Airbus turns 50 with little fanfare

Airbus has its origin in a consortium formed by plane makers in France, Germany and Spain in 1969. Creating a fully integrated company, though, was only possible because of the euro introduction in 1999, which helped to create a consolidated balance sheet for the company, CFO Harald Wilhelm tells the Wall Street Journal.

"We employ 130,000 highly skilled people globally and are a powerful engine of productivity for Europe," says Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury. The company makes half of the world's large commercial aircraft and also runs a helicopter, defense and space business.

In 1984, Airbus launched the A320. The single-aisle medium-haul passenger plane set out to challenge US rival Boeing, which had clearly dominated the largest segment in the aviation market. Nowadays, an A320 takes off or touches down every 2.5 seconds, which testifies to its enormous success.

The A320 prepared the ground for the much more fuel-efficient A320neo. It has become the backbone of the company and has gained even greater importance after Boeing's competing 737 MAX planes were grounded following two deadly crashes.

This is not to say that Airbus production has always run smoothly. At the beginning of this year, the firm announced that it would scrap the making of its A380 passenger giant by 2021. It explained that the number of orders was not enough to turn the A380 into a profitable undertaking.

While the company as a whole is in good shape, it's currently facing investigations in France, the UK and the US after disclosing transaction irregularities back in 2016, AFP points out. US President Donald Trump has threatened the EU with new tariffs, should it not end its subsidies to Airbus.