Airbus Seeks Partners for New Jumbo Jet

BERLIN — European aircraft consortium Airbus Industrie is in talks with other companies, including St. Louis-based McDonnell Douglas Corp., to jointly produce a jumbo aircraft able to challenge the monopoly held by Boeing Co.’s 747.

Christian Boppe, a spokesman for Airbus member Daimler-Benz Aerospace, said Tuesday that talks were taking place on several fronts but that all negotiations are at an early stage.

“These are simply exploratory talks, and we are looking at all other possibilities to find partners for the project,” Boppe said.

The European aircraft maker, which said Monday that it planned to expand its range of aircraft to include smaller regional planes as well as a jumbo with 500-plus seats, said it will consider outside partners to help defray the risk and cost of developing new planes.

Airbus executives estimate the super Airbus, called the A-3XX, could cost as much as $12 billion to develop.

Industry analysts said developing a jumbo aircraft is critical to Airbus’ expanded-fleet strategy.

Profit margins, they said, are higher on large jets, enabling competitors such as Boeing to accept thin margins on smaller aircraft. Airbus executives said they see demand for 1,500 to 2,000 aircraft by the turn of the century.

Aerospace ministers for the home countries of Airbus’ other partners--France’s Aerospatiale, British Aerospace and Spain’s Construcciones Aeronauticas--endorsed plans at Airbus to expand its product range and reorganize into a legal corporation.

At the same time, the ministers acknowledged that it is unclear how the product expansion will be financed.

European companies, including Dasa, are already in talks with Chinese and South Korean partners to make a regional jetliner that could expand Airbus’ lower product range.

Daimler-Benz executives said they hope a final decision on the jumbo jet will be made by the end of the year and that it could come on the market by 2003.

Airbus, employing a strategy that has worked well for Boeing, is including customers early in the design stage of the big jet and has talked with the German airline Lufthansa, among others.

McDonnell Douglas has about 10% of the global aircraft market, compared with Boeing’s 60% and Airbus’ 30%. A spokesman for McDonnell Douglas declined tp comment on the possible talks with Airbus.

A key to Airbus’ entry into the jumbo market is its transformation from a quasi-government consortium to a single corporate entity that, Airbus hopes, will lead to lower costs and reduced political influence.

Ministers with Airbus responsibilities said Monday that they support plans to transform the company and that a report on overcoming technical and legal hurdles is to be completed by the start of July.