Airbus acknowledged on Friday that demand for its A330 passenger aircraft model is weak and announced a reduction in production for 2019, after being overtaken by Boeing in the production and orders of wide-body aircraft.
The largest European airline company stated that it will reduce deliveries of aircraft with 250 to 300 seats to 50 in 2019, but did not disclose data on previous plans.
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In 2017, Airbus delivered 67 such aircraft and hinted that it could reduce production this year by 25 percent compared to planned. Some analysts noted that its production began to decline as early as the beginning of the year, as orders sharply decreased.
The A320neo narrow-body model remains its best-selling model, as it has not been able to quickly resolve supply issues for engine parts for its upgraded A330neo model. This has caused it to lose the race against the newer Boeing 787 with airlines such as American Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.
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Airbus also announced on Friday that its operating profit for the first quarter of this year was 14 million euros, compared to a loss of 19 million last year. At the same time, revenues fell by 12 percent to 10.119 billion euros.
