Airbus signs industrial agreements with KAI for A350 and A321
23 February 2006

Airbus has extended its industrial co-operation in the Asia-Pacific region with the signing of separate agreements with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) for risk sharing participation on the new A350 and manufacture of fuselage panel assemblies for the A321. The signing ceremony took place at Asian Aerospace in Singapore and marks a further strengthening of the relationship with KAI, which has been producing wing components and fuselage panels for the A320 and A330/A340 Families since 1998.

The Memorandum of Understanding for risk sharing participation in the A350 programme covers wing and fuselage components valued in excess of US$1 billion over the duration of the programme, whilst the contract for A321 fuselage panels is valued at US$80 million up until 2010.

In developing this new A350 Family, Airbus is using its technology leadership and continual investment in the latest innovations to secure valuable advantages for its customers. These include significant improvements in aircraft maintainability and operational efficiency. In addition, the A350 Family is benefiting from and expanding upon the quantum leaps in technology developed for the A380. The A350 Family was launched in October 2005 and has already received 176 orders and commitments from 13 customers.

With almost 4,300 orders and more than 2,600 aircraft delivered and 166 operators, the A318, A319, A320 and A321 make up the world's most profitable single-aisle aircraft family. Designed to optimise revenue through cabin adaptability and passenger comfort and featuring the most modern and complete fly-by-wire technology available on any single-aisle aircraft, they ensure savings in every element of direct operating cost and provide operators with the highest degree of operational commonality and economy for aircraft in the 100-220 seat category.

Airbus is a leading aircraft manufacturer with the most modern and comprehensive family of airliners on the market, ranging in capacity from 100 to more than 500 seats. Airbus has delivered more than 4,100 aircraft to 260 customers and operators world-wide, and boasts a healthy deliver backlog of well over 2,000 aircraft, which, at current rates, represents some four to five years of production. With an annual turnover of €22.3 billion in 2005, Airbus is a global company with design and manufacturing facilities in France, Germany, the UK, and Spain, as well as subsidiaries in the U.S., China and Japan. Headquartered in Toulouse, France, Airbus is a joint EADS Company with BAE Systems.