Senior Airbus executive says output goal to be based on jet deals

A senior Airbus official on Monday defended the European planemaker’s output goals after it clashed with leasing companies worried about overproduction of jetliners.

Airbus hopes to almost double production of its best-selling A320 family as air travel gathers pace following the coronavirus crisis. Critics have accused it of ignoring the impact on jet prices and service revenues.

“The key to all this is that we have these firm contracts with our clients – we cannot say that we are not going to respect those contracts because we think they are too many for the business,” said Airbus Latin America president Arturo Barreira, on the sidelines of the ALTA airline conference in Bogota.