STRIVING FOR THE HIGHEST STANDARDS
Delivering aircraft on time, on cost and on quality – getting it right first time – drives Airbus policy with safety as the top priority in the design, building and performance of its aircraft.
Airbus’ customers expect quality in the aircraft they buy. Safety, reliability, comfort and maintenance costs are key areas where quality is crucial in an airline’s judgment of an aircraft.
To achieve the very highest standards in these and other aspects of an aircraft’s facets and performance the question of quality is addressed by Airbus at every stage from design to final assembly and beyond. Repeated checks are made. Tests are applied. Airbus ensures every supplier of parts meets the strictest standards on quality. Defective work, parts and materials are rejected.
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
The constant focus on safe operations
Delivering aircraft on time, on cost and on quality – getting it right first time – is the goal Airbus continually strives for. As it ramps up production of both single-aisle and long-range aircraft, including the A350 XWB, to meet demand, Airbus knows setting even higher standards in quality is critical to maintaining its success.
Airbus has a network of key employees who identify problems at various stages of design, production and assembly and recommend action to eradicate them, pre-empting possibly costly delays at a later point.
These employees also ensure continuous improvement in standards and efficiency by pinpointing ways in which people could work better or where tools and materials could be improved.
FOCUSING ON SAFE OPERATIONS
Around 500 million passengers fly in Airbus aircraft each year. They trust the airlines to get them safely to their destinations. In turn the airlines and other operators trust Airbus. The Airbus name means reliability, quality, performance. But above all it means safety, the first priority for Airbus.
At every point in the design, manufacturing and assembly process Airbus ensures its work complies with certification targets laid down by the European Aviation Safety Authority and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. Before an aircraft achieves its final type certificate it must undergo around 1,200 hours of test flying.
But Airbus also works continually in the most effective way to improve the safety of its aircraft: by pro-actively identifying areas and events from which knowledge can be gained. The company also works with air safety organisations around the world to find new ways of improving standards. Safety is not a matter of competition in the aviation industry. Airbus shares its know-how with others to improve safety for everyone.