Europeqn Aircraft Industry: Airbus Explores A380 Superjumbo Refresher to Help Rekindle Sales - by Robert Wall & Andrea Rothman

Airbus A380

Airbus SAS said it’s starting to explore ways to refresh its flagship A380 to improve performance toward the end of the decade and keep the double-decker plane competitive as newer long-range jets draw customers.

“We really need to think about how we keep the A380 sharp,” Tom Williams, Airbus executive vice president for programs, said in an interview at the Paris Air Show. Newer planes from Boeing Co. (BA) and others Airbus itself is building mean the economics of the A380 need further improvement, he said.

Airbus has seen lackluster demand for the A380, with 262 orders for its largest plane since it was given authority to sell. The competitive landscape is getting more difficult as Boeing pushes a new family of wide-bodies, including the 777X update of its best selling twin-engine wide-body due around the end of the decade, while Airbus sales of its A350-1000 outpace superjumbo bookings.

Read more: Airbus Explores A380 Superjumbo Refresher to Help Rekindle Sales - Bloomberg