March 2006
THE COMPANY:
AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
Airbus
Deutschland GmbH develops and constructs approximately one third of the
European Airbus aircraft. The company achieved revenues of € 4.61 billion in
the financial year 2004. In the same year, approximately € 960 mill. were spent
on research and development. Roughly 21,300 people are currently employed at
the seven Airbus sites.
Board of
Management
Chairman of the
Board of Management is Gerhard Puttfarcken. Further members of the Board of
Management are Dr. Jörg Kutzim (Human Resources and Labour Relations) and Dr.
Andreas Sperl (Finance).
Supervisory Board
Chairman of the
Supervisory Board is Dr. Gustav Humbert. His deputy, Horst Niehus, is Chairman
of the Works Council of Airbus Deutschland in
Airbus Deutschland
GmbH is a subsidiary of Airbus, which was founded as a new company on 11 July 2001
(with retroactive effect from 1 January 2001) and has its registered offices in
Toulouse, where the central functions, customer services, commercial
departments and
Large sections of
the fuselage and the vertical tail unit come from
Airbus Programme
Statistics
The first aircraft
from the former Airbus Industrie company took to the skies on
In 2004, Airbus
received 370 orders worth US$ 34 billion. In units, this represents 57 percent
of the market. In the same year, 320 aircraft were delivered to customers,
which is equivalent to roughly 57 percent of all aircraft deliveries in the
100-seat-plus category. Almost 32 (previous year: 26) aircraft left production
each month.
The Airbus Family
of Aircraft
A300-600R
The A300-600R
received certification in March 1988. It has a 7,700 km range, a 266 passenger
capacity and a maximum takeoff weight of nearly 172 tons. It is a derivative of
the A300 (251 passengers, 6,800 km range, 165 t max. takeoff weight), the basic
model of aircraft family offered by the old Airbus Industrie which first
entered airline service with the former Belgian charter airline Trans European
Airways in November 1974.
A300-600F
Taking the
A300-600R as a base, Airbus began major component assembly for its new series
production freighter – the A300-600F – in April 1993. This aircraft can
transport a payload of 55 tons and differs considerably from the passenger
version. For example, it does not have any windows and, naturally, there are no
passenger cabin fittings or equipment. The
The first A310
(218 passengers, 8,000 km range, 150 t max. takeoff weight) entered service in
April 1983. The A310-300 for 220 passengers and with a range of up to 9,600 km
has been in operation since December 1985.
A318
The programme
launch for the 107-seat A318, a 2.39 m shorter version of the A319, took place
on
A319
The A319 is a
shortened version of the A320 and can carry 124 to 145 passengers. It is an
extremely successful model (length: 33.8 m, range: up to 6,800 km) in the
single-aisle Airbus family (narrow-bodied aircraft with one aisle down the
middle of the cabin) and complements the A320 and A321 with a maximum of
commonality. This means that spare parts supply, maintenance and pilot
assignment can be carried out across all three models in an extremely
cost-effective and flexible way. Its first flight was in
A319CJ
The A319CJ
Corporate Jet is based on the A319 and can carry eight to 40 passengers in a
luxurious cabin layout over a distance of 11,650 km. Of all the aircraft
competing in this category, the A319CJ offers the customer the widest and
largest passenger cabin and the greatest choice of interior fittings – such as
the option of built-in airstairs. The technical design of the aircraft allows
it to take off and land on remote runways of a limited standard.
A320
The A320 (length:
37.6 m), the first single-aisle aircraft in the Airbus family, is designed for
150 to 180 passengers, a range of 5,550 km and a maximum takeoff weight of 77
t. It has been in airline service since March 1988.
A321
The A321-100
(a 44.5 m long, stretched version of the A320 for 186 to 220 passengers, range:
up to 4,450 km) completed its maiden flight in
A330
The A330 (length:
63.7 m) is a twin-jet derivative of the four-jet, long-haul A340 model. The A330-300
can seat 295 passengers in its three-class configuration and a range of 10,400
km. The first A330 was delivered to “Air Inter” in late 1993. The approx. 5 m
shorter A330-200 can transport 253 passengers over a 12,350 km range and
was handed over to the first customer at the end of April 1998.
A340
The first four-jet
Airbus aircraft, the A340, had its maiden flight in October 1991 and has been
in airline service since January 1993. The A340-200 (length: 59.4 m) –
in its three-class configuration for 239 passengers – has a range of 14,800 km.
The A340-300 (length: 63.7 m) can carry 295 passengers over a range of
13,500 km. The industrial programme launch of the A340-600 (length:
74.8m) for 13,900 km and 380 passengers and of the slightly shorter A340-500
was announced at the beginning of December 1997. At up to 16,000 km, this
aircraft has the longest range of any commercial aircraft and can accommodate
313 passengers. The successful first flight of the A340-600 took place on
The A330 and the
A340 basic versions have the same widebody fuselage, the same wing units
(wingspan: 60.3 m) and the same systems.
“Beluga”
A300-600ST
The “Beluga” super
transporter (A300-600ST) replaced the Super Guppy in October 1996. The latter
aircraft had been transporting large-scale components for final assembly
between the former Airbus Industrie’s European partners for over 25 years. On
the one hand a larger aircraft was needed to carry more and larger components,
on the other the Super Guppy was still based on Boeing aircraft models (C97 and
B377) which were over 40 years old.
