Airbus looks to reassure investors at air show

LONDON — The Farnborough International Airshow, one of the major trade events on the aviation industry calendar, could hardly come at a worse time for European plane maker Airbus.

Still reeling from the furor over delays to its flagship A380 superjumbo that led to the departure of top executives, and considering a costly redesign of its mid-sized A350, Airbus will be seeking to reassure investors at next week’s expo that it is on the road to recovery.

And it will have to do so in the shadow of U.S. rival Boeing Co., which is expected to announce more new plane orders.

“Airbus has a lot to prove,” said Jon Kutler of research firm Admiralty Partners. “They are not going to win the orders battle at Farnborough, and they should focus the debate on strategy, management and implementation.”

More than 300,000 people were to attend the biennial show beginning Monday where almost 1,500 exhibitors from 35 countries will show off the latest in aviation technology, including flight simulators and surveillance aircraft.

But most eyes will be on the next moves from both Toulouse, France-based Airbus and Chicago-based Boeing.

Airbus has been caught in a storm of bad publicity since it revealed in June that it had run into manufacturing problems with the A380 that would delay deliveries of the world’s largest passenger aircraft, which is due to enter service in 2007.

Airbus reported this week that its sales fell by more than half in the first six months of the year to 117 planes, compared to Boeing’s 480 orders for the same period.