Universal
Registration
Document2019

Universal
Registration
Document
Airbus SE is a European public company(Societas Europaea), with its seatin Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which is listed
in France, Germany and Spain.
As a result of the relabelling to a single Airbus
brand, Airbus SE together with its subsidiaries
is referred to as “the Company” and no longer
the Group. The segment formerly known as“Airbus Commercial Aircraft” is referred toas “Airbus”. See “— Management’s Discussion
and Analysis of Financial Condition and Resultsof Operations — 2.1.1.2 Reportable Business
Segments”.
In addition to historical information,
this Universal Registration Document(“Registration Document”) includes forwardlooking statements. The forward-looking
statements are generally identiﬁed by the use of
forward-looking words, such as “anticipate”,“believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”,“project”, “predict”, “will”, “should”, “may” orother variations of such terms, or by discussionof strategy. These statements relate to theCompany’s future prospects, developments
and business strategies and are based on
analyses or forecasts of future results andestimates of amounts not yet determinable.
These forward-looking statements represent
the view of the Company only as of the dates
they are made, and the Company disclaims

2

Airbus / Registration Document 2019any obligation to update forward-looking
statements, except as may be otherwise
required by law. The forward-looking statementsin this Registration Document involve known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and otherfactors that could cause the Company’s actual
future results, performance and achievements
to differ materially from those forecasted orsuggested herein. These include changes
in general economic and business conditions,as well as the factors described under “Risk
Factors” below.
This Registration Document was prepared inaccordance with Annex 1 and 2 of Commission
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/980 and has
been ﬁled in English with the Autoriteit
Financiële Markten (the “AFM”) on
23 March 2020 in its capacity as competentauthority under Regulation (EU) 2017/1129(the “Prospectus Regulation”) without priorapproval pursuant to Article 9 of the Prospectus
Regulation.
This Registration Document may be used forthe purposes of an offer to the public ofsecurities or admission of securities to trading
on a regulated market if approved by the AFM
together with any amendments, if applicable,
and a securities note and summary approvedin accordance with the Prospectus Regulation.

Risk Factors

1

Information on the Company’s Activities

2

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations

3

General Description of the Company and its Share Capital4

Corporate Governance

5

General Information

Airbus / Registration Document 20193

Contents

Universal
Registration
Document
2019

Risk Factors

07

1.
2.
3.
4.

08
12
18
21

Financial Market Risks
Business-Related Risks
Legal Risks
Environment, Human Rights, Health and Safety Risks

1

Information on the Company’s Activities

23

1.1
1.1.1
1.1.2
1.1.3
1.1.4
1.1.5
1.1.6
1.1.7

Presentation of the Company
Overview
Airbus (Commercial Aircraft)
Helicopters
Defence and Space
Investments
Insurance
Legal and Arbitration Proceedings

24
24
29
38
41
47
47
47

1.2
1.2.1
1.2.2
1.2.3
1.2.4

Non-Financial Information
The Company’s Approach to Responsibility & Sustainability
Responsible Company
Responsible BusinessResponsible Employer

50
50
53
62
68

1.3

Recent Developments

76

2

Management’s Discussion and Analysisof Financial Condition and Results of Operations
2.1
2.1.1
2.1.2

80
81

2.1.6
2.1.7

Operating and Financial Review
Overview
Significant Accounting Considerations,
Policies and Estimates
Performance Measures
Results of Operations
Changes in Total Equity(Including Non-Controlling Interests)
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Hedging Activities

2.2

Financial Statements

98

2.3

Statutory Auditor Fees

98

2.4

Information Regarding the Statutory Auditors

99

2.1.3
2.1.4
2.1.5

4

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

79

83
84
89
93
94
98

3

General Description of the Company
and its Share Capital
3.1
3.1.1
3.1.2
3.1.3
3.1.4
3.1.5
3.1.6
3.1.7
3.1.8
3.1.9
3.1.103.1.11
3.1.12
3.1.13
3.2
3.2.1
3.2.2
3.2.3
3.2.4
3.2.5

4

Corporate Governance
101

General Description of the Company
Commercial and Corporate Names,
Seat and Registered Office
Legal Form
Governing Laws and Disclosures
Date of Incorporation and Duration of the Company
Objects of the Company
Commercial and Companies Registry
Inspection of Corporate Documents
Financial Year
Allocation and Distribution of Income
General Meetings
Disclosure of Holdings
Mandatory Disposal
Mandatory Offers

102

General Description of the Share Capital
Issued Share Capital
Authorised Share Capital
Modification of Share Capital or Rights Attachedto the Shares
Securities Granting Access to the Company’s
Share Capital
Changes in the Issued Share Capital

109
109
109

102
102
102
103
104
104
104
104
104
105
106
107
108

109
110
111

3.3
Shareholdings and Voting Rights
3.3.1 Shareholding Structure at the End of 2019
3.3.2 Relationships with Principal Shareholders
3.3.3 Form of Shares
3.3.4 Changes in the Shareholding of the Company
3.3.5 Persons Exercising Control over the Company
3.3.6 Simplified Group Structure Chart
3.3.7 Purchase by the Company of its Own Shares

112
112
113
115
116
116
116
118

3.4
3.4.1
3.4.2
3.4.3
3.4.4

120
120
120
120
120

Dividends
Dividends and Cash Distributions Paid
Dividend Policy of the Company
Unclaimed Dividends
Taxation

123

4.1
4.1.1
4.1.2
4.1.3
4.1.4

Management and Control
124
Corporate Governance Arrangements
124
Dutch Corporate Governance Code, “Comply or Explain” 146
Enterprise Risk Management System
147
Internal Audit
149

4.2

4.2.3

Interests of Directors
and Principal Executive Officers
Remuneration PolicyLong-Term Incentives Granted to the Chief
Executive Officer
Related Party Transactions

4.3
4.3.1
4.3.2
4.3.3

Employee Success Sharing and Incentive Plans
Employee Success Sharing and Incentive Agreements
Employee Share Ownership Plans
Long-Term Incentive Plans

4.2.1
4.2.2

5

General Information
5.1

150
150
162
163
163
163
163
165

171

Entity Responsible for
the Universal Registration Document

172

Statement of the Entity Responsible for
the Universal Registration Document

172

5.3

Information Policy

172

5.4

Undertakings of the Company
regarding Information

173

5.5

Significant Changes

173

5.6

Statement on Approval

173

5.2

Airbus / Registration Document 20195

6

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Risk Factors
1.
2.
3.
4.

Financial Market Risks
Business-Related Risks
Legal Risks
Environment, Human Rights, Healthand Safety Risks

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

08
12
18
21

7

Risk Factors /1 Financial Market Risks

The Company is subject to the risks and uncertainties described below that may materially affectits business, results of operations and ﬁnancial condition. These are not the only risks the Company
faces. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Company or that it currently
considers immaterial may also impair its business and operations.

1.

Financial Market Risks

Global Economic Conditions
The Company’s business, resultsof operations and financial condition
are materially affected by global
economic conditions.
Market disruptions and signiﬁcant economic downturns may
develop quickly due to, among other things, crises affecting
credit or liquidity markets, regional or global recessions, sharp
fluctuations in commodity prices (including oil), currency
exchange rates or interest rates, inﬂation or deﬂation, sovereign
debt and bank debt rating downgrades, restructurings ordefaults, or adverse geopolitical events (including the impactof Brexit, discussed below and global policy including in the
US, European Union, China) or global pandemic diseases suchas COVID-19. The current US administration has introduced
greater uncertainty with respect to US tax and trade policies,
tariffs and government regulations affecting trade between the
US and other countries. Such measures may affect countries
where our customers and suppliers are located or where theCompany has an operational presence or to which its ﬁnancing
activities are linked. See “– Risk Factors – Financial Market
Risks – The Company’s business, results of operations andﬁnancial condition could be materially affected by Brexit”, “– Risk
Factors – Business-Related Risks – COVID-19 Risks” and “– Risk
Factors – Business-Related Risks – Availability of Governmentand other Sources of Financing”.

8

the UK and 10.1% from Spain. US nationals account for 2.1%of employees. The remaining 12% are employees coming froma total of 142 other countries. In total, 90.1% of the Company’s
active workforce is located in Europe on more than 100 sites.
It is a priority to ensure that the Company can attract, develop
and retain a world-class competent, motivated and ﬂ exible
workforce, which ﬁts current and future business requirementsin each of the countries in which the Company has a presence.
A change in economic conditions in any of the geographiesin which the Company has signiﬁcant numbers of employees
or key employees may therefore impact our ability to compete
effectively for employees in such countries.
Approximately 24,000 suppliers from more than 100 countries
supply parts, components, systems and services to theCompany. In 2018, the overall external sourcing volume of theCompany was valued at around € 52 billion. The Company
requires its suppliers’ and subcontractors’ services in order todeliver our products and generate revenue and proﬁt. Therefore
ﬁnancial instability in any part of the world that would affectour suppliers or subcontractors, including ﬁnancial conditions
resulting in their inability to obtain credit or even insolvency, could
impact the Company’s ability to meet its customer obligations ina satisfactory and timely manner. In addition, ﬁnancial instability
affecting suppliers or subcontractors could impact such parties’ability to meet their obligations under risk sharing partnershipagreements entered into with the Company.

The Company’s global presence includes France, Germany,
Spain and the United Kingdom (“UK”), fully-owned subsidiaries
in the United States (“US”), China, Japan, India and in the
Middle East, and spare parts centres in Hamburg, Frankfurt,
Washington, Beijing, Dubai and Singapore. The Company also
has engineering and training centres in Toulouse, Miami, Mexico,
Wichita, Hamburg, Bangalore, Beijing and Singapore, as well as
an engineering centre in Russia. There are also hubs and ﬁeld
service stations around the world. The Company also relies on
industrial co-operation and partnerships with major companies
and a wide network of suppliers. This global presence entails therisk of being affected by weak market and economic conditions
in particular in Europe, the US and Asia where it manufactures
and to which it sells the majority of its products.

The behaviour of our customers and by extension, the demandfor, and supply of, the Company’s products and services may bematerially affected by global economic conditions. Historically,
the Company has experienced that order intake for commercial
aircraft has shown cyclical trends, due in part to changes inpassenger demand for air travel and the air cargo share of freightactivity, which are in turn driven by a range of economic variables
including gross domestic product (“GDP”) growth and private
consumption levels. A downturn in economic factors driving
our commercial airline business, could lead to a weakening
demand for our commercial aircraft. The signiﬁcant growth of
our commercial aircraft business relative to our Defence, Spaceand Government activities has diluted the latter’s ability to serveas an effective tool to counter commercial cycles.

As of 31 December 2019, the Company’s workforce amounted to134,931 employees of which over 15,000 employed outside ourcore countries. In terms of nationalities, 35.6% of the Company’s
employees are from France, 31.6% from Germany, 8.5% from

Demand for military and parapublic products may be further
affected by governmental budget constraints caused byeconomic pressure.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Risk Factors /1 Financial Market Risks

Therefore weak global economic conditions could directly
result in:– requests by customers to postpone or cancel existing orders
for aircraft (including helicopters) or decisions by customers toreview their order intake strategy due to, among other things,
lack of adequate credit supply from the market to ﬁnanceaircraft purchases or change in operating costs or weaklevels of passenger demand for air travel and cargo activity
more generally, which could negatively impact the Company’s
results of operations;– variations in public spending for defence, homeland security
and space activities, which may lead to termination or reductionof future funding or cancellations or delays impacting existing
contracts which could negatively impact the Company’s
results of operations; and– an increase in the amount of sales ﬁnancing that the Company
must provide to its customers to support aircraft purchases,
thereby increasing its exposure to the risk of customer defaults
despite any security interests the Company might have in theunderlying aircraft. See “— Risk Factors – Financial Market
Risks – Sales Financing Arrangements”.
In addition, in the Commercial Aircraft industry it is the industry
standard to include revision clauses in sales and suppliercontracts due to the long terms of such contracts. Such revision
clauses can be based on one or multiple indices and, therefore,
can evolve due to changes in economic measures on which such
indices are based, thereby potentially negatively impacting theCompany’s results.
The Company generally ﬁnances its manufacturing activities
and product development programmes, and in particular thedevelopment of new commercial aircraft, through a combinationof ﬂows generated by operating activities, customer advances,
European governments’ refundable advances and risk-sharing
partnerships with subcontractors. In addition, the Company’s
military activities beneﬁt from government-ﬁnanced research anddevelopment contracts. If necessary, the Company may raise
funds in the capital markets. Weak economic circumstancesleading to liquidity constraints or reduced availability of ﬁnancefor the Company’s customers, suppliers, European and othergovernments, and other risk sharing partners may affect
the Company’s ability to finance its product development
programmes and raise funds in the capital markets.
The Company’s ﬁnancial results could also be negatively affected
depending on gains or losses realised on the sale or exchangeof ﬁnancial instruments; impairment charges resulting fromrevaluations of debt and equity securities and other investments;
interest rates; cash balances; and changes in fair value ofderivative instruments. Increased volatility in the ﬁnancial markets
and overall economic uncertainty would increase the risk of theactual amounts realised in the future on the Company’s ﬁnancial
instruments differing signiﬁcantly from the fair values currently
assigned to them.
Although the potential negative impact of global economic
conditions cannot reasonably be assessed, the consequences
thereof could have a material effect on the Company’s business,
results of operations and ﬁnancial condition, and in particular
if these were to impact the Company’s commercial aviation
activities or otherwise impact its access to ﬁnancing.

The Company’s business, resultsof operations and financial condition
could be materially affected by Brexit.
On 29 March 2017, the UK triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon
Treaty, the mechanism to leave the European Union (“Brexit”),
before having achieved a roadmap for the complex negotiations.
The UK Government’s Withdrawal Agreement was ratiﬁed andthe UK left the EU in an orderly manner on 31 January 2020,
opening a transition period until 31 December 2020. During thistransition period, the European Union and the UK are continuing
to negotiate their future long-term relationship, including aroundalignment of the regulatory framework for aviation. The full impactof Brexit on our business, results of operations and ﬁnancial
condition will only become clear once the negotiations between
the European Union and the UK regarding withdrawal after
the end of the transition period have concluded and clariﬁed
the general nature of the post-Brexit relationship. However,
the Company’s business and supply chain in particular may
be materially affected by this uncertainty and by potentially alack of agreement on the future long term relationship and/or
divergent national laws and regulations between the European
Union and the UK.
The critical issues amongst others are the increased cost basedue to trade procedures, airworthiness efforts and difﬁculty
to move people. For trade procedures (non-tariff cost) alone,an OECD study estimates the range of the recurring extra
cost between 2% and 15% of overall trade. Because of theunprecedented and evolving nature of Brexit, it is difﬁcult toestimate the cost impact it may have on the Company. The
Company recently generated a UK turnover of approximately£ 6 billion. Greater restrictions on the import and export of goods
and services between the UK and the European Union in which
the Company operates, along with increased regulatory andlegal complexities, may lead to disruptions and greater costsin the Company’s operations and supply chain. The Company
has more than 2,000 suppliers in the UK and an integrated
supply chain with parts crossing the Channel multiple times.
More than 10,000 original aircraft parts originate in the UK. The
Company’s supply chain is operated on a just-in-time basis
relying on frictionless trade today provided by the combinationof the EU Customs Union and Single Market rules. Changes in thecustoms regime between the UK and the European Union could
result in signiﬁcant changes at borders and customs controls.
An insufﬁcient level of preparedness for such changes could
signiﬁcantly delay the import and export of goods, including
goods which are transferred between Airbus (and its suppliers’)
entities in the UK and Airbus (and its suppliers’) entities in theEuropean Union, which may have a direct industrial and cost
impact.
The design, production, maintenance, repair and overhaul anduse of parts originating from UK aerospace companies follow
tight regulations controlled by the UK certiﬁcation authority within
EASA, who delivers, for example, necessary Design Organisation
Approval (“DOA”), Production Organisation Approval (“POA”) andMaintenance Organisation Approval (“MOA”). In the absence of a
Brexit agreement, UK aerospace companies may not be covered
anymore under existing regulatory approvals including EASA
approvals. To secure transition without disruption, UK companies
shall transfer their DOA, POA and MOA into the EU-27 and/or
adhere to EASA’s third country approval scheme.

Airbus / Registration Document 20199

Risk Factors /1 Financial Market Risks

Airbus has four major engineering and manufacturing facilities in
the UK, 14,000 employees at 25 sites. Our people make 80,000
business trips between the UK and the European Union a year
and we have 1,900 expatriates.

2019, 31 October 2019 and 31 January 2020. The Company
has been working with suppliers and partners to assess andimprove their readiness level, and encouraging them to do thesame with their supply chains.

The Company employs a substantial amount of highly skilledemployees in the UK. Limitations on the free movement of people
and skilled labour could negatively affect competitiveness, inparticular compared to market participants that are less reliant
on movement of people and goods between the UK and theEuropean Union, and have a material adverse effect on the
Company’s results. See also “— Risk Factors – Business-Related
Risks – Major Research and Development Programmes”.

In addition, the Company has established a quick reaction crisis
management organisation to address any unknown events/risks
which may occur.

The Company launched a major Brexit planning project in orderto understand, eradicate and/or mitigate risks in the following
areas: People, Certiﬁcations, Customs, Procurement & Supply
Chain, Transport and Logistics, Export Control, Environment,
Security, Capital & Financial Services, Legal.
The Company has been working with suppliers and partners tostockpile parts, prepare our customs and regulatory systems andmitigate impacts where possible, for example transport where
the Company prepared additional means in advance of 31 March

Because the risk of the UK not reaching agreement with theEuropean Union during the transitional period, or reachingan agreement that might have material consequences for theCompany’s business, cannot be excluded, the commercial
aerospace, defence, space and security industries in which
the Company operates may plunge into unknown territory, andthe Company’s operations and supply chain may still sufferfrom disruptions, the nature, materiality and duration of which
is impossible to predict with any level of certainty. If the UK, either
during the transitional period or following such period, would beconsidered by the European Union to be a third country withouta privileged relationship with the European Union, the Company’sbusiness, results of operations and ﬁnancial condition could bematerially affected.

Foreign Currency Exposure
At the end of 2019, more than 75% of the Company’s revenues
are denominated in US dollars, with approximately 60% of suchcurrency exposure “naturally hedged” by US dollar-denominatedcosts. To the extent that the Company does not use ﬁnancial
instruments to hedge its exposure resulting from this foreign
currency mismatch, its proﬁts will be affected by market changes
in the exchange rate of the US dollar against these currencies.
There are complexities inherent in determining whether andwhen foreign currency exposure of the Company will materialise,in particular given the possibility of unpredictable revenue
variations arising from order cancellations, postponements ordelivery delays. The Company may also have difﬁculty in fully
implementing its hedging strategy if its hedging counterparties
are unwilling to increase derivatives risk limits with the Company,
and is exposed to the risk of non-performance or default by
these hedging counterparties. The exchange rates at which theCompany is able to hedge its foreign currency exposure may also
deteriorate, as the euro could appreciate against the US dollar
for some time, as has been the case in the past and as higher
capital requirements for banks result in higher credit charges foruncollateralised derivatives. Accordingly, the Company’s foreign
currency hedging strategy may not protect it from signiﬁcantchanges in the exchange rate of the US dollar to the euro andthe pound sterling, in particular over the long term, which could
have a negative effect on its ﬁnancial condition and results ofoperations. In addition, the portion of the Company’s US dollardenominated revenues that is not hedged in accordance with
the Company’s hedging strategy will be exposed to ﬂuctuations
in exchange rates, which may be signiﬁcant. As of 31 December
2019, the total hedge portfolio with maturities up to 2026
amounts to US$ 97.1 billion and covers a major portion of theforeign exchange exposure expected over the period of theoperative planning.

10

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Furthermore, the Company is exposed to certain other pricerisks such as interest rate risks, changes in commodity prices
and in the price of its own stocks. Adverse movements of theseprices may jeopardise the Company’s proﬁtability if not hedged.
Currency exchange rate fluctuations in currencies otherthan the US dollar in which the Company incurs its principal
manufacturing expenses (mainly the euro) may affect the abilityof the Company to compete with competitors whose costs
are incurred in other currencies. This is particularly true withrespect to ﬂuctuations relative to the US dollar, as many of theCompany’s products and those of its competitors (e.g., in the
defence export market) are priced in US dollars. The Company’s
ability to compete with competitors may be eroded to the extent
that any of the Company’s principal currencies appreciates
in value against the principal currencies of such competitors.
The Company’s consolidated revenues, costs, assets andliabilities denominated in currencies other than the euro aretranslated into the euro for the purposes of compiling its
Financial Statements. Changes in the value of these currencies
relative to the euro will, therefore, have an effect on the euro
value of the Company’s reported revenues, costs, earnings
before interest and taxes (“EBIT”), other ﬁnancial results, assets,
liabilities and equity.
See “— Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations — 2.1.7 Hedging
Activities” for a discussion of the Company’s foreign currency
hedging strategy. See “— Management’s Discussion andAnalysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations— 2.1.2.3 Accounting for Hedged Foreign Exchange Transactionsin the Financial Statements” for a summary of the Company’s
accounting treatment of foreign currency hedging transactions.

Risk Factors /1 Financial Market Risks

Sales Financing Arrangements
In support of sales, the Company may agree to participate in theﬁnancing of selected customers. Over the last three years (2017to 2019), the average number of aircraft delivered in respect ofwhich ﬁnancing support has been provided by Airbus amounted
to close to 0% of the average number of deliveries over the same
period, i.e. one aircraft ﬁnanced per year out of 794 deliveries
per year on average.
The risks arising from the Company’s sales ﬁnancing activities
may be classiﬁ ed into two categories: (i) credit risk, which
relates to the customer’s ability to perform its obligations undera financing arrangement, and (ii) aircraft value risk, whichprimarily relates to unexpected decreases in the future value ofaircraft. Defaults by its customers or signiﬁcant decreases in thevalue of the ﬁnanced aircraft in the resale market may materiallyadversely affect the Company’s business, results of operations
and ﬁnancial condition.
The Company’s sales ﬁ nancing arrangements expose it toaircraft value risk, because it generally retains security interests
in aircraft for the purpose of securing customers’ performanceof their ﬁnancial obligations to the Company, and/or because
it may guarantee a portion of the value of certain aircraft at
certain anniversaries from the date of their delivery to customers.
Under adverse market conditions, the market for used aircraft
could become illiquid and the market value of used aircraft

could significantly decrease below projected amounts. In
the event of a ﬁnancing customer default at a time when themarket value for a used aircraft has unexpectedly decreased,
the Company would be exposed to the difference between theoutstanding loan amount and the market value of the aircraft,
net of ancillary costs (such as maintenance and remarketingcosts, etc.). Similarly, if an unexpected decrease in the market
value of a given aircraft coincided with the exercise window dateof an asset value guarantee with respect to that aircraft, theCompany would be exposed to losing as much as the difference
between the market value of such aircraft and the guaranteedamount, though such amounts are usually capped. Throughthe Airbus Asset Management department or as a result of
past ﬁnancing transactions, the Company is the owner of usedaircraft, exposing it directly to ﬂuctuations in the market valueof these used aircraft.
In addition, the Company has backstop commitments to provide
ﬁnancing related to orders on Airbus’ and ATR’s backlog. The
Company’s sales ﬁnancing exposure could rise in line with
future sales growth depending on the agreement reached withcustomers. The Company remains exposed to the risk of defaults
by its customers or signiﬁcant decreases in the value of the
ﬁnanced aircraft in the resale market, which may have a negative
effect on its future ﬁnancial condition and results of operations.

