(AOF) – The Australian company Qantas Airways has confirmed its Sunrise project with the order of 12 Airbus A350 capable of performing direct flights between Australia and any other city, including New York and London, from Sydney at the end of 2025. The group has also scheduled the renewal of its domestic fleet from the end of 2023, with an order for 40 A321XLRs and A220s. The delivery will be spread over a decade,
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Key points
– Aircraft manufacturer co-world leader with Boeing, born in 1949 under the name Aérospatiale, diversified into satellites;
– Turnover of €52.1 billion, drawn from civil aircraft at 67%, defense & space activities at 21% and helicopters at 12%;
– Order book of €373 billion, 29% from Asia-Pacific, 30% from Europe, 21% from North America, 9% from the Middle East and 5% from Latin America;
– Business model of offering safe and environmentally friendly aeronautical and space solutions, with a strong commitment to society and public services;
– Open capital with strong positions of the French, German (11% each) and Spanish (4%) States, the 9-member Board of Directors being chaired by René Obermann, Guillaume Faury being Managing Director.
Challenges
– “Next chapter” initiative based on 3 pillars -simplify, strengthen and grow- and aim to create a more profitable, more resilient and leading company in the decarbonization of the industry;
– Innovation strategy integrated into the business model and supported by €2.9 billion in R&D: “Fast-Track” roadmap prioritizing electrification, industrial systems, connectivity, autonomy, hardware and artificial intelligence / “CRT” organization focused on breakthrough technologies, associated with external partnerships / structuring: E-Fan Family, ATTOL Fello’Fly, ACIC, TELEO, ACUBED, BIZ Lab, etc.;
– Environmental strategy with the ambition to become No. 1 in carbon-free aviation: design of a “ZEROe” aircraft with hybrid-hydrogen fuel,
/ integration into the reporting of emissions emitted by customers / launch of 2 hydrogen engine development centers in France and Germany / proliferation of initiatives -High5+ for reducing emissions and waste during the production process, Sentinel 5P of data on the ‘air, Air Race E…;
– Ramp-up of activity: resumption of hiring and monthly production rate estimated at 65 aircraft in 2023 against 45 in 2021;
– Visibility of the activity with order intake of €62 billion at the end of 2021, bringing the order book to €398 billion and a firm order for 80 A320s by an Asian company.
Challenges
– Expectation for 2023 of the resumption of air traffic at 2019 levels;
– Impact of the Russia-Ukraine war: search for new sources of titanium supply in the medium term and suspension of orders for large air carriers by Aeroflot;
– Evolution of legal cases, with the German OHB and Qatar Airways;
– 2022 objectives: after the return to net profitability last year, delivery of 720 civil aircraft, increase in operating profit to €5.5 billion and free cash flow to €3.5 billion.
Consolidation phase in aeronautics
The size of French players is very limited compared to that of their American competitors. Hence the need to bring these stakeholders together, thus making it possible to increase the budget allocated to research and development and to gain weight in international calls for tenders. The Aéro Partenaires investment fund was launched in 2020 to support this movement. It was created by the investment company Ace Capital Partners, a subsidiary of Tikehau Capital, with the French State, Airbus, Safran, Dassault Aviation and Thales. This fund carried out several transactions in 2021.