The aircraft sector hit turbulence today as European giant Airbus slashed output of its A380 superjumbo because of weak demand, putting a lid on plane orders generally at Farnborough.
European planemaker Airbus revealed late yesterday at Farnborough -- one of the world's largest civilian and defence airshows -- that it would halve production of its enormous A380 to one a month from 2018.
Chief executive Tom Enders said today he hoped the cutbacks would last for "just a year or two", adding he remained optimistic over the jet's prospects.
"We are all pretty up optimistic about the longer term prospects of the A380 and I hope this is just a year or two and then we can raise production rates again," Enders told reporters at the airshow, south of London.
"We decided back in 2000 to launch the A380 (and) little did we know what the world would look like in 2010, 2015 or 2016."
He added: "We believe in this aircraft, the company knows what to do. We are proactive and I am quite confident that we will be able to (again) raise production rates."
Enders said Airbus needed "to work harder to convince airlines that this aircraft really pays off if you can fill it".
"It's a real money making machine," he insisted.
In what has been a relatively quiet show for new orders of planes generally, Airbus' US rival Boeing today inked previously-announced jet deals worth a total of USD 3.79 billion (3.42 billion euros) with Air Europa of Spain and Ruili Airlines of China.
Airbus yesterday revealed firm orders for 129 aircraft worth a combined USD 15.6 billion before the usual discounts are applied.
The orders included a vast USD 12.5-billion deal for 100 single-aisle A321neo jets from Malaysia's AirAsia.
However the shock A380 announcement has stolen the show and reminded participants about the gloomy economic backdrop.
The A380 is the world's largest civilian airplane, carrying up to 544 passengers in a four-class configuration or 853 in just a single class.
The jet has a list price of USD 432.6 million but it has not registered any sales yet at the week-long Farnborough event.
Dubai's Emirates airline is the biggest client for the A380, operating 81 with another 142 on order.
"Airbus still continues to face the challenge of securing new orders for the A380," independent aviation analyst John Strickland told AFP.