Counterparty Credit
In addition to the credit risk relating to sales financing as
discussed above, the Company is exposed to credit risk to theextent of non-performance by its counterparties for ﬁnancial
instruments, such as hedging instruments ($ 97.1 billion nominal
value at 31 December 2019) and cash investments ($ 20.4 billion
nominal value at 31 December 2019). However, the Company
has policies in place to avoid concentrations of credit risk andto ensure that credit risk exposure is limited.
Counterparties for transactions in cash, cash equivalents andsecurities as well as for derivative transactions are limited tohighly rated ﬁnancial institutions, corporates or sovereigns.

The Company’s credit limit system assigns maximum exposurelines to such counterparties, based on a minimum credit rating
threshold as published by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.
If neither is present, Fitch ratings is used. Besides the credit
rating, the limit system also takes into account fundamental
counterparty data, as well as sector and maturity allocations
and further qualitative and quantitative criteria such as credit risk
indicators. The credit exposure of the Company is reviewed ona regular basis and the respective limits are regularly monitored
and updated.

As of 31 December 2019 the credit exposure had been estimated as follows:
Source of risk

Exposure

Unexpected Loss Contribution

Banks

4,277

45

Corporates

8,046

190

Sovereign Issuers

1,011

6

Money Market Funds

7,012

10

20,346251

Total

The Company also seeks to maintain a certain level ofdiversiﬁcation in its portfolio between individual counterparties aswell as between ﬁnancial institutions, corporates and sovereignsin order to avoid an increased concentration of credit risk on only
a few counterparties.

However, there can be no assurance that the Company will not
lose the beneﬁt of certain derivatives or cash investments incase of a systemic market disruption. In such circumstances, thevalue and liquidity of these ﬁnancial instruments could decline
and result in a signiﬁcant impairment, which may in turn have anegative effect on the Company’s ﬁnancial condition and resultsof operations.

Airbus / Registration Document 201911

Risk Factors /2 Business-Related Risks

Moreover, the progressive implementation of new ﬁ nancial
regulations (MiFiD II / MiFIR, CRD4, Bank Restructuring
Resolution Directive, etc.) will have an impact on the businessmodel of banks (for example, the split between investmentbanking and commercial banking activities) and on the capital
structure and cost of such banks’ activities in relation to over-thecounter derivatives, and therefore on the funding consequencesof central clearing and collateralisation of over-the-counter
derivatives for corporations like the Company. This may ultimately
increase the cost and reduce the liquidity of the Company’s longterm hedges, for example, as banks seek to either pass-on the
additional costs to their corporate counterparties or withdraw
from low-proﬁt businesses altogether.

Pension Commitments
The Company participates in several pension plans for both
executive as well as non-executive employees, some of which
are underfunded. As of 31 December 2019, the provision
for retirement plans and similar obligations amounted to€ 8.353 billion. For information related to these plans, pleaserefer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements— Note 31: Post-Employment Beneﬁts”. Although the Company
has recorded a provision in its balance sheet for its share of
the underfunding based on current estimates, there can be noassurance that these estimates will not be revised upward in the
future, leading the Company to record additional provisions in
respect of such plans.

2.

Necessary adjustments of such provisions include but are notlimited to (i) the discount factor (dependent in part on interest rates)
and the inﬂation rate applied to calculate the net present value ofthe pension liabilities, (ii) the performance of the asset classes
which are represented in the pension assets, and (iii) behaviouralassumptions regarding beneﬁciaries, and (iv) additional cash
injections contributed by the Company from time to time to thepension assets. The Company has taken measures to reduce
potential losses on the pension assets and to better matchthe characteristics of the pension liabilities with those of thepension assets as a long-term objective. Nevertheless, any
required additional provisions would have a negative effect on
the Company’s total equity (net of deferred tax), which couldin turn have a negative effect on its future ﬁnancial condition.

Business-Related Risks

Commercial Aircraft Market Factors
Historically, the Company has experienced that order intake
for commercial aircraft has shown cyclical trends, due in partto changes in passenger demand for air travel and the air
cargo share of freight activity, which are in turn driven by arange of economic variables, such as gross domestic product(“GDP”) growth, private consumption levels or working age
population size. Other factors, however, play an important rolein determining the market for commercial aircraft, such as (i) the
average age and technical obsolescence of the ﬂeet relative to
new aircraft, (ii) the number and characteristics of aircraft takenout of service and parked pending potential return into service,(iii) passenger and freight load factors, (iv) airline pricing policies
and resultant yields, (v) airline ﬁnancial health and the availabilityof third party ﬁnancing for aircraft purchases, (vi) evolution of fuelprice, (vii) regulatory environment, (viii) environmental constraints
imposed upon aircraft operations, such as the Carbon Offsetting
and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (“CORSIA”),
carbon standards and other environmental taxes; and (ix) market
evolutionary factors such as the growth of low-cost passenger
airline business models or the impact of e-commerce on air
cargo volumes.

12

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

The factors described above may have a material impact on thecommercial aircraft industry and, therefore, on the Company’s
financial condition and results of operations. In 2019, thecommercial aircraft business segment of Airbus recorded total
revenues of € 54.77 billion – representing 77% of the Company’s
revenues. See “— 1.1.2 Airbus”. The signiﬁcant growth of ourcommercial aircraft business relative to our Defence, Space andGovernment activities has diluted the latter’s ability to serve as
an effective tool to counter commercial cycles.
The commercial helicopter market in which the Company
operates has shown cyclical trends and could also be inﬂuenced
by factors listed above. In addition, the civil & parapublic and inparticular the oil & gas market softness has led to, and may infuture lead to, a postponement of investments in the acquisitionof new platforms and a reduction of ﬂight hours. Structuralchanges in demand for helicopters in the oil & gas segment
are not anticipated at current oil price levels. However, this maychange as oil & gas prices ﬂuctuate. The uncertainty on the leadtime of the civil and parapublic market recovery may have an
impact on Airbus Helicopters’ ﬁnancial results and could leadto cancellations or loss of bookings and services.

Risk Factors /2 Business-Related Risks

COVID-19 Risks
The Company’s business, results of operations and ﬁnancial
condition could be materially affected by the outbreak of the
COVID-19 pandemic (also known as “Coronavirus”).
In early February 2020, the Company stopped operations of
the Tianjin Final Assembly Line for approximately one week
but was later authorised by the Chinese authorities to restart
operations and gradually increase production. On 17 March
2020, the Company decided to temporarily pause production
and assembly activities at its French and Spanish sites acrossthe Company for a period of four days. The Company expects
production and assembly work to partially resume in France andSpain on 23 March 2020 following health and safety checks
after the implementation of stringent measures. Work stations
will only re-open if they comply with the new health and safetymeasures in terms of hygiene, cleaning and self-distancing
while improving the efﬁciency of operations under new working
conditions. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic may leadto further disruptions to the Company’s internal operations or
its ability to deliver products and services.
Chinese domestic and worldwide travel limitations andrestrictions have posed logistical challenges and may cause
further disruptions to the Company’s business, its operations
and supply chain and its ability to deliver products and services.

The Company may be affected by weak market and economic
conditions in China where it has production facilities and towhich it sells its products as well as other markets around theworld. Weaker market and economic conditions in China andtheir knock-on effects in other markets could result in requests
by customers to postpone delivery or cancel existing orders
for aircraft (including helicopters) or other products including
services, or decisions by customers to review their order intake
strategy, or weak levels of passenger demand for air travel
and cargo activity more generally or travel restrictions, which
could negatively impact the Company’s results of operations.
The Company has established a crisis management organisationin response to the COVID-19 outbreak and is monitoring thesituation and evaluating any potential impacts to production
and deliveries.
Although the full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak cannot
reasonably be assessed at the time of this report, the Company’sbusiness, its operations and supply chain may be disrupted
and materially affected by the outbreak and the uncertainty
it creates.
For additional information, see “— Information on the Company’s
Activities — 1.3 Recent Developments”.

Cyber Security Risks
The Company’s extensive information and communications
systems, industrial environment and products are exposed tocyber security risks. Cyber security threats are rapidly changing
and scenarios of attacks are becoming more sophisticated.

interconnectivity and digitalisation. The growing gap developing
between the defences of legacy industrial systems and thecapabilities of potential attackers as well as an increasinglycompetitive landscape of the Company is also at stake.

The Company is exposed to a number of different cyber security
risks, directly or through its supply chain, arising from actions
that may be intentional and hostile, accidental or negligent.
Intrusion in systems, leakage of information or theft including
industrial espionage, sabotage, corruption and availability ofdata and destabilisation are the main cyber security risks that
the Company faces.

Finally, the Company is exposed to reputational damage anddestabilisation from the growing volume of false and malicious
information injected to media and social networks.

All of the above mentioned risks are heightened in the context
of the Company’s digital transformation, including greater use ofcloud services, increasingly capable adversaries, integration withthe extended enterprise, increasing use of the “internet of things”
and the growing prevalence of mobile devices. Risks related
to the Company’s industrial control systems, manufacturing
processes and products are growing with the increase of

While the Company continues to make significant efforts
to prevent such risks from materialising, making targeted
investments will reduce but not eradicate likelihood and impact
through strengthening the business cyber resilience.
The materialisation of one or several of such risks could lead tosevere damage including but not limited to signiﬁcant ﬁnancial
loss, need for additional investment, contractual or reputational
performance degradation, loss of intellectual property, loss ofbusiness data and information, operational business degradation
or disruptions, and product or services malfunctions.

Physical Security, Terrorism, Pandemics and Other Catastrophic Events
Past terrorist attacks and the spread of disease (such as theCoronavirus or the H1N1 ﬂu pandemic or the Ebola epidemic
in 2013-2016) have demonstrated that such events may
negatively affect public perception of air travel safety, which
may in turn reduce demand for air travel and commercial aircraft.
The outbreak of wars, riots or political unrest or uncertainties
may also affect the willingness of the public to travel by air.

Furthermore, major aircraft accidents may have a negative
effect on the public’s or regulators’ perception of the safetyof a given class of aircraft, a given airline, form of design or air
trafﬁc management. As a result of such factors, the aeronautic
industry may be confronted with sudden reduced demand for
air transportation and be compelled to take costly security andsafety measures. The Company may, therefore, suffer from a

Airbus / Registration Document 201913

Risk Factors /2 Business-Related Risks

decline in demand for all or certain types of its aircraft or otherproducts, and the Company’s customers may postpone delivery
or cancel orders.
In addition to affecting demand for its products, catastrophic
events could disrupt the Company’s internal operations or
its ability to deliver products and services. Disruptions may
be related to threats to infrastructure, personnel security

and physical security and may arise from terrorism, natural
disasters, ﬁre, damaging weather, and other types of incidents
such as drone air trafﬁc disruption. Any resulting impact on the
Company’s production, services or information systems could
have a signiﬁcant adverse effect on the Company’s operations,ﬁnancial condition and results of operations as well as on its
reputation and on its products and services.

Dependence on Key Suppliers and Subcontractors
The Company is dependent on numerous key suppliers andsubcontractors to provide it with the raw materials, parts,
assemblies, systems, equipment and services that it needs tomanufacture its products.
The Company relies upon the good performance and ﬁnancial
health of its suppliers and subcontractors to meet the obligations
deﬁned under their contracts. A supplier’s performance andhealth may be negatively impacted by a variety of topics including
a concentrated customer base.
The Company cannot fully protect itself from non-performanceof a supplier which could disrupt production and in turn may
have a negative effect on its ﬁnancial condition and results ofoperations.

Changes to the Company’s production or development
schedules may impact suppliers so that they initiate claims under
their respective contracts for ﬁnancial compensation. This may
have a negative effect on the ﬁnancial condition and results ofoperations of the Company.
As the Company’s global sourcing footprint extends, some
suppliers (or their sub-tier suppliers) may have production
facilities located in countries that are exposed to socio-politicalunrest or natural disasters which could interrupt deliveries. Thismay have a negative effect on the ﬁnancial condition and resultsof operations of the Company. See “— Risk Factors – Financial
Market Risks – The Company’s business, results of operations
and ﬁnancial condition could be materially affected by Brexit”.

Industrial Ramp-Up
As a result of the large number of new orders for aircraft
recorded in recent years, the Company continues the process ofsustainable production increase in order to meet the agreed upondelivery schedules for such new aircraft. The Company’s ability
to further increase its production rate will be dependent upona variety of factors, including execution of internal performanceplans, availability of raw materials, parts (such as aluminium,
titanium and composites) and skilled employees given the highdemand by the Company and its competitors, conversion of
raw materials into parts and assemblies, and performance by
suppliers and subcontractors (particularly suppliers of enginesand buyer-furnished equipment) who may experience resource

or ﬁnancial constraints due to ramp-up. Management of suchfactors is also complicated by the development of new aircraft
programmes in parallel, across Airbus and the two Divisions,which carry their own resource demands. Therefore, failures
relating to any or all of these factors could lead to missed ordelayed delivery commitments, and depending on the length ofdelay in meeting delivery commitments, could lead to additionalcosts and customers’ rescheduling or terminating their orders.
The associated risks may increase as the Company andits competitors announce further production rate increases.
For more details on speciﬁc programme ramp-up risks, see“— Programme-Speciﬁc Risks” below.

Technologically Advanced Products and Services
The Company offers its customers products and services thatare technologically advanced, so the design, manufacturing,components and materials utilised can be complex and require
substantial integration and coordination along the supply chain.
In addition, most of the Company’s products must function underdemanding operating conditions. Throughout the lifecycle ofits products, the Company performs checks and inspections,which may result in modiﬁcations, retroﬁts or other corrective
actions, each of which may have an adverse effect on production,
operations, in-service performance or ﬁnancial condition. Therecan be no assurance that the Company’s products or services
will be successfully developed, manufactured or operated orthat they will perform as intended.

14

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Certain of the Company’s contracts require it to forfeit part ofits expected proﬁt, to receive reduced payments, to provide a
replacement launch or other products or services, to provide
cancellation rights, or to reduce the price of subsequent sales
to the same customer if its products fail to be delivered on timeor to perform adequately. No assurances can be given that
performance penalties or contract cancellations will not be
imposed should the Company fail to meet delivery schedules
or other measures of contract performance — in particular withrespect to new development programmes such as the A220,
A350-900 and -1000 XWB, A400M, H175, H160 or Ariane 6 andto modernisation programmes such as the A320neo and theA330neo. See “— Programme-Speciﬁc Risks” below.

Risk Factors /2 Business-Related Risks

In addition to the risk of contract cancellations, the Company
may also incur significant costs or loss of revenues inconnection with remedial action required to correct any
performance issues detected in its products or services.
See “— Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations — 2.1.1.3 Signiﬁ cantprogramme developments, restructuring and related ﬁnancial
consequences in 2017, 2018 and 2019”. Moreover, to the extent
that a performance issue is considered to have a possible

impact on safety, regulators could suspend the authorisation
for the affected product or service.
Any signiﬁcant problems with the development, manufacturing,
operation, performance or safety of the Company’s products
and services could have a signiﬁcant adverse effect on the
Company’s ﬁnancial condition and results of operations aswell as on the reputation of the Company and its products andservices.

Dependence on Public Spending and on Certain Markets
In any single market, public spending (including defence andsecurity spending) depends on a complex mix of geopoliticalconsiderations and budgetary constraints, and may therefore be
subject to signiﬁcant ﬂuctuations from year to year and country
to country. Any termination or reduction of future funding orcancellations or delays impacting existing contracts may have anegative effect on the Company’s ﬁnancial condition and resultsof operations. In instances where several countries undertaketo enter together into defence or other procurement contracts,

economic, political or budgetary constraints in any one ofthese countries may have a negative effect on the ability of theCompany to enter into or perform such contracts.
The Company has a geographically diverse backlog. Adverse
economic and political conditions, as well as downturns in broad
economic trends in certain countries or regions, may have anegative effect on the Company’s ﬁnancial condition and resultsof operations generated in those regions.

Availability of Government and Other Sources of Financing
From 1992 to 2004, the European Union and the US operated
under an agreement that sets the terms and conditions ofﬁnancial support that governments may provide to civil aircraft
manufacturers. In late 2004, however, the US unilaterally
withdrew from this agreement, which eventually led to the US
and the European Union making formal claims against eachother before the World Trade Organization (“WTO”). While bothsides have expressed a preference for a negotiated settlementthat provides for a level playing ﬁeld when funding future aircraft
developments, they have thus far failed to reach agreement on
key issues.
Separately, Brazil has initiated WTO proceedings citing Canadian
support to the C Series aircraft, the aircraft that the Company
manufactures, markets and supports as the A220 aircraft underthe Airbus Canada Limited Partnership (prior to 1 June 2019
known as the C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership” (“CSALP”))
agreement, ﬁnalised in 2018. Here too, a negotiated outcome
would be preferable. Domestic proceedings in the US based onalleged subsidies to the C Series were dismissed. The terms andconditions of any new agreement, or the ﬁnal outcome of theformal WTO or other trade law proceedings, may limit accessby the Company to risk-sharing funds for large projects, may
establish an unfavourable balance of access to government
funds by the Company as compared to its US competitors or
may in an extreme scenario cause the involved governments
to analyse possibilities for a change in the commercial terms offunds already advanced to the Company.
On 18 October 2019, the US imposed, among other targeted
goods, a tariff of 10% on new aircraft exported from the European
Union to the US. On 14 February 2020, the USTR announced
the US is increasing the additional duty rate imposed on aircraft
imported from the EU to 15%, effective 18 March 2020. Airbus
deliveries to the US from the ﬁnal assembly line (“FAL”) in Mobile
are exempted from tariffs. The tariffs could have a material

impact on the Financial Statements, business and operationsof the Company. At this stage it is too early to determine thefull extent of any ﬁnancial impact on the Company. Duties on
the importation of Airbus products into the US could result in(i) increased costs for the aerospace and airline industries aswell as other industries that rely on air transport, (ii) weakening
demand for new aircraft and negatively affecting the ﬁnancial
condition of air carriers and lessors, (iii) decisions to defer, rejector reschedule the delivery of new aircraft or limit the routes
upon which new aircraft will be used, (iv) increased costs to
consumers, (v) retaliation by the EU with its own import duties tobe applied to US products, and/or (vi) damage to the Company’sbusiness or reputation via negative publicity adversely affecting
the Company’s prospects in the commercial market place. See
WTO in “— Risk Factors – Legal Risks – Legal and Regulatory
Proceedings” and “— Information on the Company’s Activities— 1.1.7 Legal and Arbitration Proceedings”.
In prior years, the Company and its principal competitors haveeach received different types of government ﬁnancing of productresearch and development. However, no assurances can begiven that government ﬁnancing will continue to be made available
in the future, in part as a result of the proceedings mentioned
above. Moreover, the availability of other outside sources ofﬁnancing will depend on a variety of factors such as market
conditions, the general availability of credit, the Company’s credit
ratings, as well as the possibility that lenders or investors could
develop a negative perception of the Company’s long- or shortterm ﬁnancial prospects if it incurred large losses or if the level of
its business activity decreased due to an economic downturn.
The Company may, therefore, not be able to successfully obtain
additional outside ﬁnancing on appropriate terms, or at all,which may limit the Company’s future ability to make capital
expenditures, fully carry out its research and development efforts
and fund operations.

Airbus / Registration Document 201915

Risk Factors /2 Business-Related Risks

Competition and Market Access
The markets in which the Company operates are highly
competitive. With regard to the Company’s commercial aircraftbusiness for aircraft with more than 150 seats, the Company today
operates in a competitive duopoly. The design, development
and production of commercial aircraft involves high barriers
to entry (including certiﬁcation requirements, large investment
needs, skilled competencies and access to technology) andthe two main market participants have secured signiﬁcant orderbacklogs.
In some areas, competitors may have more extensive or
more specialised engineering, manufacturing and marketing
capabilities. In addition, some of the Company’s largest
customers and/or suppliers may develop the capability to
manufacture products or provide services similar to those of
the Company. This would result in these customers/suppliers
marketing their own products or services and competing directlywith the Company for sales of these products or services, allof which could signiﬁcantly reduce the Company’s revenues.
Further, new players are operating or seeking to operate in the

Company’s existing markets, which may impact the structure
and proﬁtability of these markets. In addition, enterprises withdifferent business models and alternative technologies could
substitute some of the Company’s products and services. Therecan be no assurance that the Company will be able to compete
successfully against its current or future competitors or that thecompetitive pressures it faces in all business areas will not result
in reduced revenues, market share or proﬁt.
In addition, the contracts for many aerospace and defence
products are awarded, implicitly or explicitly, on the basis of homecountry preference. Although the Company is a multinational
company which helps to broaden its domestic market, it may
remain at a competitive disadvantage in certain countries,
especially outside of Europe, relative to local contractors
for certain products. The strategic importance and politicalsensitivity attached to the aerospace and defence industries
means that political considerations will play a role in the choiceof many products for the foreseeable future.

