Airbus. Soaring to new heights

The case study is set in 2015 at a time when the CEO of Airbus, the commercial division of Airbus Group, was analysing the strategic situation of the company after a period of sustained growth. Due to the great success of the Airbus brand, Airbus’ parent company was renamed from EADS to Airbus Group in order to capitalize on its achievement. The case study begins with a summary of the creation of Airbus at the beginning of the 1970s as a pure political decision from different European governments, which did not want to lose influence in the aircraft industry to the rising power of the United States (US). Then, it provides a detailed analysis of the commercial strategy of Airbus and the evolution of its product portfolio from one single narrow-body airplane in 1970, the A300, to a complete range of aircraft in 2015, from small to large aircraft, including the A380, the biggest commercial airplane in the world. The case study continues with a description of the industrial organization of Airbus, in terms of which the main characteristic is a complex supply chain spread throughout Europe. Then, the case study examines the importance of innovation at Airbus before providing a detailed depiction of Airbus airlines customers and their behaviour when considering the purchase of an aircraft. The next part of the case study is a thorough analysis of Airbus competitors for narrow-body and wide-body aircraft, with a focus on Boeing, which is the main competitor of Airbus. The case study discusses the future of aircraft manufacturers in the next 20 years, based on the strategic visions of Airbus and Boeing. The case study concludes with the strategy outlined by the CEO of Airbus to guarantee that the company remains successful in the future.