Airbus to suppliers: plan for post-crisis rebound

Airbus is thinking beyond current events.

The European aerospace giant has told firms in its sprawling supply chain to prepare for a rebound in production.

Airbus says it could increase output of its best-selling A320 jets by almost a fifth when demand recovers.

The comments come days after one major Airbus operator predicted a big rebound for the stronger budget airlines.

Hungary-based Wizz Air says it expects to snap back to 2019 passenger numbers as soon as health fears ease.

It keeps taking new Airbus jets even as other carriers cancel or defer orders.

Now the planemaker says it could raise output as early as July next year, though no decision has yet been taken.

But industry sources say any such move is far from guaranteed.

They say Airbus will need major customers around the world to recover before increasing production.

Right now that seems very uncertain.

Only this week British Airways-owner IAG warned that the travel slump had deepened.

And some key budget carriers like AirAsia have all but stopped taking new jets.

Airbus itself predicts airline traffic won’t return to pre-crisis levels until 2023 or even 2025.