Major Research and Development Programmes
The business environment in many of the Company’s principal
operating business segments is characterised by extensive
research and development costs requiring signiﬁcant up-front
investments with a high level of complexity. For the year 2019,research and development expenses were € 3.4 billion. For
the year 2018, research and development expenses were
€ 3.2 billion, mainly reﬂecting development cost on the A320neo.
Due to the technologically advanced complex nature of the
products that the Company produces and the long period,
including ramp up time, it takes to produce them, the businessplans underlying such investments often contemplate a long
payback period before these investments are recouped,
and assume a certain level of return over the course of thisperiod in order to justify the initial investment. There can be
no assurances that the commercial, technical and market
assumptions underlying such business plans will be met, andconsequently, the payback period or returns contemplated
therein achieved.
Successful development of new programmes also depends
on the Company’s ability to attract and retain aerospaceengineers and other professionals with the technical skills
and experience required to meet its speciﬁc needs. Demand
for such engineers may often exceed supply dependingon the market, resulting in intense competition for qualiﬁ ed
professionals. The Company’s attrition rate in 2019 was 4.4%
overall (including subsidiaries) and 8.43% in subsidiaries only
(compared to 4.9% overall and 8.51% in subsidiaries only
in 2018). There can be no assurances that the Company
will attract and retain the personnel it requires to conduct

16

Airbus / Registration Document 2019its operations successfully and in particular to attract andretain aerospace engineers and other professionals with thetechnical skills and experience required for its research anddevelopment programmes. Failure to attract and retain such
personnel or an increase in the Company’s employee turnoverrate could negatively affect the Company’s ﬁnancial condition
and results of operations more generally and particularly its
ability to successfully execute its research and development
programmes.
No assurance can be given that the Company will achieve
the anticipated level of returns from these programmes andother development projects, which may negatively affect theCompany’s ﬁnancial condition and results of operations andcompetitiveness.
In the context of the post-Brexit relationship between the UK
and the European Union, there is a risk that the Company mightlose access to pooled expertise and knowledge and could
face disruptions within its interdependent and extensively
integrated research and innovation networks across the UK
and the European Union countries. The Company may also
face lack of certainty with respect to intellectual property
rights for existing or new programmes and established or
potential partnerships with private or public organisations,academic institutions and research councils, charities andgovernment departments, where the relevant intellectual
property frameworks or user-rights/ownership governing
those relationships is dependent on the UK’s status as amember state of the European Union.

Risk Factors /2 Business-Related Risks

Acquisitions, Divestments, Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliances
As part of its business strategy, the Company may acquireor divest businesses and/or form joint ventures or strategic
alliances. Executing acquisitions and divestments can be difﬁcult
and costly due to the complexities inherent in integrating or
carving out people, operations, technologies and products.
There can be no assurance that any of the businesses that
the Company intends to acquire or divest can be integrated or
carved out successfully, as timely as originally planned or thatthey will perform well and deliver the expected synergies or costsavings once integrated or separated. In addition, regulatory,administrative or other contractual conditions can prevent
transactions from being ﬁnalised. The Company’s business,
results of operations and ﬁnancial condition may be materiallyaffected if these transactions will not be successfully completedor do not produce the expected beneﬁts.

Public-Private Partnerships and Private Finance Initiatives
Defence customers may request proposals and grant contracts
under schemes known as public-private partnerships (“PPPs”).
PPPs differ substantially from traditional defence equipment
sales, as they often incorporate elements such as:– the provision of extensive operational services over the lifeof the equipment;– continued ownership and ﬁ nancing of the equipment by
a party other than the customer, such as the equipment
provider;– mandatory compliance with speciﬁc customer requirements
pertaining to public accounting or government procurement
regulations; and– provisions allowing for the service provider to seek additionalcustomers for unused capacity.

The Company is party to PPP and private ﬁnance initiatives (“PFI”)
contracts, for example Skynet 5 and related telecommunications
services, and in the AirTanker (FSTA) project both with the UK
MoD. One of the complexities presented by PFIs lies in the
allocation of risks and the timing thereof among different parties
over the life-time of the project.
There can be no assurances of the extent to which the Company
will efﬁciently and effectively (i) compete for future PFI or PPP
programmes, (ii) administer the services contemplated under
the contracts, (iii) ﬁnance the acquisition of the equipment andthe ongoing provision of services related thereto, or (iv) accessthe markets for the commercialisation of excess capacity. The
Company may also encounter unexpected political, budgetary,
regulatory or competitive risks over the long duration of PPP
and PFI programmes.

Programme-Speciﬁc Risks
In addition to the risk factors mentioned above, the Company
also faces the following programme-speciﬁc risks that could
have a material impact on the Company’s ﬁnancial condition
and results of operations:
A320neo programme. In connection with the A320neo
programme, the Company faces the following main challenges:
A320neo (new engine option) ramp up including the A321neo
ACF (Airbus Cabin Flex) with its new airframe and cabin design;
management of the internal and external supply chain pressure
as a result of the industrial ramp-up; ensuring maturity and highquality service support for a growing number of operators of
A320neo. The main focus will be with the further ramp-up for theCompany and both engine suppliers. For both engine suppliers,
challenges are to (i) meet the delivery commitments in line withagreed schedule and ensure sufﬁcient engine availability; (ii) ﬁx
in-service maturity issues in line with the Company and customer
expectations and mitigate the associated consequences;(iii) manage engine upgrades and performance. Two newversions will be launched for the A320 family: the Airspace Cabinand the A321 XLR, respectively in early 2021 and in 2023.
A400M programme. The Company signed a contract
amendment to restructure the contract. Risks remain on
development of technical capabilities and the associatedcosts, on securing sufﬁcient export orders in time, on aircraft
operational reliability in particular with regards to engines andon cost reductions as per the revised baseline.

For further information, please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS
Consolidated Financial Statements — Note 11: Revenue and
Gross Margin”.
A350 XWB programme. In connection with the A350 XWB
programme, the Company faces the following main challenges:
ensuring satisfaction of operators and high quality support totheir operations; maintaining supply chain performance andproduction ramp-up; controlling and reducing the level ofoutstanding work in ﬁ nal assembly line; reducing recurringcosts during the ongoing ramp-up; maintaining customisation
and ramp-up of Heads of Version; maintaining the development
schedule in line with learning curve assumptions beyond theinitial ramp up phase of A350-1000 XWB; maintaining attention
on engine development; and customer support for new typein service.
A380 programme. In connection with the A380 programme,
the Company faces the following main challenges: programme
wind-down and manage in service issues.
A330 programme. In connection with the A330 programme,
the main challenge the Company faces is to manage the new
production plan of the A330neo. Given the current overallcustomer demand for widebody aircraft, the Company willretain a 3.5 rate. The A330neo development progresses. For
the engine supplier, the main challenges relate to meeting thedelivery commitments and ensuring engine maturity.

Airbus / Registration Document 201917

Risk Factors /3 Legal Risks

A220 programme. In connection with the A220 programme,
the main challenges the Company faces are to build commercial
momentum, ramp up production and reduce costs.
H225 programme and AS332 L2 ﬂeet. In connection with the
H225 programme and the AS332 L2 ﬂeet, the Company faces
the following main challenges: since the crash in April 2016 ofa H225 in Norway (LN-OJF accident), the Company is dealing
with protective measures validated by EASA who lifted the ﬂight
suspension on 7 October 2016 and by UK and Norwegianaviation authorities on 7 July 2017 to put the ﬂeet back into
ﬂight operations. Publication of the ﬁnal AIBN report in July 2018
conﬁrmed the work on incremental improvements on the H225
as part of its ongoing, continuous improvement. The contributing
factors of the LN-OJF accident have been identiﬁed, and thesequence of events has been understood and reproduced
during recent testing. Airbus Helicopters continues to drive
improvements across its product range as part of its commitment
to raise safety standards and increase the robustness andreliability of dynamic components. The new challenge of the
programme is to secure the industrial ramp-up in order to fulﬁl2020 and 2021 deliveries.
H175 programme. In connection with the H175 programme
produced in cooperation with Avic, the Company faces thefollowing main challenges: today, the VIP and Public Services
conﬁgurations are in delivery mode, the Company is now working
on the maturity plan of the aircraft with the associated customer
support. Exchanges took place in 2019 with key H175 customers
to review the proposed maturity plan, share and challenge theidentiﬁed solutions and prepare the deployment plan.
NH90 and Tiger programmes. In connection with the NH90
programme, the Company is working to mitigate possible impact
on the 2020-2021 deliveries of the interruption of the Titanium
supply due to the export license withdrawn by the Russian export

3.

authorities. In connection with multiple ﬂeets entering into service,
the NH90 programme faces the challenge of assuring support
readiness while working on the deliveries of new contracts signed
in 2018 and 2019. As for the Tiger programme, the last serial
aircraft will be delivered Q1 2020. The Company is working on
the conversion from HAP to HAD.
H160 programme. In connection with the H160 programme,
the Company is completing the last paperwork activities to get
the EASA Type Certiﬁcation and then the FAA validation. The
following challenges include the delivery of the ﬁrst helicopter
for an EIS by year-end 2020, together with a mature support
environment (tech pub, tools, training). Another challenge is to
manage the industrial ramp-up of the supply chain.
Border security. In connection with border security projects,
the Company faces the following main challenges: meeting theschedule and cost objectives taking into account the complexityof the local infrastructures to be delivered and the integration ofcommercial-off-the-shelf products (radars, cameras and othersensors) interfaced into complex system networks; assuring
efﬁcient project and stafﬁng; managing the rollout including
subcontractors and customers. Negotiations on change
requests and schedule re-alignments remain ongoing. Due to therepeatedly prolonged suspension of defence export licenses to
Saudi Arabia by the German Government, and the consequential
inability of the Company to execute a customer contract, arevised Estimate at Completion (EAC) was performed. As a resulta € 221 million impairment charge mainly on inventories on top ofa € 112 million ﬁnancial expense related to hedge ineffectiveness,have been recognised as of 30 September 2019. The Company
is engaging with its customer to agree a way forward on thiscontract. The outcome of these negotiations is presently unclear
but could result in signiﬁcant further ﬁnancial impacts.

Legal Risks

Legal and Regulatory Proceedings
The Company is currently engaged in a number of active legal
and regulatory proceedings.
For example, the WTO litigation, which is described in “— Risk
Factors – Business-Related Risks – Availability of Governmentand other Sources of Financing”, is ongoing. The United States
Trade Representative (“USTR”) imposed tariffs on a range ofimports to the US from the European Union, including 10% on theimportation of large civil aircraft from the European Union. Those
tariffs went into effect on 18 October 2019. On 14 February
2020, the USTR announced the US is increasing the additional
duty rate imposed on aircraft imported from the EU to 15% from
10%, effective 18 March 2020. The duration of the tariffs (andany change to the amount thereof) will depend on the USTR,
and could have a material impact on the Financial Statements,
business and operations of the Company. At this stage it is18

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

too early to determine the full extent of any ﬁnancial impact on
the Company. For more information on the WTO litigation andtrade dispute, see “— Information on the Company’s Activities —1.1.7 Legal and Arbitration Proceedings — WTO”.
The Company expects to continue to spend time and incur
expenses associated with its defence of legal and regulatory
proceedings, regardless of the outcome, and this may divert
the efforts and attention of management from normal business
operations. Although the Company is unable to predict theoutcome of these proceedings, it is possible that they will resultin the imposition of damages, ﬁnes or other remedies, which
could have a material effect on the Company’s business, resultsof operations and ﬁnancial condition. An unfavourable ruling
could also negatively impact the Company’s stock price andreputation.

Risk Factors /3 Legal Risks

In addition, the Company is from time to time subject togovernment inquiries and investigations of its business andcompetitive environment due, among other things, to the heavily
regulated nature of its industry. In addition to the risk of an
unfavourable ruling against the Company, any such inquiry or
investigation could negatively affect the Company’s reputationand its ability to attract and retain customers and investors,
which could have a negative effect on its business, resultsof operations and ﬁnancial condition. See “— Non-Financial
Information — Responsible Business — 1.2.3(a) EthicalBusiness Practices”.

For the investigation by the UK Serious Fraud Ofﬁce (“SFO”),
France’s Parquet National Financier (“PNF”), and the US
Departments of State (“DoS”) and Justice (“DoJ”), which is
described in “— Risk Factors – Legal Risks – Anti-Corruption Laws
and Regulations”, the Company has reached an agreement withthe authorities, which was approved by the French and UK courtsand US court and regulator on 31 January 2020. The agreement
resulted in a ﬁne totalling € 3.6 billion plus costs to the French, UK,
and US authorities. For more information about the investigation,please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial
Statements — Note 38: Litigation and Claims” (Investigation by
the UK SFO, France’s PNF, and US Departments of State andJustice and Related Commercial Litigation).

Anti-Corruption Laws and Regulations
The Company is required to comply with applicable anti-bribery
laws and regulations in jurisdictions around the world where it
does business. To that end, an anti-corruption programme has
been put in place that seeks to ensure adequate identiﬁcation,assessment, monitoring and mitigation of corruption risks.
Despite these efforts, ethical misconduct or non-compliance withapplicable laws and regulations by the Company, its employees
or any third party acting on its behalf could expose it to liabilityor have a negative impact on its business.
The Company may be subject to administrative, civil or criminal
liabilities including signiﬁcant ﬁnes and penalties, as well as
suspension or debarment from government or non-government
contracts for some period of time. The Company may also
be required to modify its business practices and complianceprogramme and/or have a compliance monitor imposed on it.
Any one or more of the foregoing could have a signiﬁcant adverse
effect on the Company’s reputation and its business, results ofoperations and ﬁnancial condition.

In 2016, for example, the Company announced that it had
discovered misstatements and omissions in certain applications
for export credit ﬁnancing for Airbus customers, and had engaged
legal, investigative and forensic accounting experts to conduct
a review. Separately, the SFO announced that it had opened
a criminal investigation into allegations of fraud, bribery andcorruption in the civil aviation business of the Company, relating
to irregularities concerning third party consultants. Airbus was
subsequently informed that the French authorities, the PNF, hadalso opened a preliminary investigation into the same subject andthat the two authorities will act in coordination going forward. The
Company engaged with the government of the US (DoS and DoJ)
relating to conduct forming part of the SFO/PNF investigationthat could fall within US jurisdiction. The Company also engaged
with the government of the US concerning potential issues of
ITAR Part 130 and related matters. On 31 January 2020, theFrench and UK courts and US court and regulator approved anagreement reached by the Company with the authorities. See“— Information on the Company’s Activities — 1.1.7 Legal andArbitration Proceedings”.

Export Controls Laws and Regulations
The export market is a signiﬁcant market for the Company.
In addition, many of the products the Company designs andmanufactures for military use are considered to be of national
strategic interest. Consequently, the export of such products
outside of the jurisdictions in which they are produced may be
restricted or subject to licensing and export control requirements,
notably by the UK, France, Germany and Spain, where theCompany carries out its principal activities relating to military
products and services as well as by other countries where
suppliers are based, notably, the US. There can be no assurance(i) that the export controls to which the Company is subject will
not become more restrictive, (ii) that new generations of theCompany’s products will not also be subject to similar or more
stringent controls or (iii) that geopolitical factors or changing
international circumstances will not make it impossible toobtain export licenses for one or more clients or constrain the
Company’s ability to perform under previously signed contracts.
Reduced access to military export markets may have a signiﬁcant
adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations
and ﬁnancial condition.

Operating worldwide, the Company must comply with several,
sometimes inconsistent, sets of sanctions laws and regulations
implemented by national / regional authorities. Depending on
geopolitical considerations including national security interestsand foreign policy, new sanctions regimes may be set up or thescope of existing ones may be widened, at any time, immediately
impacting the Company’s activities.
Although the Company seeks to comply with all such laws andregulations, even unintentional violations or a failure to comply
could result in suspension of the Company’s export privileges,or preclude the Company from bidding on certain government
contracts (even in the absence of a formal suspension or
debarment).
Furthermore, the Company’s ability to market new products andenter new markets may be dependent on obtaining government
certiﬁcations and approvals in a timely manner.

Airbus / Registration Document 201919

Risk Factors /3 Legal Risks

Dependence on Joint Ventures and Minority Holdings
The Company generates a substantial proportion of its revenues
through various consortia, joint ventures and equity holdings.
These arrangements include primarily:– the Euroﬁghter and AirTanker consortia; and– four principal joint ventures: ArianeGroup, ATR, Airbus Canada
Limited Partnership (formerly CSALP) and MBDA.
The formation of partnerships and alliances with other market
players is an integral strategy of the Company, and the proportionof sales generated from consortia, joint ventures and equity
holdings may rise in future years. This strategy may from time totime lead to changes in the organisational structure, or realignment
in the control, of the Company’s existing joint ventures.

The Company exercises varying and evolving degrees of control
in the consortia, joint ventures and equity holdings in which
it participates. While the Company seeks to participate onlyin ventures in which its interests are aligned with those of its
partners, the risk of disagreement or deadlock is inherent in ajointly controlled entity, particularly in those entities that require
the unanimous consent of all members with regard to majordecisions and specify limited exit rights. The other parties inthese entities may also be competitors of the Company, andthus may have interests that differ from those of the Company.

Product Liability and Warranty Claims
The Company designs, develops and produces a number of highproﬁle products of large individual value, particularly civil andmilitary aircraft and space equipment. The Company is subject
to the risk of product liability and warranty claims in the eventthat any of its products fails to perform as designed. While theCompany believes that its insurance programmes are adequate
to protect it from such liabilities, no assurances can be giventhat claims will not arise in the future or that such insurance
coverage will be adequate.
While the Company believes that its insurance programmes areadequate to protect it from such liabilities, claims may arise in
the future and insurance coverage related to such claims may
be inadequate. The Company follows a policy of seeking totransfer the insurable risk of the Company to external insurance
markets at reasonable rates, on customised and sufﬁcient terms
and limits as provided by the international insurance markets.

The insurance industry remains unpredictable. There may
be future demands to change scope of coverage, premiums
and deductible amounts. No assurance can be given that theCompany will be able to maintain its current levels of coverage
nor that the insurance coverages in place are adequate to cover
all signiﬁcant risk exposure of the Company.
Any problems in this respect may also have a signiﬁcant adverse
effect on the reputation of the Company and lead to a decline
in demand for its products and services. Any reputational
damage faced by the Company may be exacerbated due tothe Company’s visibility.
The Company cannot predict at this time the impact on it asa result of any product liability or warranty claims as such will
depend on the nature and size of any such claim.

Intellectual Property
The Company continuously seeks to develop and deliver
new products to meet customers’ evolving needs, while also
improving its existing product lines. Technological innovation
has been at the core of the Company’s strategy since its
creation. The Company’s innovations often provide distinct
competitive advantages, with many becoming standard in theaircraft industry. In addition, the Company designs, develops andproduces a number of high proﬁle products of large individual
value, particularly civil and military aircraft and space equipment.
Therefore, intellectual property (“IP”) is one of the Company’s
most valuable assets and the protection of IP is critical to its
business.
The Company relies upon patents, copyright, trademark,conﬁdentiality and trade secret laws, and agreements with its
employees, customers, suppliers and other parties, to establish
and maintain its IP rights in its products and services and in its
operations. Despite these efforts to protect its IP rights, any of
the Company’s direct or indirect IP rights could be challenged,
invalidated or circumvented. Further, the laws of certain
countries do not protect the Company’s proprietary rights to20

Airbus / Registration Document 2019the same extent as the laws in Europe and the US. Therefore,
in certain jurisdictions the Company may be unable to protect
its proprietary technology adequately against unauthorised
third-party copying or use, which could adversely affect its
competitive position. The Company may also face lack of
certainty with respect to intellectual property rights for existingor new research and development programmes and establishedor potential partnerships with private or public organisations,academic institutions and research councils, charities andgovernment departments, where the relevant intellectual
property frameworks or user-rights/ownership governing thoserelationships is dependent on the UK’s status as a member stateof the European Union.
In the event the Company is unable to adequately procure andprotect critical IP it could potentially not implement its businessstrategy.
The Company has been accused of infringement on occasion
and could have additional claims asserted against it in the
future. These claims could harm its reputation, result in ﬁnancial

Risk Factors /4 Environment, Human Rights, Health and Safety Risks

penalties or prevent it from offering certain products or services
which may be subject to such third-party IP rights. Any claims
or litigation in this area, whether the Company ultimately wins orloses, could be time-consuming and costly, harm the Company’s
reputation or require it to enter into licensing arrangements.

4.

The Company might not be able to enter into these licensing
arrangements on acceptable terms. If a claim of infringement
were successful against it, an injunction might be ordered against
the Company, causing further losses.

Environment, Human Rights, Health and Safety
Risks

The Company’s expenditure associated with environmental
and health and safety challenges may increase due to bothincreased costs of compliance with regulations in those areas
as well as potential reputational and litigation risks.
Given the scope of its activities and the industries in which it
operates, the Company is subject to stringent environmental,
human rights, health and safety laws and regulations in numerous
jurisdictions around the world. The Company therefore incurs,and expects to continue to incur, signiﬁcant capital expenditureand other operating costs to comply with increasingly
complex laws and regulations covering the protection of thenatural environment as well as occupational health and safety
and human rights. Health and safety expenditures include
investments in the identiﬁcation and the prevention, eliminationor control of physical and psychological risks to people arisingfrom work, including chemical, mechanical and physical agents.
Risks that could arise from work activities include the possibilityof injury, physical and mental ill-health, damage to equipment,
business interruption and regulatory action. Any reputationalrisk and claims against the Company that may result will alsoneed to be managed and may lead to additional health andsafety expenditure being required. Environmental protection
expenditures include costs to prevent, control, eliminate or
reduce emissions to the environment, waste management,
the content of the Company’s products, and reporting andwarning obligations. Analysis of the current trends shows that
regulatory pressure on the international scene to reduce theenvironmental footprint of industry is steadily growing (circular
economy and resources efﬁciency, energy transition and climatechange engagement, air and water quality improvement).
Moreover, new laws and regulations, the imposition of tougher
license requirements, increasingly strict enforcement or new
interpretations of existing laws and regulations may cause theCompany to incur increased capital expenditure and operating
costs in the future in relation to the above, which could have anegative effect on its ﬁnancial condition and results of operations.
If the Company fails to comply with environmental, humanrights, health and safety laws and regulations, even if caused
by factors beyond its control, that failure may result in the levyingof civil or criminal penalties and ﬁnes against it. Regulatory
authorities may require the Company to conduct investigations
and undertake remedial activities, curtail operations or close
installations or facilities temporarily to prevent imminent risks.
In the event of an industrial accident or other serious incident,
employees, customers and other third parties may ﬁle claims

for ill-health, personal injury, or damage to property or theenvironment (including natural resources). Further, liability undersome environmental, human rights, health and safety laws canbe imposed retrospectively, on a joint and several basis, and,in relation to contaminated sites, without any ﬁnding of noncompliance or fault. These potential liabilities may not always
be covered by insurance, or may be only partially covered.
The obligation to compensate for such damages could have anegative effect on the Company’s ﬁnancial condition and resultsof operations.
In addition, the various products manufactured and sold by
the Company must comply with relevant health, safety andenvironmental laws, for example those designed to protect
customers and downstream workers or communities, and those
covering substances and preparations, in the jurisdictions inwhich they operate. Although the Company seeks to ensurethat its products meet the highest quality standards, increasingly
stringent and complex laws and regulations, new scientiﬁcdiscoveries, delivery of defective products or the obligation to
notify or provide regulatory authorities or others with required
information (such as under the European Union Regulation
known as “REACH”, which addresses the production and useof chemical substances) may force the Company to adapt,
redesign, redevelop, recertify and/or eliminate its products fromthe market thereby incurring signiﬁcant additional costs. Seizuresof defective products may be pronounced, and the Company
may incur administrative, civil or criminal liability. Any problems
in this respect may also have a signiﬁcant adverse effect on the
reputation of the Company and lead to a decline in demand forits products and services.
Despite compliance with all applicable laws and regulations,the Company’s reputation and the demand for its products
may also be affected by the public perception of environmental
and societal impacts of the Company’s products in operation(such as the emission of greenhouse gases or noise) and of thelocal impacts of the Company and its supply chain industrial
operations on local communities, the environment and air andwater quality.
The Company cannot predict at this time, the impact on it as aresult of environmental, human rights, health and safety matters,
and may be adversely affected by them in the manner describedabove. For more information on sustainability-related risks,see “— Non-Financial Information — Responsible Business —1.2.3(a) Ethical Business Practices”.

