Smart Travel: Airbus barnstorms U.S. aerospace market

The last time you took a commercial flight, who made the plane you boarded? Most passengers pay very little attention to the equipment they are flying in American-based airlines have, in past years, flown Boeing planes, McDonnell-Douglas MD-80s and Lockheed 1011s.

Now, almost 10 percent of the large commercial jets in our fleets are manufactured by Airbus Industrie based in France. United Airlines has been the largest purchaser of Airbus products with 101 in their fleet and 77 on order.

There is a much higher saturation in the European carriers' fleets, not an unexpected fact. Airbus is now hoping for a much higher level of presence in U.S. fleets and is aiming for a 15 percent presence by 2004. Toward this goal it is planning to introduce itself to the American public. The first promotions will target small circles of influential people with "soft" ads and promotions to create awareness and understanding. Later will come print and TV ads aimed at the general public.

The timing of this program is not coincidental. Washington is again concerned about unfair competition with Boeing. The European community has long given state support to Airbus Industrie in the form of loans on excellent terms which the U.S. aerospace industry and the government view as subsidies.

Airbus is currently developing the Airbus A380, a double-decker superjumbo capable of carrying more than 600 passengers, which will replace Boeing's trusty 747 as the largest passenger plane.

The marketing program will center around the key point that up to 40 percent of an Airbus airliner is produced by suppliers in the United States. General Electric, Rockwell International and BF.Goodrich Company are major suppliers, and there are 800 others that provide parts to Airbus.

A series of cocktail receptions will be held in major cities hosted by Airbus and its major U.S. suppliers with invitations to airline executives, labor union leaders, civic leaders and businesspeople.

Then a series of multipage ads will appear in the "gold" edition of National Geographic, which reaches more than 500,000 U.S. subscribers, those with household incomes over $100,000.

The ads will concentrate on photos of Airbus planes and lush scenic views of countries where pieces of the Airbus are made. There is no mention of the fact that Airbus is based in France.

With Airbus eating steadily into our aerospace market, and with our government fretting over unfair subsidies for Airbus, the firm needs to polish its image.

To further help its case, Airbus is starting a modest Washington lobbying effort intended to let Congress know that Airbus is playing by the rules.

Finally, Airbus is working on its corporate image in the United States by contributions to The American Heart Association and St. Jude Hospital for Children, among other charities.

(Linda and Dr. Don Overend are principals in The Travel Group, a full-service travel agency formed by the merger of Ozark World Travel, Consulting Travel and Thomas Travel.)