Progress still sluggish on revised A400M contract discussions

摘要

With talks still ongoing, Airbus believes it is "inconceivable" that it will not finalise contract revisions with its A400M launch customers in 2019, and is optimistic that an agreement could still be hammered out by year-end. A previously agreed 30 November deadline to complete the contract talks looks unlikely to be met, however, with the manufacturer noting that the negotiations have been "advancing slower than planned". But speaking during a third-quarter results call, chief financial officer Harald Wilhelm says that it has "come such a long way" in its discussions that it was "just inconceivable that we will not have an agreement on the way forward with the nations in 2019". He points to areas that have already been signed off, such as the timing of deliveries and the addition of military capabilities, as signs of progress. On that basis, the prospect of both sides "freezing an agreement in 2018" is "still achievable", he says.