Airbus profit and revenue surges in first quarter

Earnings before interest and tax jumped to €549 million from €14m last year for European plane maker

Airbus HQ in near Toulouse, France. The planemaker said it was upgrading the A220 Family single-aisle plane to serve more destinations. Reuters

European plane maker Airbus maintained its outlook for a rise in its annual, underlying results as it posted an increase in first-quarter turnover and core earnings.

Firstquarter revenues rose 24 per cent from a year ago to €12.55 billion (Dh51.56bn), while its adjusted earnings before interest and tax (ebit) jumped to €549 million from €14m last year.

A Reuters poll had given a mean forecast for revenues of €12.99bn and an adjusted ebit of €520m.

Earlier this month, Airbus sales chief Christian Scherer said it is selling longer-range versions of its A321, while signalling a shift away from chasing market share at any cost and predicting Boeing will emerge quickly from the grounding of its rival 737 Max.

Mr Scherer, who took on the top sales role in September, told Reuters that Airbus is seeing more demand for longer-range versions of approximately 200-seat planes previously used for medium-haul routes, blurring boundaries with bigger jets.

"We are selling increased range on the A321. People are telling us this is a great module, give me more range. [We say] we will give you the maximum range we can on the A321: how many would you like? That is what we are doing," he said in his first substantial interview in his new role.

Mr Scherer's remarks are the strongest indication yet that Airbus has quietly launched the A321XLR, a keenly awaited new version of its single-aisle plane that competes with the Boeing 737 Max and could brush up against a pro

Last week, Boeing abandoned its 2019 financial outlook, halted share buybacks and lowered production due to the grounding of its fastest-selling 737 Max jet after two fatal plane crashes in five months had cost it at least $1bn so far.

Boeing's woes are impacting airlines around the world. American Airlines slashed its profit forecast on Friday largely due to the crisis around the Max.

The US airline estimated an overall hit of $350m to its 2019 earnings as a result of the grounding ordered by global regulators in mid-March following two deadly crashes. That has forced the cancellation of nearly 15,000 flights and the re-accommodation of almost 700,000 customers, AFP said.

"That's not just our passengers," said American Airlines president Robert Isom.

"It's literally thousands of our crew members that have had their work schedule altered on very short notice and that means that our reservations, customer relations and crew resources have been working nonstop and overtime to take care of our customers and team."