Airbus / Registration Document 201921

Chapter

1
22

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

1

Information on
the Company’s Activities
1.1
1.1.1
1.1.2
1.1.3
1.1.4
1.1.5
1.1.6
1.1.7

Presentation of the Company
Overview
Airbus (Commercial Aircraft)
Helicopters
Defence and Space
Investments
Insurance
Legal and Arbitration Proceedings

24
24
29
38
41
47
47
47

Non-Financial Information
The Company’s Approach to Responsibility& Sustainability
1.2.2 Responsible Company
1.2.3 Responsible Business1.2.4 Responsible Employer

50

1.3

76

1.2
1.2.1

Recent Developments

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

50
53
62
68

23

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

1.1 Presentation of the Company
1.1.1 Overview
Due to the nature of the markets in which the Company operates and the conﬁdential natureof its businesses, any statements with respect to the Company’s competitive position set out
in paragraphs 1.1.1 through 1.1.5 below have been based on the Company’s internal information
sources, unless another source has been speciﬁed below.
With consolidated revenues of € 70.5 billion in 2019, the Company
is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services.
Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger
airliners. The Company is also a European leader, providing
tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as oneof the world’s leading space companies. In helicopters, theCompany provides the most efﬁcient civil and military rotorcraft
solutions worldwide. In 2019, it generated approximately 86% of
its total revenues in the civil sector (compared to 84.5% in 2018)
and 14% in the defence sector (compared to 15.5% in 2018). As
of 31 December 2019, the Company’s active headcount was
134,931 employees.

Strategy
2019 brought the Company the foreseen changes at top
management level, as well as throughout the organisation. The
group started to lay the foundations of its next chapter to shape
the future: A stronger, more competitive company that meets
customer commitments and delivers value to its many different
stakeholders. The Company is committed to the sustainability ofits business, its products, and the role it wants to play in society.
The Company’s strategy is structured around the following threeaxes:
1. Grow the Company as an Aerospace leader, leveraging
its European roots while pursuing a global vision throughlocal actions
The commercial aircraft business continued its focus uponon-time, on-cost and on-quality deliveries and reached in 2019a new delivery record with 863 aircraft. The entry into serviceof the A321LR and the launch of the A321XLR will further
strengthen the market position of the Company.
Airbus Defence and Space maintained its leadership position,and demonstrated, through milestones reached in the Future
Combat Air System and Eurodrone, that it could shapeand deliver European power ambitions by providing militaryplatforms, space assets, associated services, as well as
missiles and launchers through its participations (JVs).
For example, Airbus Defence and Space plays a key role in
the Future Combat Air System (“FCAS”), which successfully
obtained Framework Arrangement signature from Germany,
France, and Spain during the Paris Air Show (17 June 2019).
FCAS will include technology developments for a New
Generation Fighter (NGF), Remote Carriers (RC) and an Air
Combat Cloud (ACC). The first flight of the NGF demonstrator

24

Airbus / Registration Document 2019is targeted for 2026, and the Company will co-prime the first
Demonstrator Phase of the programme between 2019 andmid-2021.
Airbus Helicopters retained its leadership in civil and parapublicsegment, managed to keep its market share in the military
segment stable, in a challenging market environment, andtested new VTOL solutions.
The target of Airbus Helicopters is to secure a leadership
position in vertical lift solutions and services by capturinglong-term growth in the conventional helicopter market, bybuilding end-to-end solutions, and addressing the new VTOL
businesses, while being financially sound.
2. Increase the Company’s capacity to invest for the futureand in a highly uncertain, regulated and competitiveenvironment through the right combination of growth,
profitability and resilience
The Company operates in a fast changing environment whichis shaped by economic, environmental, industrial, politicaland societal events. The Company’s financial strength is key
to ensure an adequate latitude to invest in its future and tomeet its challenging environment, while remaining attractive
for investors.
Thus, the Company needs to continue its growth, improve its
profitability and strengthen its capacity to withstand external
and internal events.
Boosting leadership in all aerospace and defence domains
through the continued ramp-up of production, the developmentof new commercial and governmental products and systems,
as well as services will secure the Company’s organic growth.
In addition, opportunities for mergers and acquisitions are
considered in selected value chain areas to strengthen themarket position and secure competitive advantages.
The Company focuses on the continuous improvement ofmargins of aircraft programmes, product competitiveness,and is strengthening its Services and Digital businesses toincrease its profitability.
Finally, the Company becomes more resilient to the ever fasterchanging world by deliberately balancing its growth across theaerospace and defence business portfolio, between products
and services and throughout regions world-wide. Keeping thestrong attention to product (and services) quality and safety, in
combination with its well-established risk management, allows
the Company to anticipate and adapt as and if required.

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

Airbus Helicopters is a typical example of a well-balanced
business mix between platform manufacturing and services,civil and military markets.
3. Lead the transformation of the Aerospace and Defence
industry to meet the emerging Environmental, Social andGovernance standards
The world is currently facing tremendous global challenges:
climate change, severe weather patterns, deforestation, politicalinstability, increasing population to name a few. Environmental,social and governance standards are high on the Company
agenda in response to these challenges. ESG is now considered
critical by investors, shareholders, customers and employees.
The Company is convinced it has a leading role to play inshaping a necessary industry transformation. The Company
supports the global UN Sustainable Development Goals andaims at setting ambitious standards for a better and moreconnected world.
Fulfilling societal expectations is a top priority for the Company,
and it will be the prerequisite to future success: consequently
the Company has launched in 2019, as an integral part ofAirbus Next Chapter, a project with the goal to reinforce andembed into its culture, responsible and sustainable behaviours
and actions.

Key Enablers
The three strategic axes of the Company are supported by thefollowing ten enablers:

1. Europe
Airbus is THE European company: the European leader in
Aerospace and Defence, with around 130,000 employees anda strong industrial footprint in France, Germany, Spain and theUK. At the same time, the Company is a key enabler to European
sovereignty through its defence and space solutions.
To successfully address the future challenges of the global
Aerospace and Defence industry, the Company needs to retain
and boost its role as trusted supplier and partner to its European
Home Nations France, Germany, Spain and the UK. Despite
Brexit, the UK is key to the Company’s industrial footprint.
The Company supports the launch and development of European
Air and Space programmes, such as FCAS or Eurodrone,
the cooperation with industrial partners and competitors on
those programmes and facilitates potential further industry
specialisation and consolidation.

2. Globalisation
The Company connects people with its aircraft and digitalcommunication solutions around the world. It is a globallyoperating company with more than 15,000 employees outside
its Home Nations.
In 2019, the Company has further strengthened its world-wideindustrial presence. In the US and Canada, the Single Aisle
production ramp-up continued, while the A220 FAL in Mobile(US) was set-up and aircraft assembly commenced. The
signature of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese
government on Single Aisle and A350 will further develop theindustrial cooperation with China.

The Company pursues an international development to get closer
to its customers and markets, and to leverage best resources
world-wide by:– focusing on dedicated countries, depending on the target andasset for the country: market size, local industrial capabilities
or innovation resources;– re-assessing and re-designing the activities, globally andlocally in each function, including industrial footprint for more
coherence;– diversifying the Company’s staff and skills, develop talents
and promote mobility.

1

3. Environment
While air travel currently contributes to global CO2 emissions,
air quality and noise pollution, the Company believes a futuresustainable aviation model is achievable. The Company intends
to take a leadership position on answering environmental
challenges to ensure future generations will fly without adetrimental impact to the environment.
The Company has developed a clear overall strategy on
environment and continued its execution in 2019:– the first priority of the Company is to progressively
decarbonise the ﬂeet and reduce other emissions (noise,NOx, particulates, etc.). The Company has committed to
the Air Transportation Action Group (ATAG) industry goalsof halving CO 2 emissions by 2050, in line with the 2°C Paris
objective. This will be achieved by: developing more efﬁcienttechnologies (in 2019, the A321XLR was launched, bringing
30% lower fuel burn per seat than previous-generation
aircraft), supporting the deployment of Sustainable Aviation
Fuels (SAF), optimising the operations and infrastructures,
as well as supporting market-based measures. In 2019,
the Chief Technology Ofﬁcers from seven major aerospace
manufacturers, including the Company, committed tocooperate to drive the sustainability of aviation;– in other product areas, the Company is actively contributing
to enable actions against climate change. The development ofdetailed earth observation satellites and geospatial solutions
provides highly sophisticated monitoring capabilities forclimate change, agriculture, deforestation or natural disasters;– the Company is working on minimising the impact its sites
and supply chain have on energy, CO 2, waste, air and water.
The Company launched “High5+” in 2019, a cross-divisional
plan to reach the ambitious objectives of its 2030 Vision andprepare the goals for 2050.

4. Ethics, Compliance and Reputation
The ambition of the Company is to be known as a company
with “integrity inside”: integrity in its people, partners andsuppliers. This means that the Company does business in
the right way to ensure its stakeholders have conﬁ dence
in its activities and to protect the Company’s reputation.
Consequently, Ethics and Compliance are at the heart ofwhat the Company does across all operations, businesses
and continents. This means that the Company constantly
improves its Ethics and Compliance Programme to ensure
effective processes and procedures are in place to manage
business ethics / anti-corruption compliance, export control
compliance and data protection. The Company is also
strengthening the related culture throughout the Company
in line with its values.

Airbus / Registration Document 201925

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

Against the backdrop of today’s challenging geopoliticalenvironment, throughout 2019 the Company has in particularfocused on enhancing its internal processes and processes toensure that its business activities comply with the ever changing
sanctions and embargo legislation.
More generally, in 2019 the Company launched its new Codeof Conduct across the Company which is designed to be one
single reference document embedding the Airbus Values andreafﬁrming its responsibility to doing business with integrity.

5. Safety and Security
The number one priority at the Company is product (& services)safety to ensure the continued safe transport of everyone andeverything that ﬂies aboard an Airbus product. This is supportedby the Airbus Product Safety Vision: “In order to achieve theCompany’s permanent duty of prevention, the Company
constantly champions safety improvements internally, andbeyond with its customers and the industry as a whole; thus
the Company will be recognised as a reference in safety at the
air transport system level”.
The Company’s policy identiﬁ es axes of permanent safetyenhancement activities: (i) continuously enhance product intrinsic
safety, (ii) continuously do the utmost to improve proactively thesafety of operations of the Company’s products, (iii) enhancesafety culture within the Company, (iv) take a leading position in
air transport system-wide initiatives, and (v) be forward thinking
for safety.
In 2019, the Company has continued reinforcing the resiliencecapability of its products against abnormal conditions taking into
account industry lessons learnt; as well as launching dedicatedinitiatives to continue its journey of permanently enhancing its
internal safety culture. Beyond the Company’s strict perimeter,
the deployment of the Company’s safety principles towards
suppliers has been accelerated.

6. Our People
Competences and engagement are the cornerstone of theCompany’s success and competitiveness. The Company iscommitted to attracting and retaining engaged people with theright skills, mind-set and behaviours.
The following priorities are set:
– provide a safe and inclusive working environment, living strong
values, improving employee experience;– anticipate, secure and develop competencies throughsystematic knowledge management and access to life-longlearning for all;– develop a culture that sets its foundations in integrity andcompliance and fosters collaboration, empowerment andaccountability;– reinforce diversity, mobility, multicultural teams and integrationof the Company’s global workforce to support their industrial
cooperation and anticipate and respond to geopoliticalchanges;– prepare the Company’s leaders for what’s next, boosting theirresilience.
Highlights of key programmes and achievements in 2019 include
the following topics:– the “PeopleSafety@Work” initiative, as well as a comprehensive
action plan on Ethics and Compliance have put Safety,
Integrity and Compliance at the centre of discussions for all
the Company’s employees;

26

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

– over 86,000 employees joined in the worldwide survey on
working environment while hundreds of teams chose to boost
their engagement levels by taking action on themes most
relevant to them;– the 2019-2029 edition of the Airbus Global Workforce
Forecast was released on the dedicated app, giving uniquetransparency on the way the Company is handling challenges
related to megatrends, demographic changes through its
competence strategy;– the “myPULSE” solution was implemented and is the globally
deployed solution all across the Company, covering since
September 2019 more than 127,000 employees and more than
119 subsidiaries in 41 different countries in all divisions, being
the main and central source of information for HR core data.

7. Exploit Digitalisation to Enhance our Current
Business as Well as Pursue Disruptive
Business Models
Digitalisation will support Airbus’ transformation by focusing on
ﬁve main axes: (i) enabling high employee engagement, (ii) digital
operational excellence, (iii) mastering its product data value chain
and turning product data into insight, (iv) capturing the end-user
experience and (v) driving its business agility.
The Company launched Skywise, a data platform in collaboration
with pioneers in data integration and advanced analytics.
Skywise has established an early lead in the race to connect
the aviation industry since its launch in 2017 at the Paris Air
Show. Skywise aims to become the single platform of reference
used by all major aviation players to improve their operational
performance and business results and to support their own
digital transformation.
In 2018, Airbus Defence and Space together with Airbus
Helicopters launched the SmartForce suite of services to enable
military operators to exploit the data gathered by their aircraft
to enhance operational safety, boost mission availability andreduce maintenance support costs.

8. CompetitivenessThe design, development, manufacturing, marketing andservicing of large-scale aeronautics / space platforms andintegrated systems is at the core of the competences of theCompany.
The Company performs a strong role as prime integrator
managing the supplier base to ensure the on-time and on-quality
delivery of a product to the ﬁnal customer. To provide best value
to its customers and face strong competition, the Company ispermanently boosting its competitiveness by:– sustainably improving current programme margins;– further preparing its short-, mid- and long-term industrial
transformation, in particular through the implementation of
Digital Design Manufacturing and Services (DDMS);– strengthening and optimising selected strategic value chain
areas and reviewing sourcing strategy;– leveraging the military portfolio, services, digital, innovation.

9. Technology and innovation
The Company innovates every day to ensure that its products
are at the forefront of aerospace technology.
After many new product developments in recent years(A320NEO, A321LR, A321XLR, A350), the majority of theCompany’s revenues are generated today in segments whereInformation on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

the Company has competitive, mature products that are far fromthe end of their lifecycle.
The Company prepares for the future by creating moresustainable and environmentally sound products that will use
modern Unmanned Trafﬁc Management / Air Trafﬁc Management(ATM) systems and respond to new challenges, such as forexample a potential pilot shortage. Innovation has as anunderlying target to respond to the Flight Path 2050 targets
cutting CO2 emissions by 75%, NOx emissions by 90% and noise
emissions by 65% compared to levels from the year 2000. The
Company is committed to these targets and will contribute totransforming the aerospace industry, its business conduct andpursue its ambition to build the future of ﬂight.
The Company is excelling in innovation and exploring cuttingedge technologies enabling to create platforms that are easy to
manufacture, more automated and more connected:– easy to manufacture: deﬁne new ways of working, switchingfrom product performance to industrial performance;– more automated, with state of the art computer vision
techniques for taxi, take-off and landing;– more connected: anywhere, anytime, at the gate and in theair, and over oceans, via satellite and direct air-to-ground link,enabling enhanced passenger experience and more efﬁcient
operations and maintenance.
2019 set the technical foundations for neutral / zero emissioncommercial aviation led by the inauguration of the E-Aircraft
System facility and working with European industry on shaping
the next EU Aviation research programme:– Urban Air Mobility: Vahana has ﬂown over 80 full-scale test
ﬂights. CityAirbus full-scale demonstrator conducted its ﬁrst
take-off in May 2019;– Inauguration of the Airbus China Innovation Center inShenzhen;– In-ﬂight trials of connected cabin technologies and in-ﬂight
demonstration of autonomous take-off;– Launch of “fello’ﬂy” ﬂight demonstrator project inspired bynature to ﬂying in “V” shape to save energy and beneﬁt fromthe “air up wash” of the leader to reduce fuel consumption
and CO2 emissions.

10. Customer Centricity
The Company’s platforms, product solutions and services aredesigned with the customers in mind, helping them operate theirproducts more efﬁciently and serve new markets, providing thebest experience for their end users.
Throughout the Company, the Company continuously focuseson enhancing customer trust and loyalty, concentrating on both
performance and behaviours leading to:– improving customer satisfaction before, at, and after delivery;– putting customer intimacy (understanding) at the centre of theCompany’s strategy and actions;– delivering increased support and service offering.
In 2019, Airbus’ transformation initiative Next Chapter helped to
sharpen the Company’s focus on end-to-end delivery and value
creation, including customer value.
Taking advantage of digital technologies, Airbus streamlined its
ways of working, thus improving transparency to the customers
during the delivery process and in-service operations.
Airbus’ exchange programme with customers ensured thatthe products and services address needs of customers andgenerate value for the business.

The focus was on sharing (promoting) the voice of the customer
inside Airbus, giving its employees a better understanding ofcustomer operations and needs.

1

Organisation of the Company’s
Businesses
The Company has organised its businesses into the following
three operating segments: (i) Airbus (formerly Commercial
Aircraft), (ii) Helicopters and (iii) Defence and Space. Beginningin 2017, the Company merged its Group structure with its
largest division Commercial Aircraft. The merger provided
the opportunity to introduce a single Airbus brand for theCompany and all its entities, effective since January 2017. The
segment formerly known as “Airbus Commercial Aircraft” isreferred to as “Airbus”. The Company retains Airbus Defence
and Space and Airbus Helicopters as Divisions. The chart set
out in “— General Description of the Company and its Share
Capital — 3.3.6 Simpliﬁed Group Structure Chart” illustrates the
allocation of activities.

Airbus (Commercial Aircraft)
Airbus is one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers ofpassenger airliners. Across all its aircraft families Airbus’ uniqueapproach ensures that aircraft share the highest commonality
in airframes, on-board systems, cockpits and handlingcharacteristics. This signiﬁcantly reduces operating costs forairlines.
Since it was founded in 1970 and up to the end of 2019,
Airbus has received net orders for 20,108 commercial aircraftfrom 421 customers around the world. In 2019, Airbus
delivered 863 aircraft (compared to 800 deliveries in 2018) andreceived 1,131 gross orders (compared to 831 gross orders in2018), or 82% of the gross worldwide market share (in terms ofunits) of aircraft with more than 100 seats (compared to 43%
in 2018). After accounting for cancellations, net order intake for2019 was 768 aircraft (compared to 747 aircraft in 2018). As of
31 December 2019, Airbus’s backlog of commercial orders was
7,482 aircraft (compared to 7,577 aircraft in 2018).
In 2019, Airbus (Commercial Aircraft) recorded total revenues of€ 54.77 billion – representing 77% of the Company’s revenues.
See “— 1.1.2 Airbus”.

Helicopters
Airbus Helicopters is a global leader in the civil and militaryrotorcraft market, offering one of the most complete and modern
ranges of helicopters and related services. This product range
currently includes light single-engine, light twin-engine, medium
and medium-heavy rotorcraft, which are adaptable to all kindsof mission types based on customer needs.
Airbus Helicopters delivered 332 helicopters in 2019 (356
in 2018) and received 310 net orders in 2019 (compared to
381 net orders in 2018). Order intake amounted to € 7.18 billion(2018: € 6.33 billion). Civil contracts accounted for 45% of thisorder volume, with military sales representing the remaining
55%. At the end of 2019, Airbus Helicopters order book stoodat 695 helicopters (2018: 717 helicopters).
In 2019, Airbus Helicopters recorded total revenues of€ 6.01 billion, representing 8% of the Company’s revenues. See“— 1.1.3 Helicopters”.

Airbus / Registration Document 201927

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

Defence and Space
Airbus Defence and Space is Europe’s number one defence andspace enterprise, one of the world’s leading space companies
and among the top 10 global defence enterprises. Defence
and Space puts a strong focus on core businesses: space,
military aircraft, missiles and related systems and services.
Airbus Defence and Space is organised in four Programme Lines:
Military Aircraft; Space Systems; Connected Intelligence andUnmanned Aerial Systems. Airbus Defence and Space develops,
produces and maintains cutting-edge products, systems andservices, enabling governments, institutions and commercial
customers to protect people and resources.
In 2019, Airbus Defence and Space recorded total revenues of€ 10.9 billion, representing 15% of the Company’s revenues. See“— 1.1.4 Defence and Space”.

Summary Financial and Operating Data
The following tables provide summary ﬁnancial and operating data for the Company for the past three years. See “Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”.
REVENUE BY BUSINESS SEGMENT(In € million)

2019

2018

2017(1)

Airbus54,77547,97043,486

Airbus Helicopters

6,007

5,934

6,335

Airbus Defence and Space

10,907

11,063

10,596

Subtotal segmental revenue

71,68964,96760,417

Transversal / Eliminations(2)(1,211)(1,260)(1,395)

Total

70,47863,70759,022(1) 2017 figures are restated due to the application of IFRS 15.
(2) “Transversal / Eliminations” comprises activities not allocable to the reportable segments, combined together with consolidation effects.

