Debt will rise to 130% of GDP in 30 years if pensions are not reformed

Debt will rise to 130% of GDP in 30 years if pensions are not reformed

The largest plane in the world did not generate enough orders and, in addition to its high consumption, could not operate in many airports because of its large size

  End of the journey for the Airbus superjumbo, which leaves the future of between 3,000 and 3,500 jobs in the air, more than 200 of them based in Spain. The last A380 will be delivered in 2021. From there, the European company will stop manufacturing this giant of the heavens, a model that never took off economically. One of its main clients, the Emirates airline, has reached an agreement with Airbus to replace part of its orders with other models that it considers more efficient. Of the 162 A380 planes he expected, he will go to 123 - although he will receive only 14 more in the next two years - and, in exchange, he has commanded forty A330-900 and thirty A350-900.

  The consequence of this "painful" decision is that "our order book is no longer enough to allow us to maintain the production of the A380", despite the efforts that have been made in recent years to sell it to other airlines, according to the explained today the CEO of Airbus, Tom Enders, who, at 60, will leave office on April 10 to give way to the leadership of the current executive officer of the commercial aircraft division, Guillaume Faury.

The A380, which began manufacturing 12 years ago, is the largest aircraft in the world. With its 800 seats (in the most variegated cabin model), Airbus sought to decongest the major airports of the world. But its great size has also been its greatest weakness. While most of the aircraft in the market have two engines, the A380 has four, which is twice the chance of suffering a breakdown. It also consumes much more kerosene than the other models at a time when fuel economy is being sought. Its large size makes it impossible to operate in many airports, and those who do receive it have had to adapt their facilities.


Its production has been slowing down over the years due to the lack of orders. The agreement reached last year with Emirates gave hope to the superjumbo, now in vain. "The consequences of this decision are largely integrated into our financial results for 2018," Enders said in a statement, in which it announced that the company increased its profit last year by 29% to 3,054 million euros. which has allowed them to propose the distribution of a record dividend of 1.65 euros per share, 10% higher than in 2017.

Possible "compensatory measures"

The manufacturer calculates that the abandonment of the A380 will cost between 3,000 and 3,500 jobs in the next three years, although it considers that the order from Emirates and the increase in the rate of manufacture of the A320 will offer "numerous possibilities of internal mobility" for the employees. Spain is one of the affected countries, specifically the plants that the construction company has in Getafe (Madrid), Puerto Real (Cádiz), Tablada (Seville) and Illescas (Toledo). They employ about 200 workers, a figure that rises if you add the participation of ten auxiliary companies subcontracted and commercial, according to trade union sources consulted by this newspaper.

From the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism have asked for "tranquility and prudence", have assured that they are already in contact with Airbus - both with the address in Spain and at the headquarters in Toulouse (France) - to know the details and the impact of this decision, and have promised to work on possible "compensatory measures" to alleviate any consequence of stopping the A380 with other programs, since the manufacturer has a broad and healthy portfolio of products with significant presence in Spain.