A strategic pivot

Airbus’s new focus on China

Does he know something we don’t? Eric Chen, President and Chief Executive of Airbus Commercial Aircraft China came out with what can only be described as a pretty gutsy forecast during a press briefing in Beijing late September.

Gutsy because it concerned potential orders for the European planemakers big A380 jumbo, a jet that hasn’t exactly set the world alight when it comes to orders over the past three years, leading to constant speculation Airbus might even cease production. But Chen, who took the reins of the company’s operations behind the bamboo curtain back in January 2013, clearly sees China as a savior.