ORDER INTAKE BY BUSINESS SEGMENT
2019

2017(1)

2018(2)(In € billion) (In percentage)(2)(In € billion) (In percentage)(In € billion) (In percentage)(2)

Airbus

65.8

80.7%

41.5

73.7%

143.4

Airbus Helicopters

7.2

8.8%

6.3

11.3%

6.5

90.3%
4.1%

Airbus Defence and Space

8.5

10.5%

8.4

15.0%

8.9

5.6%

Subtotal segmental order intake

81.5

100%

56.3

100%

158.8

100%

Transversal / Eliminations

(0.3)

(0.8)

(1.1)

Total

81.2

55.5

157.7

(1) 2017 figures have not been restated to reflect the application of IFRS 15.
(2) Before “Transversal / Eliminations”.

ORDER BACKLOG BY BUSINESS SEGMENT
31 December
2019(In € billion) (In percentage)

Airbus

424.1

89.7%

(2)

(In € billion) (In percentage)(In € billion) (In percentage)(2)

411.7

89.1%

950.4

95.1%

Airbus Helicopters

16.6

3.5%

14.9

3.2%

11.2

1.1%

Airbus Defence and Space

32.3

6.8%

35.3

7.7%

37.4

3.8%

Subtotal segmental order backlog

473.0

100%

461.9

100%

999.0

100%

Transversal / Eliminations

Total

(1.5)

(2.4)

(2.1)

471.5

459.5

996.8

(1) 2017 figures have not been restated to reflect the application of IFRS 15.
(2) Before “Transversal / Eliminations”.

28

2017(1)

2018(2)

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

1

Relationship between Airbus SE and the Company
Airbus SE itself does not engage in the core aerospace,defence or space business of the Company but coordinates
related businesses, sets and controls objectives and approves
major decisions for the Company. As the parent company,
Airbus SE conducts activities which are essential to theCompany’s activities and which are an integral part of theoverall management of the Company. In particular, ﬁ nanceactivities pursued by Airbus SE are in support of the businessactivities and strategy of the Company. In connection therewith,
Airbus SE provides or procures the provision of services to thesubsidiaries of the Company. General management service
agreements have been put in place with the subsidiaries andservices are invoiced on a cost plus basis.

For management purposes, Airbus SE acts through its Boardof Directors, Executive Committee, and Chief Executive
Ofﬁcer in accordance with its corporate rules and procedures
as described below under “— Corporate Governance —4.1 Management and Control”.
Within the framework deﬁ ned by Airbus SE, Airbus, each
Division, Business Unit and subsidiary is vested with full
entrepreneurial responsibility.

1.1.2 Airbus (Commercial Aircraft)
Airbus is one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers ofpassenger airliners. In order to help shape the future of airtransportation and drive steady growth around the world, Airbus
seeks incremental innovative technological solutions and themost efﬁcient sourcing and manufacturing possible – so airlines
can grow and people can connect. Airbus’ comprehensive
product line comprises successful families of jetliners ranging
in capacity from 100 to more than 600 seats: the A220 Family;
the A320 Family, which is civil aviation’s best-selling productline; the A330 Family, including the advanced A330neo; thenew-generation widebody A350 XWB; and the double-deck
A380. Across its aircraft families Airbus’ solutions ensure thataircraft share high commonality in airframes, on-board systems,
cockpits and handling characteristics. This signiﬁcantly reduces
operating costs for airlines. See “— 1.1.1 Overview” for an
introduction to Airbus.

Developing the Most Comprehensive Lineof Products in Response to Customer Needs

Airbus’ global presence includes activity in Europe (France,
Germany, Spain and the UK ), as well as in Canada, and moreglobally at fully-owned subsidiaries in the US, China, Japan, Indiaand in the Middle East, and spare parts centres in Hamburg,Frankfurt, Washington, Beijing, Dubai and Singapore. Airbus
also has engineering and training centres in Toulouse, Miami,
Mexico, Wichita, Hamburg, Bangalore, Beijing and Singapore,as well as an engineering centre in Russia. There are also hubs
and ﬁeld service stations around the world. Airbus also relies on
industrial co-operation and partnerships with major companies
and an extensive network of suppliers around the world.

To support the A350 XWB ramp-up and other production
increases, a new super transporter has been developed,with the ﬁrst of six Beluga XL aircraft entering into service inJanuary 2020.

Strategy
Airbus’ primary goal is to deliver strong results in a sustainedmanner, while commanding a further increased share of theworldwide commercial aircraft market over the long-term andexpanding its customer services offering. To achieve thesegoals, Airbus is actively:

Airbus continuously seeks to develop and deliver new products
to meet customers’ evolving needs, while also improving its
existing product line. Programme highlights for 2019 included:– launch of increased range capability for the A220 to over
6,000 km from 2021;– ﬁrst ﬂight of the ACJ319neo in April;– delivery of the 12,000th Airbus aircraft in May;– launch of the A321XLR variant to meet the needs of the rapidly
developing mid-capacity, mid-range market;– launch of high-density A330neo variant, offering over 440
seats;– delivery of the ﬁrst A350-900 Domestic variant;– delivery of the 1,000th A320neo Family aircraft in October.

Airbus remains at the forefront of the industry by expanding its
customer services offering – see Customer Services.

Building a Leaner, More Fully Integrated
Company
In order to build a leaner, more fully integrated company andthereby bolster its competitiveness, Airbus is adapting its
organisation to foster an entrepreneurial spirit and empower
more teams, while maintaining harmonised processes acrossall sites. For series programmes, additional responsibilities andmeans have been delegated to plants for delivery at increased
rates. Airbus also has become a more integrated company,
working towards one common culture across its global
workforce, as well as aligning processes and planning withthe global supplier base.

Airbus / Registration Document 201929

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

MarketMarket Drivers
The main factors affecting the commercial aircraft market include
passenger demand for air travel, cargo activity, economic
growth cycles, oil prices, national and international regulation(and deregulation), the rate of replacement and obsolescenceof existing ﬂeets and the availability of aircraft ﬁnancing sources.
The performance, competitive posture and strategy of aircraft
manufacturers, airlines, cargo operators and leasing companies
as well as wars, political unrest, pandemics and extraordinary
events may also precipitate changes in demand and lead toshort-term market imbalances.
According to internal estimates, demand for 39,200 passenger
and freight aircraft is forecast in the next 20 years with AsiaPaciﬁc accounting for over 40% of deliveries. In recent years,
China and India have emerged as signiﬁ cant new aircraft
markets. As a result, Airbus has sought to strengthen its
commercial and industrial ties in these countries.
The no-frills / low-cost carriers also constitute a signiﬁ cantsector, and were expected at the end of 2019 to continue
growing around the world, particularly in Asia, where emerging
markets and continued deregulation could provide increased
opportunities. While single-aisle aircraft continue to be a
popular choice for these carriers, demand for Airbus’ rangeof twin-aisle aircraft may also increase as some of these carriers
develop or further develop their long-range operations.
In addition to these market drivers other factors can serve
to constrain growth. These include but are not limited toinfrastructure constraints, slot availability at some airports andpilot availability. These particular constraints are often limited
to speciﬁc markets or regions.
Overall growth. The long-term market for passenger aircraft
depends primarily on passenger demand for air travel, which
is itself primarily driven by economic or GDP growth, trade,fare levels and demographic growth. Measured in revenue
passenger kilometres, air travel increased in every year from1967 to 2000, except for 1991 due to the Gulf War, resulting inan average annual growth rate of 7.9% for the period. Demand
for air transportation also proved resilient in the years following
2001, when successive shocks, including 9/11 and SARS in
Asia, dampened demand.
At the end of 2008 and in 2009, the ﬁnancial crisis and global
economic difﬁculties witnessed resulted in only the third periodof negative trafﬁ c growth during the jet age, and a cyclical
downturn for airlines in terms of trafﬁc (both passenger andcargo), yields and proﬁ tability. Despite these perturbations,the market recovered, driven by the underlying demand for airtransport. After 2009, the industry beneﬁted from a prolonged
period of stability which enabled airlines to collectively deliver
proﬁtability at historically high levels.
More recently, air travel demand growth had maintained solid
momentum despite a certain weakening of the global economic
growth at 2.5% in 2019 versus 3.2% in 2018. In 2019, Airbus
operated in a challenging macro environment mainly driven bygeopolitical instability, uncertainty around Brexit and impositionof tariffs of 10% on Airbus aircraft imported from the European

30

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Union to the US in October 2019. At the end of 2019, world real
GDP growth was projected to be at +2.5% in 2020, and forecast
to remain positive with +2.7% in 2021 and +2.7% in 2022.
Preliminary ﬁgures released in early 2020, by IATA (International
Air Transport Association), estimated that some 4.5 billion
passengers made use of the global air transport network fortheir business, tourism needs or for simply visiting friends andrelatives (VFR) in 2019. The annual passenger total is estimatedto be up 4.0% compared to 2018. World passenger trafﬁ c,
expressed in terms of total scheduled revenue passengerkilometres (RPKs), posted an estimated increase of 3.5% for2019.
Through its analysis Airbus continues to believe in the longterm growth potential of our industry. The commercial aviationindustry has been resilient to external shocks and trafﬁc hasgrown 2.5x since 2000. Based on internal estimates, Airbus
forecasts a growth rate of 4.3% annually during the period
2019-2038. If the actual growth rate equals or exceeds thislevel, Airbus expects that passenger trafﬁc, as measured inrevenue passenger kilometres, will double in the next 15 years.
Cyclicality. Despite an overall growth trend in air travel, aircraft
order intake can vary signiﬁcantly from year to year and withindifferent regions, due to the volatility of airline proﬁ tability,
cyclicality of the economy, aircraft replacement waves andoccasional unforeseen events which can depress demand for
air travel. However, new product offerings and growth acrossthe market has resulted in good levels of order activity in recent
years. For example, in 2019, Airbus added 768 net orders to
its order book (compared to 747 in 2018).
Despite some cyclicality in airline demand, Airbus aims tosecure at least stable delivery rates from year to year, supported
by a strong backlog of orders and a regionally diverse customer
base. At the end of 2019, the backlog stood at 7,482 aircraft.
Through careful backlog management, close monitoring of
the customer base and a prudent approach to production
increases, Airbus has successfully increased annual deliveries
for 17 years running, even through the ﬁnancial crisis of 20082009.
Regulation / Deregulation. National and international
regulation (and deregulation) of international air services
and major domestic air travel markets affect demand forpassenger aircraft. In 1978, the US deregulated its domestic
air transportation system, followed by Europe in 1985. The
more recently negotiated “Open Skies Agreement” between
the US and Europe, which became effective in 2008, allows
any European or US airline to ﬂy any route between any city inthe EU and any city in the US. Other regions and countries arealso progressively deregulating, particularly in Asia. This trend
is expected to continue, facilitating and in some cases driving
demand. In addition to providing greater market access (which
may have formerly been limited), deregulation may allow for thecreation and growth of new airlines or new airline models, as
has been the case with the no-frills / low-cost airline model,
which has increased in importance throughout major domestic
and intra-regional markets since deregulation (e.g., in the US
and Europe).

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

Airline network development: “hub” and “point-to-point”
networks. Following deregulation, major airlines have sought
to tailor their route networks and ﬂeets to continuing changes
in customer demand. Accordingly, where origin and destination
demand prove sufﬁciently strong, airlines often employ direct,
or “point-to-point” route services. However, where demand
between two destinations proves insufﬁ cient, airlines havedeveloped highly efﬁcient “hub and spoke” systems, which
provide passengers with access to a far greater number of
air travel destinations through one or more ﬂight connections.
The chosen system of route networks in turn affects aircraft
demand, as hubs permit ﬂ eet standardisation around both
smaller aircraft types for the short, high frequency and lower
density routes that feed the hubs (between hubs and spokes)
and larger aircraft types for the longer and higher density
routes between hubs (hub-to-hub), themselves large pointto-point markets. As deregulation has led airlines to diversify
their route network strategies, it has at the same time therefore
encouraged the development of a wider range of aircraft inorder to implement such strategies.
Airbus, like others in the industry, believes that route networks
will continue to grow through expansion of capacity on existing
routes and through the introduction of new routes, which will
largely be typiﬁed by having a major hub city at least at one endof the route. These new route markets are expected to be wellserved by the latest product offering, such as the A350 XWB
and A330neo. Airbus believes that it is well positioned to meetcurrent and future market requirements given its complete
family of products.
Alliances. The development of world airline alliances has
reinforced the pattern of airline network development describedabove. According to data from Cirium, a UK-based aviationindustry consultancy, one-third of the world’s jetliner seats
being ﬂown today are operated by just 15 airlines. In the 1990s,
the major airlines began to enter into alliances that gave eachalliance member access to the other alliance members’
hubs and routings, allowing airlines to concentrate their hub
investments whilst at the same time extending their productoffering and market access.

Market Structure and Competition
Market segments. According to a study conducted by Airbus,
some 20,900 passenger aircraft with more than 100 seats werein service with airlines worldwide at the beginning of 2019.
Currently, Airbus competes in each of the four principal market
segments for aircraft with more than 100 seats.
“Small” aircraft, such as the A220 and A320 Families, having
100 to more than 200 seats, and which are used principally forshort-range and medium-range routes of up to 3,000 nautical
miles.
“Medium” aircraft typically offering up to 300 seats on routes
of up to 5,000 nautical miles. This includes long range versionsof the A321 as well as the A330 family.
“Large” aircraft, such as the A350XWB, are wide-body twinaisle which seat more than 350 passengers on routes of up to
10,000 nautical miles.
Freight aircraft, which form a fourth, related segment, are a
combination of new build and converted ex-passenger aircraft.

Converted aircraft are prevalent in the expanding e-commercemarket which typically sees relatively low aircraft utilisation.
This can provide an economical “second life” for in-service
aircraft from the A320 and A330 families. See “— Regional
Aircraft, Aerostructures, Seats, Aircraft Conversion and Airbus
Canada — EFW ”.

1

Airbus also competes in the corporate, VIP business jetmarket with the ACJ. Airbus continues to develop corporate
jet versions of its modern airliner family, notably the ACJ319neo
and ACJ320neo, as well as offering new variants, such as the
ACJ330neo and ACJ350 XWB. The increased range of theseaircraft extends Airbus’ leadership in cabin comfort to evenlonger ﬂights.
Geographic differences. The high proportion of single-aisle
aircraft in use in both North America and Europe reﬂects the
predominance of domestic short-range and medium-range
ﬂights, both from the expansion of the low-cost carrier andparticularly in North America due to the development of hubs
following deregulation. In comparison with North America andEurope, the Asia-Paciﬁc region uses a greater proportion oftwin-aisle aircraft, as populations tend to be more concentrated
in fewer large urban centres. The tendency towards use oftwin-aisle aircraft is also reinforced by the fact that many of theregion’s major airports limit the number of ﬂights, due either
to environmental concerns or to infrastructure constraints that
limit the ability to increase ﬂight frequency. These constraints
necessitate higher average aircraft seating capacity per ﬂight.
However, Airbus believes that demand for single-aisle aircraft in
Asia will grow over the next 20 years, particularly as domestic
markets in China and India and low-cost carriers continue todevelop in the region. Aircraft economics will also help to drive
aircraft size, with airlines looking to reduce the cost per seatthrough higher density aircraft cabins and the use of larger
aircraft types and variants where possible.
Competition. Airbus has been operating in a duopoly since
Lockheed’s withdrawal from the market in 1986 and Boeing’s
acquisition of McDonnell Douglas in 1997. As a result, the bulkof the market for passenger aircraft of more than 150 seats havebeen manufactured by either Airbus or Boeing.
According to the manufacturers’ published ﬁgures for 2019,
compared to Boeing, Airbus accounted for 69% of total
commercial aircraft deliveries, 82% of total gross orders (inunits), and 58% of the total year-end backlog (in units). Airbus
delivered 863 aircraft in 2019.
Nevertheless, the high technology and high value natureof the business makes aircraft manufacturing an attractive
industry in which to participate, and besides Boeing, Airbus
faces international competitors. Embraer, (whose commercial
aircraft business’ joint venture with Boeing is subject toregulatory approval) who originally was primarily focused on
the regional market, has also focused on the development oflarger airplanes. Additionally, other competitors from Russia,
China and Japan will enter the 70 to 150 seat aircraft market
over the next few years, and today are studying larger types.
In October 2017, Airbus SE and Bombardier Inc. agreed toform a partnership in relation to the C Series. Having received
all required regulatory approvals, Airbus SE, Bombardier Inc.
and Investissement Québec closed the C Series transaction
effective on 1 July 2018 and as a result, the Company has

Airbus / Registration Document 201931

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

acquired a majority stake in the Airbus Canada Limited
Partnership, with C Series subsequently renamed A220. For
the latest update, see paragraph 1.3 below.
The partnership brings together two complementary productlines, the A220-100 and A220-300, targeting the 100-150 seatmarket segment with an addressable market of at least 7,000
new aircraft over the next 20 years in the segments in which
they compete.
Airbus Canada beneﬁ ts from Airbus’ global reach, scale,procurement organisation and expertise in selling, marketingand producing the A220. Signiﬁcant production efﬁciencies are
anticipated by leveraging Airbus’ production ramp-up expertise.
In August 2019, Airbus ofﬁcially begun manufacturing the A220
also in Airbus’ facility in Mobile, Alabama.

Customers
As of 31 December 2019, Airbus had 421 customers anda total of 20,108 Airbus aircraft had been ordered, of which
12,626 aircraft had been delivered to operators worldwide. The
table below shows Airbus’ largest commitments in terms of total
gross ﬁrm orders by customer for the year 2019.
Firm orders(1)(2)

Customer
Indigo300

Air Arabia

120

Air France

60

Emirates Airline

50

United Airlines

50

Air Asia X Malaysia

30

Saudia

30

GECAS

25

Accipiter20

Air China

20

American Airlines

20

Avolon20

Lufthansa

20

Noirdic Aviation Capital

20

Wizz Air Hungary

20(1) Options are not included in orders booked or year-end backlog.
(2) Excludes undisclosed customers.

Products
The Family Concept — Commonality acrossthe Fleet
Airbus’ aircraft families promote fleet commonality. Thisphilosophy takes a central aircraft and tailors it to create
derivatives to meet the needs of speciﬁc market segments.
For example, both variants of the A220 have a signiﬁcant levelof common parts and can be operated by a single pilot pool.
Alternatively, the A320, A330, A350 and A380 all share thesame cockpit philosophy, ﬂ y-by-wire controls and handlingcharacteristics, enabling pilots to transfer among these aircraftwithin the Airbus family with minimal additional training. Crosscrew qualiﬁcation across families of aircraft provides airlines withsigniﬁcant operational ﬂexibility. In addition, the emphasis on
ﬂeet commonality permits aircraft operators to realise signiﬁcant
cost savings in crew training, spare parts, maintenance andaircraft scheduling. The extent of cockpit commonality within
and across families of aircraft is a unique feature of Airbus that,in management’s opinion, constitutes a sustainable competitive
advantage.
In addition, technological innovation has been at the core of
Airbus’ strategy since its creation. Each product in the Airbus
family is intended to set new standards in areas crucial toairlines’ success, such as cabin comfort, cargo capacity
performance, economic performance, environmental impact
and operational commonality. Airbus innovations often provide
distinct competitive advantages, with many becoming standard
in the aircraft industry.
A220 Family. Complementing the A320 Family, the A220-100
and A220-300 models cover the segment between 100 and
150 seats and offer a highly comfortable ﬁve-abreast cabin.
With the most advanced aerodynamics, carbon ﬁber reinforced
polymer (CFRP) materials, high-bypass engines and ﬂy-by-wire
controls, the A220 delivers 20 percent lower fuel burn per seatcompared with previous generation aircraft. The type will servea worldwide market for smaller single-aisle airliners, estimatedat least at 7,000 such aircraft over the next 20 years. Airbus
manufactures, markets and supports A220 aircraft under the“C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership” (formerly CSALP; Airbus
Canada Limited Partnership as of 1 June 2019) agreement,
ﬁnalised in 2018. Primary competitors to the A220 Family are
the Embraer EMB190-E2 and EMB195-E2 and the Boeing 737
Max 7.

A220 FAMILY TECHNICAL FEATURES (CURRENT VERSION)
Entry-into-service

Passenger capacity(1)Range (km)Length (metres)

Wingspan (metres)

A220-100

2016

116

2,950

35.0

35.1

A220-300

2016

141

3,200

38.7

35.1

Model

(1) Two-class layout.

A320 Family. With more than 15,000 aircraft sold, and nearly
9,350 delivered, the Airbus family of single-aisle aircraft, basedon the A320, includes the A319 and A321 derivatives, as wellas the corporate jet family (including new members ACJ319neo
and ACJ320neo). Each aircraft in the A320 Family shares thesame systems, cockpit, operating procedures and crosssection.

32

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

At 3.95 metres diameter, the A320 Family has the widest
fuselage cross-section of any competing single-aisle aircraft. This
provides a roomy six-abreast passenger cabin, a high comfort
level and a spacious under ﬂoor cargo volume. The A320 Family
incorporates digital ﬂy-by-wire controls, an ergonomic cockpit
and a modern structural material selection. The A320 Family’s
primary competitor is the Boeing 737 series.

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

To ensure this market leader keeps its competitive edge, Airbus
continues to invest in improvements across the product line,
including development of the A320neo Family. The A320neo
incorporates many innovations including latest generationengines, Sharklet wing-tip devices and cabin improvements,
which together deliver up to 20% in fuel savings compared withearlier A320 family aircraft. The A320neo received joint Type
Certiﬁcation from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in November 2015.
The A320neo with Pratt & Whitney engines was the ﬁrst variant
in the Neo Family to receive Type Certiﬁcation. The A320neo
with CFM engines was certiﬁed in May 2016. The A321neo
with Pratt & Whitney engines received Joint Type Certiﬁcationin December 2016 and with CFM engines in March 2017. Type
Certiﬁcation for the A319neo with CFM engines was achievedin December 2018 with the Pratt & Whitney engine variant thefollowing year.

The A320neo Family versions have over 95% airframe
commonality with the A320ceo (current engine option) versions,enabling them to ﬁt seamlessly into existing A320 Family ﬂeets – a
key factor for Airbus customers and operators.

1

Further innovation saw Airbus launch the long range A321XLR
in 2019, combining single-aisle efﬁciency with widebody range
and comfort.
Since its launch in December 2010, the A320neo Family hasreceived 7,188 ﬁrm orders from more than 100 customers, witha total of 1,186 aircraft delivered to the end of 2019. A320neo
deliveries commenced in February 2016 followed by the ﬁrst
A321neo in April 2017 and in November 2018 the ﬁrst A321
LR. Overall, the A320 family retains a 57% share of the backlog
against the Boeing 737 Family.
During 2019, Airbus received 796 gross orders for the A320
Family of aircraft and 654 net orders.

