Airbus honours CT supplier

Cape Town - Airbus has awarded its Cape Town-based supplier Cobham South Africa with the Best Performer Award in Systems and Equipment for its supply of satellite communication antennae.

These antennae, which are designed and manufactured at Cobham SA’s facility in Westlake, Cape Town, are installed in all Airbus jetliners, from the 124-seat A319 to the 550-seat A380 superjumbos and the all new mid-size ultra-long haul A350 XWB airliner.

Airbus currently builds over 50 aircraft every month. Last year it delivered 629 new jetliners and will achieve similar output this year from its assembly lines in Toulouse, France, Hamburg, Germany and Tianjin, China.

Last month the global airliner company also opened a new final assembly line in Mobile, Alabama in the US, which will enable Airbus to increase production from next year.

By the end of September 2015, Airbus had a production backlog of 6 755 aircraft, representing 10 years of production at current output rates.

Cobham South Africa is one of 7 200 direct suppliers to Airbus worldwide.