The head of Airbus has said the group “might need some support” from European governments for a new, multibillion-dollar commercial aircraft programme as it gears up for a successor to its best-selling A320 family of jets.
Chief executive Guillaume Faury indicated that Airbus could ask for taxpayer backing — an increasingly politicised issue as governments try to help industry decarbonise — to launch a single-aisle aircraft and a shorter-range, hydrogen-powered plane.
Faury said the European aerospace and defence group had the financial firepower to fund the development of both programmes thanks in part to its strong order book. He added, however, in an interview with the Financial Times: “We might need some support.”