A320 FAMILY TECHNICAL FEATURES (CURRENT VERSION)
Model

Entry-into-service

Passenger capacity(1)Range (km)Length (metres)

Wingspan (metres)

2003

107

5,750

31.4

34.1

(2)

A318
A319

1996

124

6,950

33.8

35.8

A320

1988

150

6,100(2)37.6

35.8(3)

A321

1994

185

5,950(2)44.5

35.8(3)A319neo

2020

140

6,950

33.8

35.8

A320neo

2016

165

6,500

37.6

35.8

A321neo

2017

206

7,400

44.5

35.8

206

8,700

44.5

35.8

A321XLR(1) Two-class layout.
(2) Range with sharklets.
(3) Wingspan with sharklets.

A330 Family. With 1,823 aircraft sold (of which 337 A330neo)
and 1,492 delivered, the A330 Family covers all market segmentswith one twin-engine aircraft type and is designed to typically
carry between 250 and 300 passengers in 3-class conﬁgurations
or over 400 passengers in high-density. The A330 Family offers
high levels of passenger comfort as well as large under-ﬂoor
cargo areas. The aircraft is also offered as a cargo variant andas a military platform. The competitors of the A330 Family are
the Boeing 767, 777 and 787 aircraft series.
The newest evolution to the A330 Family is the A330neo (newengine option), comprising the A330-800neo and A330-900neo
versions. These aircraft incorporate latest generation Rolls-Royce
Trent 7000 engines and enhanced aerodynamics for improved

fuel efﬁciency. The ﬁrst ﬂight took place in October 2017 and bothType Certiﬁcation and ﬁrst delivery were achieved in 2018, with
TAP taking delivery of its ﬁrst three A330-900s during the year.
The ﬁnal assembly of the A330-800 started in November 2017
and the aircraft performed its ﬁrst ﬂight on 6 November 2018.
Airbus is continuously developing the A330 Family to keep theaircraft at the leading edge of innovation and from 2020, versionsof the A330neo will offer increased take-off weight of up to
251 tonnes, offering a 15,000 km range for the A330-800.
In 2019, Airbus received 104 gross orders (89 net) for the
A330neo Family of aircraft, and delivered 41 A330neo aircraft
plus 12 A330ceo totaling 53 aircraft to customers.

A330 FAMILY TECHNICAL FEATURES (CURRENT VERSION)
Entry-into-service

Passenger capacity(1)Maximum range (km)Length (metres)

A330-200

1998

247

13,45058.8

60.3

A330-300

1994

277

11,750

63.7

60.3

257

13,900

58.8

64

2018

287

12,130

63.7

64

Model

A330-800neo
A330-900neo

Wingspan (metres)(1) Three-class configuration.

Airbus / Registration Document 201933

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

A350 XWB Family. The A350 XWB is a family of widebody aircraft, designed to accommodate between 325 and400 passengers. The A350 XWB features a wider fuselage
than that of competing new generation aircraft, Rolls-Royce
Trent XWB engines, A380 systems technology and over 50%
composite material. The A350 XWB’s main competitors are the
Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft series.
With the Ultra-Long Range (ULR) version of the A350-900
launched in 2015, the A350 XWB demonstrates its versatility byoffering the capability to perform ﬂights of up to 19 hours. The ﬁrst

A350-900 ULR was delivered in September 2018 to Singapore
Airlines. Highlighting the type ﬂexibility, Airbus delivered the ﬁrst
A350-900 Domestic to Japan Airlines during 2019.
Airbus has also developed the larger A350-1000, which is now
certiﬁed by EASA and the FAA and was delivered to its ﬁrst
customer in February 2018.
In 2019, Airbus received 113 gross orders for the A350 XWBFamily (32 net), and delivered 112 aircraft, achieving the target
rate of about 10 aircraft per month by the end of the year.

A350 XWB FAMILY TECHNICAL FEATURES
Model

Entry-into-service

Passenger capacity(1)Maximum range (km)Length (metres)

Wingspan (metres)

A350-900

2014

325

15,00066.8

64.8

A350-1000

2018

366

15,55773.8

64.8(1) Three-class layout.

A380. The double-deck A380 is the world’s largest commercial
aircraft ﬂ ying today. Its cross-section provides ﬂ exible andinnovative cabin space, allowing passengers to beneﬁt from wider
seats, wider aisles and more ﬂoor space, tailored to the needsof each airline. Carrying 575 passengers in a comfortable fourclass conﬁguration and with a range of 8,000 nm / 14,800 km,
the A380 offers superior economic performance, lower fuelconsumption, less noise and reduced emissions.

In 2019, Airbus Commercial Aircraft delivered 8 aircraft.
In February 2019, following a review of its operations, and in lightof developments in aircraft and engine technologies, Emirates
announced the intention to reduce its A380 orderbook from 162
to 123 aircraft. As a consequence and given the lack of orderbacklog with other airlines, Airbus will cease deliveries of the
A380 in 2022.

A380 TECHNICAL FEATURES
Model

Entry-into-service

Passenger capacity(1)Maximum range (km)Length (metres)

Wingspan (metres)

2007

575

14,80072.7

79.8

A380-800(1) Four-class layout.

Customer Services
Airbus targets to remain at the forefront of the industry by
expanding its customer services offering to meet customers’
evolving needs. As a result, Airbus is developing a wide rangeof customer centric and value-added services. This approachprovides Airbus operators with solutions to signiﬁcantly reduce
their operating costs, increase aircraft availability, enhance thequality of their operations and passenger experience.
Customer Services’ primary role is to support its customers
in operating their Airbus fleet safely and profitably and to
the satisfaction of passengers all around the world. As aresult of its continued growth, Airbus’ customer base has
increased consistently over the past years reaching more than
11,000 aircraft in operation by the end of 2019 operated bymore than 450 operators. The ﬂeet is maintained by more than
200 Maintenance and Repair Organisations (internal and external
to Airbus).
A worldwide network of more than 7,250 people (including
subsidiaries) cover all areas of support from technicalengineering / operational assistance and spare parts supply tocrew and maintenance training. Hundreds of technical specialists
provide Airbus customers with advice and assistance 24 hours aday, 7 days a week. There are 151 ﬁeld service stations available
worldwide for on-site assistance to 180 of our operators, 18934

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

operators are covered by 17 Hubs. Airbus worldwide support
is also based on an international network of 69 locations allaround the world, including 18 training locations, 6 FHS (Flight
Hour Services) pools and 10 spares warehouses.
As the worldwide ﬂeet is growing (to an estimated 15,000 aircraftby 2025), so is the demand in the services market. At the sametime customers expect an increased service level. Airbus offers
optimised aircraft operational availability, streamlined ﬂ ight
operations and enhanced passenger experience by covering
the full aircraft lifecycle and focusing on adding value to its
customers. Growing fast on the market with organic growth,
JVs, co-developments and acquisitions in recent years, here
are some examples:– in 2016, full acquisition of Navtech, now re-named Navblue,
offering products in the Flight Operations area and Air Trafﬁc
Management area;– in 2017, full acquisition of Sepang Aircraft Engineering (SAE),an MRO centre based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that had
been partially owned by Airbus since 2011;– launch of Airbus Interiors Services (2017) specialised in timely
and ﬂexible solutions for cabin equipment;– the Airbus MRO alliance was launched in 2017 and now
counts 6 afﬁliated members with a speciﬁc focus on the Asia
Paciﬁc Region to accompany the strong market growth in
this region;

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company– the Airbus Training network currently counts 18 training network
locations around the world; the latest acquisition being a ﬂight
training center in Santiago de Chile (December 2019) withSKY (a Chilean-based low-cost carrier) as launch customer
for the new Airbus Chile Training Centre;– in December 2018, Airbus and the French Civil Aviation
University, ENAC, have obtained EASA certiﬁcation for a codeveloped Ab-initio Pilot Cadet Training Programme. The
ﬁrst cadets are now trained according to this programme in
ab-initio ﬂight schools Escuela de Aviacion Mexico (EAM) in
Mexico City and more recently the Airbus Flight Academy
Europe (in Angoulême, France), thus contributing to meetingthe need for new pilots in the next 20 years;– acquisition of a start-up - VRnam - to boost innovation for
ﬂight training through virtual reality.
Airbus’ worldwide support is also based on an international
network of support centres, training centres and spares
warehouses all around the world, offering customers thesolutions they need close to their operational base. To ensure
this proximity Airbus empowered local teams and developed
hubs in the regions, most recently in Asia, China, Africa andMiddle East.
Since the launch of Skywise at Le Bourget in 2017, Airbus has
accelerated with its digital transformation. In October 2018,
Airbus created the Skywise campus – “a place to foster internaland external collaboration” – and developing new ways ofworking, with customers at the heart of each service, to offer
the best value proposition across the full lifecycle, securing
and optimising their operations end-to-end, providing tailoredsolutions that deliver impactful outcomes and enhancing theuser’s experience all along the way.
Skywise brings all the ecosystem data to a single platform.
More than 100 airlines are now connected to the Skywise
platform, representing a potential of over 9,000 aircraft of whichapproximately one third are not Airbus aircraft.
Leveraging on Skywise digital capabilities, Airbus’ Customer
Services portfolio offer is evolving to provide the best and most
efﬁcient solutions available on the market:– launch of Skywise Reliability Services (October 2018);– launch of Skywise Predictive Maintenance (October 2018);– launch of “FHS (Flight Hour Services) powered by Skywise”
enhancing the existing FHS offering to improve aircraft
availability while optimising resources utilisation andcomponents inventory (June 2019);– launch of Skywise Digital Alliance (October 2019): Airbus will
form an alliance with Delta Airlines to experiment, develop
and market new predictive maintenance cross-ﬂeet solutions.
The Alliance is open to receive other members from airlines
and systems OEMs.
Preparing the future, Airbus Services is on a continuing growth
pattern and on track to achieve the US$ 10 billion revenues
ambition announced at the Farnborough 2018 Airshow.

Customer Finance
Airbus favours cash sales, and does not envisage customer
ﬁnancing as an area of business development. However, Airbus
recognises the commercial need for manufacturers to assist
customers in arranging ﬁnancing of new aircraft purchases, andin certain cases to participate in ﬁnancing those aircraft for theairline.

Extension of credit or assumption of exposure is subject tocorporate oversight and monitoring, and follows strict standardsof discipline and caution. Airbus’ dedicated customer ﬁnanceteam has accumulated decades of expertise in aircraft ﬁnance.
When Airbus ﬁnances a customer, the ﬁnanced aircraft generally
serves as collateral, with the engine manufacturer participating inthe ﬁnancing. These elements assist in reducing the risk borne
by Airbus. The difference between the gross exposure resulting
from the ﬁnancing and the collateral value is fully provisioned for(for further information, please refer to the “— Notes to the IFRS
Consolidated Financial Statements — Note 27: Sales Financing
Transactions”). Airbus’ customer ﬁnancing transactions aredesigned to facilitate subsequent sell-down of the exposure to
the ﬁnancial markets, third-party lenders or lessors.

1

In 2019, Airbus continued to beneﬁ t from market appetite
for both aircraft financing and sale and leaseback lessor
opportunities, supported by a high level of liquidity available inthe market at good rates for Airbus aircraft. Airbus customer
ﬁnancing exposure remained limited in 2019 and decreased
compared to 2018. Airbus will continue to provide direct aircraft
ﬁnancing support as it deems necessary. Management believes,in light of its experience, that the level of provisioning protecting
Airbus from default costs is adequate and consistent withstandards and practice in the aircraft ﬁnancing industry. See“— Risk Factors – Financial Market Risks – Sales Financing
Arrangements”.

Asset Management
The Asset Management department was established in 1994
to manage and re-market used aircraft acquired by Airbus,
originally as a result of customer bankruptcies, and subsequently
in the context of certain buy-back commitments. The department
operates with a dedicated staff and manages a ﬂeet comprisedof used aircraft across a wide range of models. Through its
activities, the Asset Management department helps Airbus torespond more efﬁciently to the medium- and long-term ﬂeet
requirements of its customers.
Its key roles comprise commercial, technical and ﬁ nancial
risk management of its used aircraft portfolio, as well as theenhancement of all Airbus products’ residual value.
It also provides a full range of remarketing services, including
assistance with entry-into-service, interior reconfigurationand maintenance checks. Most of the aircraft are available tocustomers for cash sale, while some can also be offered on
operating lease. In the latter, the Airbus Asset Management teamaims at eventually selling down the aircraft with lease attachedto further reduce its portfolio exposure.

Operations
Industrial Organisation
Airbus’ industrial organisation reﬂects the end-to-end industrial
ﬂow in single-aisle and widebody value streams respectively.
Production ﬂows from the supply chain, through constituent
and major component (wing, forward and aft fuselage, andnose and centre fuselage) assembly through to ﬁnal assemblyin Toulouse, Hamburg, Tianjin and Mobile. Aircraft are thenhanded over to programme management for delivery tocustomers. The industrial ﬂow is secured by Quality and enabled
by Procurement as well as four transverse functions responsible

Airbus / Registration Document 201935

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

to provide the skills, standards and services necessary for(1) smooth industrial planning, logistics and transport, (2)integrated manufacturing engineering, (3) eradication of nonquality, and (4) highest operational excellence and soundperformance management.

Regional Aircraft, Aerostructures, Seats,
Aircraft Conversion and Airbus Canada

The Procurement organisation is responsible for both thecontractual and operational relationship with the supplier base.
Its aim is to ensure that purchased parts and services aredelivered at the most competitive conditions, on time, cost andquality. A dedicated Procurement Operations team manages
the delivery stream from the supply chain in accordance withthe agreed conditions to enable the production ﬂow.

ATR (Avions de Transport Régional) is a world leader in themarket for regional aircraft up to 90 seats. Its aircraft has over 200
operators in more than 100 countries. ATR is an equal partnership
between Airbus and Leonardo, with Airbus’ 50% share managed
by Airbus. Headquartered in Toulouse, ATR employs more than
1,400 people. Since the start of the programme in 1981, ATR
has registered net orders for 1,765 aircraft (507 ATR 42s and1,258 ATR 72s).

In 2019 all new aircraft developments and major modiﬁcations
beneﬁted from the largely deployed Advanced Production Quality
Planning (APQP) method across Airbus and at suppliers. The
Quality First initiative launched in the second half of 2019 in
Hamburg, with a strong focus on standards and quality gate
adherence will be further deployed along the value streams in
2020. The Quality function ensured the granting in 2019 of allnecessary EASA certiﬁcation, POA, DOA, MOA and EN9100
accreditations through compliance to our internal standards
and processes and associated audits.
This way of working along end-to-end value streams promotes
a strong sense of collaboration in the service of customers withthe highest safety and quality standards.
2019 delivery performance and rate evolution:– A220 family: 48 A220 delivered. Ramp-up to a maximum
target rate of 14 A220 per month by mid-decade;– A320 family: record deliveries of 642. Rate 63 per monthtargeted in 2021;– A330: 53 deliveries achieved;– A350: record deliveries of 112, production ramp-up
accomplished in 2019;– A380: 8 deliveries achieved, preparation for end of production.

Engineering
Airbus Engineering is a global organisation that develops civil
aircraft and aircraft components, and that conducts innovative
research applicable to the next generation of aircraft. Airbus
Engineering operates transnationally, with most engineers
employed in France, Germany, the UK and Spain. A growing
population of experienced aerospace engineers is also employedworldwide at ﬁve other engineering centres in Wichita (Kansas,
US), Mobile (Alabama, US), Moscow (Russia), Bangalore (India)
and Beijing (China).
A key part of the Airbus engineering organisation is the architect
and integration centre, which ensures, together with a team ofsenior aircraft architects and the programme chief engineers,that a consistent and multi-disciplinary approach is applied
during aircraft development.
Research & Technology activities continue to deliver incremental
innovations for existing aircraft, matured breakthroughtechnologies, with reinforced focus on industrial aspects. Airbus
Engineering is a major contributor to numerous international
initiatives dedicated to the preservation of the environment
and the reduction of noise and CO2 emissions. Fully integratedchange projects are also implemented to continuously implement
innovative and efﬁcient ways of working.

36

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

ATR

In 2019, ATR delivered 68 new aircraft (compared to 76 in 2018)
and recorded net ﬁrm orders for 48 new aircraft (compared to
46 in 2018), including orders from Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC).
As of 31 December 2019, ATR had a backlog of 185 aircraft(compared to 205 in 2018).
By the end of 2019, ATR had delivered 1,580 aircraft.

Products and Services
ATR 42 and ATR 72. ATR has developed a family of highwing, twin turboprop aircraft in the 30- to 78-seat market
which comprises the ATR 42 and ATR 72, designed for optimal
efﬁciency, operational ﬂexibility and comfort. Like Airbus, theATR range is based on the family concept, which provides forsavings in training, maintenance operations, spare parts supply
and cross-crew qualiﬁcation. The ATR 72-600 is the lowest seat
per mile cost aircraft on the 70 seat segment.
ATR is entering the cargo market by launching the ATR 72-600F(Freighter) with a brand new windowless fuselage, a forward
Large Cargo Door (LCD) and a rear upper hinged cargo door.
The ATR 72-600F will enter into service in 2020. The Company’s
aircraft family is also being extended with the brand new additionof the 42-600S. With the “S” representing Short Take-Off andLanding (STOL), this new version of the ATR 42-600 offers takeoff and landing capabilities on runways as short as 800m with
40 passengers on board in standard ﬂight conditions. Its entry
into service is scheduled for 2022.
Customer service. ATR has established a worldwide customer
support organisation committed to supporting aircraft over theirservice life. Service and training centres and spare parts stocks
are located in Toulouse, Paris, Miami, Singapore, Bangalore,
Auckland, Sao Paulo and Johannesburg. ATR worldwide
presence also includes representative ofﬁces in Beijing andTokyo.
ATR Asset Management addresses the market for second-handaircraft by assisting in the placement and ﬁnancing of used andend-of-lease aircraft.

Production
The ATR fuselage is produced in Naples, Italy, and ATR wings
are manufactured in Merignac near Bordeaux, France. Finalassembly takes place in Saint Martin near Toulouse on the Airbus
commercial aircraft production site. Flight-testing, certiﬁcationand deliveries also occur in Toulouse. ATR outsources certain
areas of responsibility to Airbus, such as wing design andmanufacturing, ﬂight-testing and information technology.

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

STELIA Aerospace
STELIA Aerospace is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Airbus andoffers global solutions for aeronautical manufacturers and airlines
supported by its aerostructure, tubes and ducts, cabin interior
and pilot seat branches.
As one of the world leading tier-1 aerostructure suppliers, STELIA
Aerospace designs, develops, manufactures and industrialises
workpackages and fully equipped and tested aircraft sections
for civil and military programmes.
STELIA Aerospace is a global partner for major aeronauticalplayers worldwide, such as Airbus, ATR, or Bombardier
Aerospace.
With more than 7,000 employees worldwide based mainly inFrance, Canada, Morocco and Tunisia, STELIA Aerospace hasa wide range of capabilities, from Build-to-Print to Design & Build
solutions, including mechanical milling of rolled and stretchedpanels.
STELIA Aerospace designs, develops and manufactures bended
and welded tubes and ducts covering all ATA systems.
Through its cabin interior specialty, STELIA Aerospace designs
and manufactures luxury First Class and Business Seats for
key partners in the world including Etihad Airways, Singapore
Airlines or Thaï Airways.
By combining innovative materials and technology with a drive
to improve the passenger experience, STELIA Aerospace hascreated an outstanding range of seats used in civil aircraft
globally.
STELIA Aerospace – a joint world leader Pilot seats manufacturer– provides cockpit and pilot seats for all kinds of aircraft, andoffers support from design to production, including after-sales
service.
As part of its development strategy, STELIA Aerospace has
established a new subsidiary in Portugal. STELIA Portugal
was founded end of 2019 and should start operations in 2020,enabling STELIA Aerospace to continue to support its customers
ramp-up needs with additional production capacity.

Premium AEROTEC
Premium AEROTEC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company,
is one of the world’s leading tier-1 suppliers of commercial andmilitary aircraft structures and is a partner in the major European
international aerospace programmes.
Its core business is the development and production of large
aircraft components from aluminum, titanium and carbon ﬁber
composites (CFRP). Premium AEROTEC is Europe’s no. 1 inthis segment with roughly 9,000 employees at various sites inGermany and Romania. Premium AEROTEC is represented byits products in all Airbus commercial aircraft programmes. The
current military programmes include the Euroﬁghter “Typhoon”
and the military transport aircraft A400M.
Besides main customer Airbus, Premium AEROTEC will further
intensify business with other customers and actively approachother aircraft or structural manufacturers. Premium AEROTEC isalso striving to expand its maintenance, repair and spare parts
business.

In order to contribute successfully to the shaping of the future ofaviation, the engineers and developers at Premium AEROTEC
are continuously working on the new and further developmentof lightweight and highly durable aircraft structures. They
cooperate closely with universities and research institutes in
the process. Premium AEROTEC plays a signiﬁcant role in thedesign of new concepts in such ﬁelds as carbon composite
technologies (including thermoplastic processes) or 3D-printingof aircraft components made of titanium or aluminum.

1

Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH — EFW
EFW combines various aviation and technology activities undera single roof: development and manufacturing of ﬂ at ﬁ brereinforced composite components for structures and interiors,
the conversion of passenger aircraft into freighter conﬁguration,
maintenance and repair of Airbus commercial aircraft as well as
engineering services in the context of certiﬁcation and approval.
On 17 June 2015, Airbus signed an agreement with Singaporebased ST Aerospace Ltd. (STA) to offer passenger-to-freighter(P2F) conversion solutions for its A320 and A321 aircraft. STA
acquired an additional 20% of the shares of EFW, Dresden(Germany) by way of a contribution in kind and a capitalincrease to EFW. The transaction closed on 4 January 2016.
Consequently, 45% of the shares of EFW were retained andAirbus effectively lost its control over EFW (previously reported
in Airbus).

Airbus Canada Limited Partnership
Airbus Canada Limited Partnership (“Airbus Canada”) has
been established on 1 July 2018 following the transaction
between Airbus, Bombardier and Investment Quebec. At theend of 2019, Airbus Canada shareholding structure was 50.26%
Airbus, 33.72% Bombardier and 16.02% Investment in Quebec.
At the end of 2019, Airbus Canada had over 2,700 employees.
For the latest update, see section 1.3 below.
In 2019, Airbus Canada has delivered 48 aircraft, compared
to 20 aircraft in 2018 (from 1 July 2018). Airbus Canada has abacklog of 495 aircraft (600 orders – 105 deliveries in total asof December 2019).

