By Florence Loeve

PARIS (Reuters) – The direction of the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus called for the return of an agreement dating from 1979 between more than 30 countries which provided exemptions from customs law for civil aviation, until the recent trade war launched by US President Donald Trump.

At a telephone press conference on Wednesday, after the group’s quarterly results of the group, the director general of Airbus Guillaume Faury said that there would be “only losers” in the aerospace industry with new customs duties, “in particular in the United States”.

“Regarding Airbus, we will not pay customs duties when it comes to planes from abroad intended for American customers, it is the duty of the latter to do so,” continued the Airbus boss, adding that customers – airlines – were “obviously not very happy” of the situation.

Airbus reported on Wednesday of a profit before interest and adjusted taxes greater than expectations for the first quarter and confirmed its objectives for 2025, while stressing that it was too early to measure the impact of customs duties.

The largest aeronautical manufacturer in Europe has announced a profit before interest and adjusted taxes (EBIT), key indicator, of 624 million euros for the three months until the end of March. The turnover, up 6%, stood at 13.5 billion euros.

Defense carried, the adjusted Ebit and sales are therefore superior to the expectations of a consensus of analysts compiled by Airbus, which anticipated them at 602 million euros and 12.95 billion euros respectively.

Confirmed objectives

Airbus has confirmed its objectives for 2025, which exclude the impact of potential customs duties. The aircraft manufacturer plans to deliver approximately 820 commercial planes, up compared to the 766 deliveries made in 2024, and aims for an adjusted Ebit around 7 billion euros.

Regarding customs duties, “we follow and evaluate the situation carefully, but it is too early to quantify the impact today,” said Guillaume Faury in a statement published on Wednesday.

During a conference call with analysts on Wednesday, Airbus management also indicated that the direct impact of customs duties would probably be “controlled” if the current framework remained unchanged until the end of the year, and that it was still evaluating their indirect consequences.

Forecasts for 2025, however, include the consequences of the integration of certain parts of its supplier Spirit Aerosystems.

Last week, Airbus finalized the agreement to use certain industrial sites of Spirit Aerosystems, which manufacture a crucial part of the fuselage of its long-haul A350s and the wings of its A220 medium-haul.

This finalization, much awaited and announced since July 2024, completes the division of this supplier, in financial difficulties, by Airbus and its American competitor Boeing.

The activities related to commercial aircraft, the largest Airbus division in terms of sales and EBIT, made a stable contribution to the EBIT adjusted to 494 million euros, against 507 million euros in the first quarter of 2024.

“Specific challenges in supply chains, in particular with Spirit Aerosystems, are currently under pressure the development of the A350 and the A220,” notes the group in its press release.

(Written by Florence Lève and Tim Hepher, edited by Augustin Turpin)

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