered as a safe plane.
-
A380: No future for the Super-AirbusOf the little sister left behind
The main argument that had not advertised with the Airbus flagship, the large passenger capacity, namely, but moved. On the contrary, The short-haul aircraft Airbus A320 of the real bestseller of the pan-European aircraft manufacturer is. Of the type, the second edition of “A320neo” is currently being built, are already flying 4257 machines, in addition 6526 orders are not yet available.
-
A380: No future for the Super-AirbusA worrying Trend
Of course, smaller machines are selling because of the greater demand more than wide-bodied aircraft such as the A380 here, the shell of the first copy. Nevertheless, the decrease in the sales numbers already no longer a cause for concern: in 2016, 28 aircraft have been delivered, in 2017, just 15, and last year there were only 12. For 2019, Airbus expects to have only eight deliveries.
-
A380: No future for the Super-AirbusA Herculean Task
Not only the competition with the other major aircraft manufacturers of our days, the US company Boeing, calls for Airbus. Also, the own structure of the group provides every day high requirements. The individual parts are mounted to the aircraft in France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, China and the United States. Therefore, a flying giant like the A380 on a country road.
-
A380: No future for the Super-AirbusThe hope lies in the East
On a Turn-Around at the sales figures for Airbus hopes because of the growth in China. The China-in-chief of the aircraft manufacturer, Eric Chen, in front of expected in September 2017, that Chinese Airlines would have to spend in the next twenty years, more than $ 1.1 trillion for new aircraft. Apparently, but not for the A380.
-
A380: No future for the Super-AirbusAwakening in the future
Not only Airbus, the big machines Worry: Boeing about building a year, six copies of his Jumbo Jets as cargo planes. The former Airbus sales chief John Leahy was goodbye 2017 for sure: “The passenger traffic will double.” The Problem he saw more on the floor: “We can’t build so many airports!” Should be it is now new machines such as the A350.