Airbus Canada Products
Airbus Canada has developed a family of all-new design efﬁcient
aircraft with two products: the A220-100 and the A220-300,
launched by Bombardier before the establishment of Airbus
Canada. The A220-100 is a solution for opening new routes
with urban and challenging operations. The A220-100 has acapacity between 100 and 135 passengers and a range of
6,300 km. The A220-300 is well suited to be one of the best
network feeder. The A220-300 has a capacity between 130 and
160 passengers and a range of 6,200 km. From the creationof Airbus Canada until the end of December 2019, 68 A220
were delivered.

Airbus Canada Industrial Footprint
A220 ﬁnal assembly line is in Mirabel. In 2019, the A220 has
also begun to be manufactured in a new ﬁnal assembly line
in Mobile, for delivering to our American customers. The ﬁrst
A220 delivery from Mobile is expected in Q3 2020.

Airbus / Registration Document 201937

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

1.1.3 Helicopters
Airbus Helicopters is a global leader in the civil and militaryrotorcraft market, offering one of the most complete and modern
range of helicopters and related services. This product range
currently includes light single-engine, light twin-engine, medium
and medium-heavy rotorcraft, which are adaptable to all kinds of
mission types based on customer needs. See “— 1.1.1 Overview”
for an introduction to Airbus Helicopters.

Strategy
Business Ambition
Airbus Helicopters continues to execute its ambition to lead thehelicopter market, build end-to-end solutions and grow new
VTOL businesses, while being ﬁnancially sound.
The strategic priorities of Airbus Helicopters are:– Business Resilience: Airbus Helicopters’ challenge will be thepreservation of its resilience in terms of growth, proﬁtability
and robustness of its business model for both helicoptersand new VTOLS;– Customer Loyalty: Airbus Helicopters continues to offer thebest in class products and services to grow in the value
chain of its customers and continuously improve customer
satisfaction;– Future Growing Markets: Airbus Helicopters continues todevelop partnerships and governmental cooperation toreinforce its positioning on the market and inﬂuence legislation
impacting the helicopters business;– Innovation: Airbus Helicopters continues to build an innovative
eco-system, develop demonstrators and deploy platforms
and services.

Transformation
The Division remains focused on product safety, quality and leadtime to continuously improve customer satisfaction.
Airbus Helicopters continues to refine and execute its
transformation plan in order to maintain its competitiveness inthe face of market evolutions and retain its ability to invest in
the future.

Commitment to Innovation
After accumulating around 1,500 ﬂight hours, the H160 ﬂight
test aircraft have ﬁnished the last of the certiﬁcation ﬂight tests.
The prototypes are now being used to develop the speciﬁc andoptional equipment required for the many missions the H160 willaddress in the years following its entry into service in 2020 (e.g.,
emergency medical services, private and business aviation, oiland gas transportation, search and rescue).
The H160 aircraft are also continuing the “Operator Zero”
campaign, designed to ﬁne-tune the maintenance plan andassociated work cards, 3D technical publication, and toolingto ensure a smooth entry into service for this comfortable,
next-generation, urban-friendly helicopter.

38

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

The HIL programme, for which the Airbus Helicopters’ H160
was selected in 2017, was initially scheduled for launch
in 2022 by the current military budget law. Launching the
programme earlier will enable delivery of the ﬁrst H160Ms tothe French Armed Forces to be advanced to 2026. The H160
was designed to be a modular helicopter, enabling its militaryversion, with a single platform, to perform missions ranging
from commando inﬁltration to air intercept, ﬁre support, andanti-ship warfare in order to meet the needs of the army, thenavy and the air force through the HIL programme.
The new ﬁ ve-bladed H145 is on track for EASA and FAA
certiﬁcation in 2020. To ensure these certiﬁcations, two ﬁ vebladed prototypes have clocked more than 400 ﬂight hours
in extensive ﬂight test campaigns in Germany, France, Spain,
Finland, and in South America. First deliveries of the new H145
are scheduled for the second half of 2020, for EMS, parapublic
and VIP customers. The helicopter features an innovative,ﬁ ve-bladed bearingless rotor that increases the useful loadby 150 kilograms (330 pounds), while also offering crew andpassengers a smoother ride and more comfort on-board thehelicopter.
Airbus Helicopters has simultaneously been focusing on longterm innovation in order to develop and mature the technobricks (e.g., autonomy, electriﬁcation, connectivity) that might
beneﬁt the “traditional” helicopter platforms of tomorrow aswell as new VTOL architectures such as high-speed helicopters(Racer), eVTOL (CityAirbus) or unmanned platforms (VSR700).
The light helicopter demonstrator research programme,announced at the Paris Air Show last year, in conjunction
with the French Ministry of Transport (DGAC) will deliver new
standards in terms of safety by providing pilots of single-engine
rotorcraft more ﬂ exibility to perform autorotation in case ofan engine shutdown thanks to an electrical back-up system.
Further evolutions of the same technology could also pave
the way to a signiﬁ cant reduction in fuel consumption andsound levels.
The VSR700 is a fully-fledged unmanned aerial system,
capitalising on Airbus Helicopters’ extensive experience ofadvanced autopilot systems and engineering expertise toprovide modern militaries with new capabilities. It offers thebest balance of payload capability, endurance and operationalcost. It is capable of carrying multiple full-size naval sensors forextended periods and can operate in existing ships, alongsidea helicopter, with a low logistical footprint. The ﬁrst ﬂight of the
VSR700 prototype took place on 8 November 2019 and was amajor milestone for the programme as progress is made on theoperational demonstrator for the French Navy that will perform
trials in 2021 in partnership with Naval Group.
Airbus Helicopters is also actively involved in Urban Air Mobility(UAM) via several commercial projects, CityAirbus and Racer.
Airbus Helicopters has furthermore partnered with EASA to
explore to harness their respective experience and know-how
to bring the next generation of VTOL platforms to life, alongwith the necessary regulatory framework to support them.

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

Focusing on Customers
Airbus Helicopters’ top priority from a customer support andservice perspective is to ensure its work results in the best
customer experience possible. In 2019, the Division focusedon digitisation, analytics and integrated global contracts, such as
HCare Smart and HCare Inﬁnite, as key ways to help customers
increase availability and mission success, optimise their costs,
lower the maintenance burden, and enhance the safety of theiraircraft.
With customers at various stages of the digitisation journey,
Airbus Helicopters has invested in new services that help
operators make the most of their data. These range from setting
up the basics of a paperless organisation, to capturing andstoring the rich troves of data generated by each ﬂight or activity,
to then applying data analytics for better decision-making. By
the end of 2019, around 1,000 helicopters were sharing datawith Airbus Helicopters. Likewise, the number of helicopters
covered by an HCare Smart of Inﬁnite contract increased byapproximately 10%, with around 95% of HCare Smart parts-bythe-hour and full-by-the-hour customers opting to extend theircontracts with Airbus Helicopters.

Delivering Safety
Airbus Helicopters’ chief priority is to enhance ﬂight safety
for the thousands of men and women around the world who
are transported in its aircraft every day. It is envisaged to, by
2028, reduce by 50% the accident rate and have no technicalcontribution to accidents. Airbus Helicopters also aims tobe the forerunner of Product & Operational Aviation Safety
breakthrough.
In order to achieve these goals, Airbus Helicopters strives to:– deﬁne and develop new safety measures and initiatives tosupport the safe operation of its aircraft by customers;– introduce design changes for all families of helicopters witha strong emphasis on safety criteria and leveraging big data
to detect weak signals.
This commitment to safety is also reﬂected across all divisional
internal activities involving the lifecycle of a helicopter, withfocus on meeting industry quality and safety standards with anemphasis on safety culture development.

Market Drivers
According to market forecasts produced by Airbus Helicopters,
around 22,000 civil helicopters and 14,000 military helicopters
are expected to be built globally over the next 20 years. Overall,
the global helicopter market is still evolving in a challenging
environment.
Helicopters sold in the civil and parapublic sector, where Airbus
Helicopters is a leader, provide transport for private owners andcorporate executives, offshore oil operations, diverse commercial
applications and state agencies, including coast guard, police,
medical and ﬁre-ﬁghting services. Thanks to its existing mission
segment diversity, the helicopter market (both Platforms andServices activities) is expected to be resilient through the coming
decade, even though one of the key segments, Oil & Gas (invalue), continues to experience challenging conditions. Airbus
Helicopters expects market to remain challenging in the shortterm but believes that the demand over the next 20 years will be
driven by large replacement needs from advanced economies

and by growth from emerging countries (especially in Asia stilllargely under equipped). Airbus Helicopters’ market data indicatesthat in 2019, worldwide deliveries of civil and parapublic turbine
helicopters of ﬁve seats and above stood at ~450 units. Demand
for military helicopters and related services is mainly driven bybudgetary and strategic considerations, and the need to replaceageing ﬂeets. Airbus Helicopters believes that the advanced ageof current ﬂeets, the emergence of a new generation of helicopters
equipped with integrated systems and the ongoing introductionof combat helicopters into many national armed forces willcontribute to increased military helicopter procurement in themedium term. Nevertheless, demand from the military sector
has historically been subject to large year-to-year variations due
to evolving strategic considerations, and may be limited, due tobudgetary constraints on public spending in some regions like
Western Europe and Middle East, while other regions like Asia
Paciﬁc or Eastern Europe are expected to continue to grow.
Despite recent threats and a growing geopolitical instability,
which has accelerated military spending and a reassessmentof defence budgets, the military market is still low in 2019.
Economic difﬁculties (i.e. low commodities prices), saturationof the Western countries markets as well as priorities given to
operational needs (e.g., spare parts, availability improvement)
have resulted in a decrease for all mission segments. According
to Airbus Helicopters’ market data, worldwide deliveries of
military turbine helicopters have decreased to 560 units in 2019.

1

Competition
Airbus Helicopters’ primary competitors in the civil and parapublic
sector are Leonardo and Bell Helicopter.
The civil and parapublic sector has seen more local competitors
in recent years (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Turkey). Airbus
Helicopters has maintained its leading market share (in bookingsof 2.0t helicopters and ﬁve seats and above), in a low market,
with 60% in unit in 2019, followed by Leonardo and Bell withrespectively 16% and 11%.
Airbus Helicopters’ main competitors in the military sector are
Sikorsky, Boeing and Russian Helicopters, thanks to large
captive market and strong political support for export.
The military sector is highly competitive and is characterisedby major restrictions on foreign manufacturers’ access to thedomestic defence bidding process (i.e. USA, China, Russia).
Thanks to major military campaigns (NH90, H225 and H145M),
in 2019 Airbus Helicopters maintained a market share in this
sector of 13%. The Division will continue to focus on large military
campaigns in 2020.

Customers
More than 3,000 operators currently ﬂ y Airbus Helicopters’rotorcraft in over 150 countries. Airbus Helicopters’ principal
military clients are Ministries of Defence (“MoDs”) in Europe,Asia, the US and Latin America. In the civil and parapublic sector,
Airbus Helicopters has a leading market share in Europe, theAmericas and Asia-Paciﬁc.
With 54% of the worldwide market share-based on deliveries in
2019, the versatility and reliability of Airbus Helicopters products
have made them the preferred choice of the most prominent
civil and parapublic customers (turbine helicopters of ﬁve seats
and above).

Airbus / Registration Document 201939

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

Products and Services
Airbus Helicopters offers a complete range of helicopters thatcovers nearly the entire civil and military market spectrum,
which it continuously improves with leading-edge technologies.
This product range includes single-engine, light twin-engine,

medium and medium-heavy helicopters, and is based on aseries of new-generation platforms designed to be adaptableto both military and civil applications. In addition, products
share multiple technical features as part of a family concept
approach.

The following table sets forth Airbus Helicopters’ existing product line, consisting of optimised products for different mission types:
Helicopter TypePrimary Missions

Single Engine (“Ecureuil” family)
H125 “Ecureuil” / H125M “Fennec”
H130

Public Services(1), Military Utility(2) & Armed Reconnaissance, Corporate /Private, Commercial Pax Transport & Aerial Work
Commercial Pax Transport & Multipurpose, Emergency Medical, Tourism, Corporate / Private

Light Twin Engine
H135 / H135M

VIP, Military Utility & Armed Reconnaissance, Emergency Medical, Public Services(1)VIP, Military Utility(2), Emergency Medical, Public Services(1)H145 / LUH (UH-72) / H145M
Medium (“Dauphin” family)
AS365 “Dauphin” / AS565 “Panther”

Military Naval Warfare Mission & Maritime Security, Public Services(1)(in particular Coast Guard & SAR), Oil & Gas, Commercial Pax Transport & Multipurpose

H155

Corporate / Private, VIP, Oil & Gas, Public Services(1)H160

Corporate / Private, VIP, Oil & Gas, Public Services(1)H175

Corporate / Private, VIP, SAR, Emergency Medical, Public Services(1), Oil & Gas

Medium-Heavy
H215 “Super Puma” / H215M “Cougar”
H225 / H225M
NH90 (TTH / NFH)

Civil Utility, Military Transport / SAR, Oil & Gas
SAR, Combat-SAR, Military Transport, Oil & Gas, VIP, Public Services(1)SAR, Military Transport, Naval

AttackTiger

Combat, Armed Reconnaissance / Escort(1) Public Services includes homeland security, law enforcement, fire-fighting, border patrol, coast guard and public agency emergency medical services.
(2) Civil Utility includes different kinds of commercial activities such as aerial works, electrical new gathering (ENG), passenger and cargo transport.

Civil Range
Airbus Helicopters’ civil range includes single-engine, lighttwin-engine, medium and medium-heavy helicopters, which
are adaptable to all mission types based on customer needs. To
maintain and strengthen its competitive edge in the civil sector,
Airbus Helicopters is maintaining R&D investments including:– certiﬁcation of the H160, which performed its ﬁrst serial ﬂight
in December 2018;– improvement of the existing range (i.e. H145 D3) in the ﬁeldof performances and safety in order to meet customer’s
requirements;– preparing the future H generation with major upgrades andnew products pursuing a fast-paced product range renewal.

Military Range
Airbus Helicopters’ military range comprises platforms derived
from its commercial range (such as the H145M and H225M
respectively derived from the H145 and H225) as well as purely
military platforms developed for armed forces (the NH90 and
the Tiger).
Designed for modern multi-mission capabilities and costeffectiveness throughout its lifecycle, the NH90 has beendeveloped as a multi-role helicopter for both tactical transport

40

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

(TTH) and naval (NFH) applications. The programme, mainly
ﬁnanced by the governments of France, Germany, Italy and theNetherlands, has been jointly developed by Airbus Helicopters,
Leonardo of Italy and Fokker Services of the Netherlands as joint
partners in NATO Helicopter Industries (“NHI”) in direct proportion
to their countries’ expressed procurement commitments. Airbus
Helicopters’ share of NHI is 62.5%. There were 32 NH90 deliveriesin 2019, for a cumulative total of 412 deliveries as of the end of
2019. The NH90 ﬂeet has accumulated ~230 000 ﬂight hours.
The Tiger combat attack helicopter programme includes four
variants based on the same airframe: the HAP (turreted gun,rockets and air-to-air missile); the UHT (antitank missile, air-to-air
missile, axial gun and rockets); the ARH (antitank missile, turreted
gun and rockets); and the HAD (antitank missile, air-to-air missile,turreted gun, rockets and upgraded avionics and engines)
Overall in 2019, 4 Tigers were delivered, for a cumulative totalof 184 deliveries by year-end. The Tiger ﬂeet has accumulated
more than 136,000 ﬂight hours.
Airbus is also a major contractor to the US Army, having beenchosen to supply the service’s UH-72A Lakota helicopter. As
of 1 January 2020, 468 aircraft had been delivered to the US
Department of Defense for operation by US Army and Army
National Guard units, the Navy and foreign military sales buyers.

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

Customer Services
With more than 3,000 operators in over 150 countries, Airbus
Helicopters has a large ﬂeet of some 12,000 in-service rotorcraftto support. As a result, customer service activities to support
this large ﬂeet generated 43% of Airbus Helicopters’ revenues
for 2019.
Airbus Helicopters’ customer service activities consist primarilyof maintenance, repairs, spare parts supply, training andtechnical support. In order to provide efﬁcient worldwide service,
Airbus Helicopters has established an international network of
subsidiaries, authorised distributors and service centres.

Industrial Strategy
Implementing a new industrial model is one of the fundamental
components of the Division transformation, enabling it to be
more competitive, by controlling costs, while meeting the highest
requirements in terms of quality and safety. The 3 pillars of the
new industrial model are site specialisation, a new industrial
architecture, and the deployment of ﬂexible assembly lines.
Specialised sites contribute to anchoring quality and safety
fundamentals while boosting Airbus Helicopters’ competitiveness.
Like many manufacturers, one of the objectives is to produce eachhelicopter sub-assembly at a dedicated site. This means that the

production sites are focused either on manufacturing operations
with high added value or with a speciﬁc technological content. A
good example of this transformation is the Paris-Le Bourget site,where all of Airbus Helicopters’ blade design, industrialisationand production activities will be concentrated. The specialisationof these sites makes it possible to avoid the duplication of skills
and industrial means.

1

Thanks to the redistribution of operations and economies ofscale, each site contributes to the optimised production of theentire range and becomes more resilient to market ﬂuctuations.
The helicopter is divided into major sub-assemblies that can beproduced, assembled, and tested in parallel, thus shortening theindustrial cycle. The H160 is designed to be assembled in just40 days thanks to this new architecture. Reducing end to end
cycles is a key driver of competitiveness as well as an answer
to customer requirements.
Rendering industrial system more modular through ﬂ exible
assembly lines is an additional means to enhance its competitiveedge on the market.
In a versatile market context, our assembly lines must be able
to assemble several different types of helicopters. This multiproduct capability will be a key factor in terms of ﬂexibility.

1.1.4 Defence and Space
Airbus Defence and Space develops, produces and maintains
cutting-edge products, systems and services, enabling
governments, institutions and commercial customers to protect
people and resources.
Airbus Defence and Space is organised in four Programme Lines:
Military Aircraft; Space Systems; Connected Intelligence; andUnmanned Aerial Systems, which focus respectively on thefollowing key activities:– Military Aircraft designs, develops, delivers and supports
military aircraft. It is the leading ﬁxed-wing military aircraft
centre in Europe, and one of the market leaders for combat,
mission, transport and tanker aircraft worldwide. Key products
include the Euroﬁghter Typhoon, the A400M, the A330 Multi
Role Tanker Transport (“MRTT”) and the C295;– Space Systems covers a broad range of civil and military
space offerings. Its satellite solutions for telecommunications,
earth observation, navigation and science include spacecraft,
ground segments and payloads for institutional customers
as well as the export market. It also manufactures orbitaland space exploration systems. Space transportation
capabilities (comprising launchers and services) are offered
via ArianeGroup, a 50/50 Airbus-Safran joint venture;– Connected Intelligence includes ﬁve main business clusters:
Secure Communications, Intelligence, Cyber Security, Security
Solutions and Secure Land Communications. These clusters
develop speciﬁc solutions for defence, governmental, civil andcommercial customers;– Unmanned Aerial Systems (“UAS”) develops, delivers andoperates UAS and UAV (unmanned aerial vehicules) solutions
for airborne intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, andcombat missions.

Strategy
The strategic ambition of Airbus Defence and Space is to shapeand deliver the future of European Air and Space and become
one of the world’s leading providers of smart aerospace anddefence solutions.
To achieve this, Airbus Defence and Space is applying its strategy
across three domains:– Defence: Airbus Defence and Space is leveraging momentumin Franco-German cooperation and pursuing new European
programme opportunities as it works to deliver its vision for
Future Air Power. Key opportunities include FCAS, Eurodrone,
Maritime Airborne Warfare System, special mission aircraft,and space situational awareness initiatives, among others. The
Division is concurrently working to shape and address future
secure, upgradeable, and dynamic network and Command
and Control architecture requirements while continuing toevolve existing platforms and capabilities (e.g., Euroﬁghter
Typhoon, A330 MRTT, A400M, C-295, predictive aircraft
maintenance) for long-term competitiveness and value tofuture force structures;– Space: Airbus Defence and Space will leverage its position
as Europe’s space leader to drive market competitiveness,working with European governments and institutions to ensure
the long-term health of the entire European space industrialbase. In tandem, Airbus Defence and Space will evolve its
product portfolio (e.g., equipment, satellites, vehicles andinfrastructure) and take a targeted approach to international
expansion. In parallel, Airbus Defence and Space is developing
end-to-end solutions and accelerating new products andservices to strengthen its position across the space value
chain;

Airbus / Registration Document 201941

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company– Digital Services and Secure Connectivity: Digitaltransformation and digital platforms will be a key enabler tounlocking greater value from our portfolio while providing new
data-driven services and business models. The division will
provide imagery intelligence, aircraft in-service support, andother services while also striving to be a leader in end-to-end
secure connectivity across satellite, terrestrial, maritime, andairborne network and communication domains.
Globally, the Division intends to leverage its existing products andservices, innovate new offerings, and strike selected strategic
partnerships in order to strengthen its position in the US andother targeted international markets.

MarketAirbus Defence and Space is mainly active in governmental,
institutional and commercial markets. As a general trend,
defence budgets in Europe are expected to continue to grow,triggered by geopolitical tensions, heightened security risks andreinforced by recent discussions on NATO defence spending
target of 2% of GDP. In addition, the implementation of theEuropean Defence Action Plan of November 2016 was bolsteredby the joint declaration published in July 2017 by the French
and German governments outlining the intention to strengthen
European defence, then by the agreement in 2018 to develop
jointly the FCAS, the European “MALE” (Medium Altitude Long
Endurance) drone and the Future Maritime Airborne Warfare
Systems (“FMAWS”). Together, these may provide new sales
opportunities through members’ collaborative procurement
mechanisms. Market access outside the home countries may
be subject to restrictions or preconditions such as national
content or local industrial participation. Nevertheless, Airbus
Defence and Space, in conjunction with Airbus, is well-placed
to beneﬁt from growth in defence expenditure. The market may
be inﬂuenced in the short-term by a potential softening of the
global economy and Brexit.

