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COMPETITIVE ASSESSMENT OF TECHNOLOGY 119 Figure 5-5 Aerospace Employment Source: Aerospace Facts and Figures, 1982/83; E.E.C. Staff Working Paper, Sec. (80)1287; Flight International, p. 1876, November 15, 1980; Annual Reports of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas; Airbus Industries Press Letter, August 1980. According to an Airbus Industrie plan published in 1980, the number of Airbus partner company personnel engaged in the various Airbus programs is expected to grow to 40,000 or 45,000 by the mid-1980s (Figure 5-5). However, the worldwide recession of the last few years, which severely curtailed aircraft orders, has already significantly slowed implementation of this plan. Facilities A gross measure of the size of Airbus Industrie's facilities is the combined factory floor area of all the participating partners
COMPETITIVE ASSESSMENT OF TECHNOLOGY 120 of Airbus Industrie, which is roughly comparable to that of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas combined. In both cases, these facilities are used for civil, military, and space systems; however, in the U.S. case, major aircraft components are subcontracted to other U.S. aerospace manufacturers, whereas the Airbus partnership manufactures all major components internally. If the total floor space of U.S. facilities devoted to the manufacture of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas products were combined, it would far exceed that of Airbus Industrie. As noted earlier, the production of the A320 is specifically intended to further strengthen European manufacturing capability. A more meaningful comparison with Airbus Industrie's production capacity can be obtained from Figure 5-6, which indicates the monthly production rate of A300 aircraft (on a comparable empty-weight basis). The dashed line on Figure 5-6 shows the expected A300/A310 production rate buildup from the original 1980 plan. Delivery of the A320 is scheduled to commence in 1988. The slope since has changed, but the important point is that Airbus is putting in place facilities, tooling, and personnel capable of achieving a potential 10 per month production rate by the latter part of this decade. British Aerospace (BAe) has tooled up to produce 98 A300/A310 wing sets per year. Heretofore, British Aerospace was set up for low-volume production. It took a significant cultural Figure 5-6 Comparative Aircraft Production Rates Source: Pratt and Whitney, based on data supplied by manufacturers.