The subsidiary
SATIC in
A380
On
The Airbus A380
offers an unmatched cabin design and will meet the demands resulting from the
doubling of air traffic volume within the next 15 years, which is predicted by
the market researchers. New technologies will increase commercial efficiency by
up to 20 percent and improve environmental compatibility significantly. To
date, Airbus has 159 orders from 16 customers around the globe.
A400M
A further project
is the development and construction of the A400M European military transport
aircraft. The four-engined turboprop aircraft reaches a maximum cruising speed
of approx. 780 km/h. It can transport a maximum payload of 37 tons over a
distance of 4,445 km (tactical mission). The requirement of the seven nations
involved runs to 180 aircraft:
An important argument in favour of
the A400M is the changed geopolitical situation on account of which more
crisis-orientated and faster reacting air transportation is increasingly
gaining in significance. As a result, the demand for transport aircraft for
humanitarian and military tasks, e.g. for UNO and NATO missions, continues to
grow. In addition, the aging transporters in service in
Multi Role
Transport Tanker (MRTT)
The concept for
the Multi Role Transport Tanker (MRTT) envisages the use of the twin-jet A310
for various military transport tasks and as a tanker. Standardised kits from
Airbus Deutschland GmbH are used to convert the Airbus passenger aircraft into
the Multi Role Transport (MRT) version. Through the use of this combi version
of the airlifter, a wide range of transport tasks can be fulfilled through just
one aircraft model: the transportation of personnel and cargo as well as
ambulance flights. The first task of this kind was implemented in 1999 by the
A310 Multi Role Transporter (MRT) for the German Air Force. In cooperation with
Lufthansa Technik, all four A310 Multi Role Transport aircraft which have been
ordered by the Luftwaffe will also be converted into Multi Role Transport
Tanker (MRTT) versions for in-flight refuelling purposes.
SCT
The development of
a second-generation supersonic commercial aircraft (Supersonic Commercial
Transport, SCT) with numerous partners is currently being investigated.
The sites
Buxtehude.
The Airbus site at Buxtehude forms part of the Cabin & Cargo
Customisation centre of excellence. Here, all the electronic communications and
cabin management systems needed by both crew and passengers are developed and
produced. These include the Cabin Intercommunication Data System CIDS and the
Passenger Service Channel PSC. A further focal point lies in communications
systems, for example enabling passengers to use their own mobile phones. In
addition to this core business, through KID-Systeme GmbH, a 100 percent
subsidiary of Airbus Deutschland GmbH supplying cabin intercom and data systems
technology, the Buxtehude site concentrates on the development and production
of the internationally certified power supply system SKYpower. The system,
which is directly integrated into the seat, supplies the power needed to
operate laptops and PEDs (Personal Electronic Devices) on board aircraft.
Workforce: approx. 350.
Laupheim. A former
100% subsidiary of Airbus Deutschland GmbH, Airbus in Laupheim – previously
Aircabin – with its approx. 1,000 employees has been fully merged into Airbus
since
Nordenham. The Nordenham
plant is the centre for large sheet metal panel manufacture and fuselage shell
manufacture for all Airbus aircraft. State-of-the-art and automated
manufacturing technologies have made it possible to reduce production costs
considerably. A new 208 m long and 78 m wide hall has been specially built for
production of the large fuselage shells for the double-deck Airbus A380. Other
focal points are roll forming, laser welding and metal bonding for all Airbus
models. Complex structural components for the Eurofighter are also manufactured
here. Workforce: approx. 2300.
Stade. Within Airbus
Deutschland, the Stade plant is the centre for the processing of carbon-fibre
reinforced plastics (CFRP) and manufacture of vertical tail units for all
Airbus aircraft, including those for the A380 and the Airbus A400M military
transport aircraft. These vertical tail units are amongst the world’s largest
fibre composite structures for commercial aircraft. In addition, the wing
shells for the A400M transport aircraft are being manufactured at Stade. This
is the first time in the history of Airbus that such components are being
produced from carbon fibre composites (CFC). For Eurofighter, fuselage shells
and small components are manufactured from CFC. Workforce: approx. 1550.
Varel. The Varel plant
is the centre for the machining of aircraft parts and the development and
design of jigs and tools. Thanks to its Flexible Production Systems (FPS) and
high-performance information processing systems, an optimal degree of
production automation is achieved. All integrated high-stress milled structural
parts made from aluminium, titanium and steel are processed here. Production
for the Airbus A380 began in mid-2002. Here, too, machined parts (air intake
shells and ducts) are manufactured for the Eurofighter. The first metal cut for
the first large-scale component, and with this the start of production for the
A400M military transport aircraft took place on
Airbus Spares
Support and Services (in short: Airbus Spares) is an organisational unit of
Airbus Deutschland GmbH that undertakes worldwide spare parts supply for the
Airbus fleet on behalf of Airbus. Airbus Spares, which is located directly at
the airport in
To date, Airbus has registered more
than 5700 orders from approx. 200 customers and operators. The global Airbus
fleet comprises roughly 3900 aircraft. Airbus is a joint venture of EADS and
BAE SYSTEMS.