Competitors
The market for military aircraft is dominated by large- andmedium-sized American and European companies capableof complex system integration. Among the competitive factors
are affordability, technical and management capability, theability to develop and implement complex, integrated systemarchitectures and the ability to provide solutions to customers. In
particular dedicated mission aircraft, such as heavy tankers, arederived from existing aircraft platforms. Adapting them requires
thorough knowledge of the basic airframe, which generally only
the aircraft manufacturer possesses. The skills necessary for theoverall systems integration into the aircraft are extensive and thenumber of players in the world market is very limited.
The main competitors in military transport and mission aircraft
include Boeing, Embraer, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman,
Leonardo, UAC, Kawasaki, AVIC and Antonov.
Heavy military transport has historically been driven by US policy
and budget decisions and has therefore been dominated by
US manufacturers and split in strategic and tactical aircraft
segments. The A400M represents the Company’s entry into
this market, at a time when nations are expected to begin
replacing their existing ﬂeets. The aircraft is designed to disrupt
the divide between strategic and tactical transport by offeringboth capabilities in one. This saves both time and cost as you can
ﬂy a long range strategic aircraft into a tactical zone of operation.
In terms of revenues, Airbus Defence and Space is the largest
continental European combat aircraft manufacturer. The
major combat aircraft activities are taking place through thecontribution to the Euroﬁghter Typhoon programme jointly withthe consortium partner companies BAE Systems and Leonardo.
Competitors in the segment of combat aircraft include Boeing,
Dassault, Lockheed Martin, Saab and UAC. Euroﬁghter is a key
asset which for customers will act as a capability bridge to FCAS,
in which it will also be seamlessly integrated.

Market Trends

Military Aircraft
Customers
The Military Aircraft Programme Line with its combat aircraft,military transport and mission aircraft along with related services,supplies the public sector, mainly armed forces.
Customer relationships in this segment are characterised by theirlong-term, strategic nature and long decision-making cycles.
Once a contract is signed its life span including considerable
services business often lasts for decades. Beyond a strong
foothold in home countries, the customer base is increasingly
global, in particular due to the success of the A330 MRTT and
C295 programmes.
The turbulence created by changes in the US administration andthe Russian situation is gradually leading to a shift in importanceof defence in Europe. The commitment to go towards 2% of the
GDP is being gradually pursued and should lead to new optimism
for the sector. The Franco-German declaration in summer 2017
and the establishment of “Permanent Structured Cooperation(PESCO)” by the European Union on 11 December 2017 arealso clear signals in this direction. During the Franco-German
Defence and Security Council in October 2019, France andGermany committed to strengthen their cooperation and agreed
to contract the demonstrator phase for FCAS early next year.

42

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

The sale of aircraft is expected to remain stable in the transportand special mission aircraft segments and could grow for theheavy transport segment, where the A400M occupies a uniqueposition.
After-sales services are an important business for Military Aircraft
and are undergoing strong growth in line with the deliveries of
A400M and A330 MRTT on top of the existing robust revenue
stream associated with Euroﬁghter in-service support. The
agreement signed between France and Germany in April 2018
to jointly develop and procure the FCAS and the Future Maritime
Airborne Warfare System will also contribute to safeguarding
critically-needed future European defence capabilities. During theFranco-German Defence and Security Council in October 2019,
France and Germany agreed to contract the demonstrator phase
for FCAS in 2020. For the latest update, see section 1.3 below.

Space Systems
Governmental Sector: Satellites, Space
Infrastructure, Launchers, Deterrence
In the public market for earth observation, science / explorationand navigation satellites, competition in Europe is organised
on a national and multinational level, primarily through theEuropean Space Agency (“ESA”), the European Commission

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company(EC) and national space agencies. Space Systems, through its
Programme Unit Earth Observation, Navigation and Science, isa major actor in these respective segments and the recognised
European leader on ESA science programmes.
Decisions at the latest ESA Ministerial Conferences paved theway for future European programmes in which Airbus Defence
and Space does or may seek to participate. There is also
important export demand for earth observation systems, ofwhich the Company is the world’s leading provider. The export
market is expected to continue growing over the medium-term
driven by the demand coming from new governmental operators
on top of the replacement of existing assets.
On the military customer side, demand for telecommunicationand observation satellites has increased in recent years.
The equipment segment can rely on a stable European market,
with potential growth to come from developing space countries
as well as the US.
The orbital infrastructure segment comprises manned andunmanned space systems mainly used for space exploration,i.e. scientiﬁc missions. Demand for orbital infrastructure systems
originates solely from publicly funded space agencies, inparticular from ESA, NASA, Roscosmos (Russia) and JAXA
(Japan). Such systems are typically built in cooperation withinternational partners. Continuing support to the operations of
the International Space Station (ISS), together with vehicle andequipment development programmes and services such as theService Module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft, constitutes the
predominant ﬁeld of activity in this segment, and Airbus Defence
and Space leads the European contribution on industrial level as
prime contractor. As the future exploration plans of the various
national space agencies take shape with a growing focus ona sustainable return to the Moon, Airbus Defence and Space
is well-positioned to take a leading role in providing vehicles,
platforms and services to support these ambitious endeavours.
The joint venture ArianeGroup is prime contractor for the
Ariane 5 launcher system. ArianeGroup is contracted for thedevelopment of the future Ariane 6 launcher and is the prime
contractor responsible for the development, manufacturing andmaintenance of the French deterrence systems.

Commercial Sector: Telecommunications
Satellites, Launch Services
The commercial telecommunication satellite market is highly
competitive, with customer decisions primarily based on price,technical expertise and track record. The main competitors fortelecommunications satellites are Boeing, Lockheed Martin,
MAXAR and Northrop Grumman in the US, Thales Alenia Spacein France and Italy, Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev
in Russia, and CASC in China. The market for commercial
geostationary telecommunications satellites has experienced
a down turn since 2017 and is expected to gradually recoverin the mid-term. In parallel, the demand for large constellationsof smaller telecom satellites in Low Earth Orbit has increased
dramatically in the last few years.
The market for commercial launch services continues to evolve.
Competitive pressure is increasing in light of new entrants into
the market. ArianeGroup provides a complete range of launchservices with the Ariane, Soyuz, and Vega launchers. Competitors
for launch services include SpaceX, ULA, ILS and CGWIC. The
accessible market to Arianespace (a subsidiary of ArianeGroup)for commercial launch services for geostationary satellites is
expected to remain stable at around 20 payloads per year.
However, due to various factors (such as technology advances,increasing competition and consolidation of customers), theﬁgure remains volatile. This market does not include institutional
launch services for the US, Russian or Chinese military andgovernmental agencies.

1

In 2015, Airbus Defence and Space announced the creationof OneWeb Satellites JV, an equally owned company with
OneWeb that designs and builds a constellation of satellites for
its unique customer OneWeb. The satellite constellation aims toprovide competitive global internet access. This participation isentrepreneurial in nature and is meant to drive innovation in a
new space market – an area that is set to expand dramatically incoming years. In 2017, OneWeb Satellites JV broke ground on theworld’s ﬁrst state of the art high-volume satellite manufacturing
facility in Exploration Park, Florida, and inaugurated its serial
production line for the assembly, integration, and test of
OneWeb’s ﬁrst satellites in Toulouse. In 2018, design of the pilot
satellites was completed. The launch of the ﬁrst satellites in 2019
allowed validation of the design.

Connected Intelligence
The Connected Intelligence programme line delivers satellite
and terrestrial communication systems, information and security
solutions like Skynet5. It also manages intelligence services fromradar and optical data imageries, and provides cyber defence
support, cipher solutions and training to its institutional andcommercial customers
This programme line is divided into five programme units:Intelligence, Secure Communications, Cyber Security, Security
Solutions and Secure Land Communications.
Through Intelligence, Airbus Defence and Space
provides commercial satellite imagery, Command, Control,
Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance
and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems and related services.
Intelligence is amongst the largest players in the satellite imagery(optical and radar) market. The programme unit provides both
optical and radar-based geo-information services to customers
including international corporations, governments and authorities
around the world. The demand for satellite imagery is growing
in commercial markets as many companies see geospatial data
as key information for their business development.
Through its Secure Communications programme unit, Airbus
Defence and Space is also a leader in governmental satellite
communications. The programme unit offers a full portfolio of
mobile and ﬁxed satellite communication and secure terrestrial
communications solutions for application at sea, on land
and in the air. It provides armed forces and governments in
the UK, Germany, France and Abu Dhabi with secure satellite
communications.
Airbus CyberSecurity: As a leading provider of security
operation centres, incident response services, key management,
cryptography and high-security national solutions and consulting
and training services, Airbus Defence and Space has a longtrack record in providing the most sensitive secure IT anddata handling and training solutions to defence and security
customers throughout France, Germany, the UK and other NATOcountries.

Airbus / Registration Document 201943

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

Security Solutions: As a world-leading system integrator
for border security, maritime surveillance, critical national
infrastructure protection and site security services, Security
Solutions’ aim is to build on these assets in operation, thereby
fulﬁlling the requirements of the security market today and in
the future with the latest technology and most attractive service
packages.

in 2013. Since then, 88 units have been delivered to six nations
as of 31 December 2019. The A400M is already deployed inoperations since 2014. In 2019, a contract amendment was
signed with launch customers on the Global Rebaselining of
the A400M programme, under which all parties have agreed to
update the production plan and revise the capability roadmap.
The programme is now delivering in line with the revised schedule.

Secure Land Communications offers advanced communicationand collaboration solutions enabling its customers to gather
process and deploy intelligence. Its portfolio is tailored to theneeds of professionals from Public Safety and Transport, Utility
and Industry (TUI). As the European leader and a key international
player, Secure Land Communications has customers in morethan 80 countries.

Multi-role tanker transport — A330 MRTT. The A330 MRTT, aderivative of the Airbus A330-200 family, offers military strategic
air transport as well as air-to-air refueling capabilities at thesame time. Its large fuel tank capacity (111t) inherited from thecommercial platform, allows to dispense fuel in ﬂight to manyreceiver aircraft without the need for any additional fuel tanks.
This allows the entire lower deck cargo bay compartment to beavailable for freight (up to 37t), with the possibility to transport up
to 27 standard civil LD3 containers, or up to eight 436L military
pallets as well as at the same time the capacity to transport up to
300 troops in the upper deck cabin compartment, with the highlevel of comfort of a civil airliner. The A330 MRTT is equipped withstate of the art refueling systems, including an Aerial Refueling
Boom System (ARBS) and under-wing refueling pods and in
the upcoming months with the Automatic Air-To-Air Refuelling(A3R) capability. At the end of 2019, 60 A330 MRTT have beenordered by thirteen 13 Nations (more than 94% market shareover the past 10 years, excluding the US), with 42 platforms
already delivered and operating worldwide, accumulating morethan 200,000 ﬂight hours in operation.

Unmanned Aerial Systems
Customers
Unmanned Aerial Systems could lead to diversiﬁcation into
services-driven markets. It is also a sector in which Europe has
a strong need for investment, which could set the stage for newcooperation programmes. France, Germany, Italy and Spain havesignaled their intention to cooperate on a medium altitude, long
endurance (MALE) UAS. After Airbus Defence and Space andits partners ﬁnalised the two-year deﬁnition study of the system
end of 2018, a EuroMale proposal (including options) has been
submitted in 2019. Contract negotiations are ongoing.

Competitors
With regards to platforms, Chinese, Israeli and US ﬁrms arewell established in the UAS market segment, along with other
European companies such as BAE Systems, Leonardo andThales, who are competing for new European projects. The
market itself features strong growth with signiﬁcant opportunities
in Europe, the US and Asia Paciﬁc.

Market Trends
UAS have a very promising growth potential. Market structuresin this segment are not clearly set out yet and will see somemovement, including a new European collaborative programme.
Services verticals will offer increasingly interesting prospects as
the market evolves.

Products and Services
Military Aircraft
A400M — Heavy military transport. The A400M is designed
to be the most capable new generation airlifter on the market
today. It is designed to meet the needs of the world’s armed
forces and other potential operators for military, humanitarianand peacekeeping missions in the 21st century. The A400M is
designed to do the job of three different types of military transport
and tanker aircraft by providing different capabilities. Tactical(short to medium range airlifter capability with short, soft andaustere ﬁeld operating performance), strategic transport (longer
range missions for outsized loads) and tactical tanker.
A total of 174 aircraft have been ordered so far by the seven launchcustomer nations Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg,
Spain, Turkey, the UK and one export customer, Malaysia.
Type Certiﬁcate and Initial Operating Clearance were achieved

44

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Euroﬁghter combat aircraft. The Euroﬁghter multi-role combat
aircraft (also referred to as Typhoon) has been designed toenhance ﬂeet efﬁciency through a single ﬂying weapon systemcapable of fulﬁlling both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions.
The Euroﬁghter Jagdﬂugzeug GmbH shareholders are Airbus
Defence and Space (46% share), BAE Systems (33% share)
and Leonardo (21% share). With regard to series production,
the respective production work shares of the participating
partners within the Euroﬁghter consortium stand at 43% for
Airbus Defence and Space, 37.5% for BAE Systems and19.5% for Leonardo. Airbus Defence and Space develops andmanufactures the center fuselage and the right wing and leadingedge slats for all aircraft, and is in charge of ﬁnal assembly of
aircraft ordered by the German, Spanish and Austrian air forces.
In addition, Airbus Defence and Space is responsible for thedevelopment of the ﬂight control system and the identiﬁcationand communication sub-systems.
At the end of 2019, a total of 623 Euroﬁghter Typhoon aircraft
had been ordered by nine customers (UK, Germany, Italy, Spain,
Austria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar), with a total of
570 aircraft delivered. Export opportunities are being actively
developed together with the other shareholders of the Euroﬁghter
consortium.
C295 — Light and Medium military transport/mission
aircraft. The C295 is the work horse of tactical military transport,
conducting logistical missions including the transport anddelivery of personnel and cargo as well as medical evacuations.
The aircraft are deployed in demanding operational environments
and have been used for humanitarian missions. The aircraft arealso offered as a dedicated mission aircraft with conﬁgurations
beyond the traditional airlifter version, for example maritime
patrol and anti-submarine warfare, airborne early warning andcontrol, ﬁreﬁghting and intelligence surveillance reconnaissanceInformation on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company(ISR), etc. In over 20 years in service, this family of aircraft has
proven to be robust, reliable, high-performing, efﬁcient, ﬂexible,
easy to operate in any environment, and at low operating costs.
Approximately 500 orders have been recorded for both CN235
and C295 types together at the end of 2019.
Military Aircraft Services. Airbus Defence and Space offers
and provides various services for and related to military aircraft.
Throughout the life-time of our aircraft, Military Aircraft Services
includes integrated logistics support, in-service support,
maintenance, upgrades, training or flight hour service. For
example, the A330 MRTT contract with the UK Ministry of
Defence through the AirTanker consortium includes alongside
14 aircraft the provision for all necessary infrastructure, training,
maintenance, ﬂight management, ﬂeet management and groundservices to enable the Royal Air Force to ﬂy air-to-air refuelingand transport missions worldwide. Services support legacy
aircraft beyond those types currently in production at Airbus
Defence and Space, conducting upgrade programmes for aircraft
such as the Tornado and P-3 Orion. Airbus Defence and Space
maintains a network of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul centersstrategically located throughout the world for greater proximity
to the customer, for example in Seville or Manching in Europe, in
Mobile, Alabama (US) or at subsidiaries in Saudi Arabia or Oman.

Space Systems
Manned Space Flight. Airbus Defence and Space has been theprime contractor for the European part of the International Space
Station (ISS). This includes the development and integration of
Columbus, the pressurised laboratory module on ISS with anindependent life-support system successfully in orbit since 2007.
It provides a full-scale research environment under microgravity
conditions (material science, medicine, human physiology,
biology, Earth observation, ﬂuid physics and astronomy) andserves as a test-bed for new technologies.
In 2015, ESA awarded Airbus Defence and Space a contract tohandle the engineering support of the European componentsof the ISS, which represents a key part of the ISS operational
activities. Airbus Defence and Space was also the prime
contractor for the development and construction of theAutomated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) cargo carrier. The expertise
gained on the ATV positioned Airbus Defence and Space tobecome the prime contractor for the European service moduleof NASA’s next generation Orion manned capsule, with the ﬁrst
module delivered end of 2018 and the second already under
manufacturing.
Launch services. Airbus Defence and Space is active in theﬁeld of launch services through its ArianeGroup joint venture.
ArianeGroup is responsible for the coordination and programmemanagement of civil activities of the launcher business andrelevant participations that have been transferred. ArianeGroupowns a total 74% stake in Arianespace, 46% of Starsem and 51%
of Eurockot, providing a complete range of launch services with
the Ariane, Soyuz, Vega and Rockot launchers.
Commercial launchers. ArianeGroup manufactures launchersand performs research and development for the Ariane
programmes. Member States, through ESA, fund the development
cost for Ariane launchers and associated technology. Airbus
Defence and Space has been the sole prime contractor for the
Ariane 5 system since 2004. In December 2014, the Ariane 6
programme was decided by ESA ministerial conference with

an approval of the joint Airbus Defence and Space and Safran
concept. In addition, a new industrial set-up was announcedwith the creation of ArianeGroup between the two main Ariane
manufacturers. This vertical integration secures the future by
cutting costs and being more competitive. Ariane 6 is targeted
to be launched in 2020.

1

Telecommunication satellites. Airbus Defence and Space
produces telecommunication satellites used for both civil andmilitary applications, such as television and radio broadcasting,ﬁxed and mobile communication services and Internet broadband
access. Current Airbus Defence and Space geostationary
telecommunication satellites are based on the Eurostar familyof platform, including all-electric variant. In 2018, Airbus Defence
and Space was selected by Eutelsat to build the HotBird newgeneration satellites, two sophisticated telecom satellites basedon Eurostar Neo platform, the new ﬂagship generation product for
Airbus Telecom large Geo Satellites. Airbus Defence and Space
also develops the Eutelsat Quantum telecommunication satellite,
the ﬁrst satellite that can be fully reconﬁgured in orbit through its
ﬂexible antennae and repeater, and recently added to its productline OneSat, a medium-size telecommunications satellite also
fully reconﬁgurable in orbit. OneSat has been already selectedby Inmarsat, who ordered three of them in 2019.
Observation and scientiﬁc / exploration satellites. Airbus
Defence and Space supplies Earth observation satellite systems
including ground infrastructures for both civil and military
applications. Customers can derive signiﬁcant beneﬁts fromthe common elements of Airbus Defence and Space’s civil
and military observation solutions, which allow the collectionof information for various applications, such as cartography,
weather forecasting, climate monitoring, agricultural and forestry
management, mineral, energy and water resource management,
as well as military reconnaissance and surveillance.
Airbus Defence and Space also produces scientiﬁc satellites andspace infrastructure, which are tailor-made products adapted
to the speciﬁc requirements of the mostly high-end mission
assigned to them. Applications include astronomical observationof radiation sources within the Universe, planetary explorationand Earth sciences. Airbus Defence and Space designs andmanufactures a wide range of highly versatile platforms, opticaland radar instruments and equipment. For example, Airbus
Defence and Space contributed to the scientiﬁc community
with the launches of the Sentinel-1B radar, Sentinel-2A and LISA
pathﬁnder. It also signed a major contract to develop and build
the JUICE spacecraft, ESA’s next life-tracker inside the Solar
System. JUICE will study Jupiter and its icy moons.
Navigation satellites. Airbus Defence and Space plays a majorindustrial role in the “Galileo” European navigation satellite
system, which delivers signals enabling users to determine
their geographic position with high accuracy and is expected to
become increasingly signiﬁcant in many sectors of commercial
activity. Airbus Defence and Space was responsible for the
Galileo in-orbit validation phase (IOV) to test the new satellite
navigation system under real mission conditions. The IOVphase covered the construction of the ﬁrst four satellites of theconstellation and part of the ground infrastructure for Galileo.
After the successful launch of the ﬁ rst four Airbus Defence
and Space Galileo IOV satellites in 2011 and 2012, this early
constellation was successfully tested in orbit and handed overto the customer in 2013. Airbus Defence and Space is playing
an active role in the Galileo full operation capability phase

Airbus / Registration Document 201945

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company(FOC) with a nearly 50% work share, including the FOC groundcontrol segment and providing the payloads for the ﬁrst 22 FOC
satellites through its subsidiary SSTL, and has been selected by
ESA in 2018 as the prime contractor to develop EGNOS V3, thenext generation of the European Satellite Based Augmentation
System (SBAS) planned to provide the aviation community withadvanced Safety of Life services and new services to Maritime
and Land users.

Security Solutions answers manifold operational needs insecurity and critical infrastructure protection by providing
adaptable solutions and services needed to achieve everyday
missions

Spacecraft Equipment. Airbus Defence and Space offers anextensive portfolio of embedded subsystems and equipment
for all types of space applications: telecommunications, Earthobservation, navigation, scientific and space exploration
missions, manned spaceﬂight and launchers.

Unmanned Aerial Systems

French deterrence systems. ArianeGroup as prime contractor
holds the contracts with the French State for the submarinelaunched deterrence system family.

Connected IntelligenceIntelligence is a designer and supplier of C4I systems (Command,
Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence), which
provides information systems and solutions to armed forces
worldwide to support land, air and sea operations, assuring
information superiority and supporting decision making at alllevels of the command chain. Competitors in this area largely
come from European or American based defence companies.
With the very-high-resolution twin satellites Pleiades 1A and 1B,
SPOT 6 and SPOT 7, Airbus Defence and Space’s optical satellite
constellation offers customers a high level of detail across wide
areas, a highly reactive image programming service and uniquesurveillance and monitoring capabilities. Airbus Defence andSpace is currently producing four Pléiades Neo, Airbus’ newvery high resolution satellites. They will join the already large
Airbus constellation of optical and radar satellites and will offer
enhanced performances and the highest reactivity in the market
thanks to direct access to the data relay communication system,
known as SpaceDataHighway.
TerraSAR-X, a radar-based Earth observation satellite thatprovides high-quality topographic information, enabled Airbus
Defence and Space to signiﬁcantly expand its capabilities by
proposing new kinds of images based on radar.
Secure Communications provides armed forces andgovernments with secure satellite communications. For
example in the UK, Airbus Defence and Space delivers in theframe of the “Skynet 5 programme” tailored end-to-end intheatre and back-to-base communication solutions for voice,data and video services, ranging from a single voice channel
to a complete turnkey system incorporating terminals andnetwork management. This contract, pursuant to which Airbus
Defence and Space owns and operates the UK military satellite
communication infrastructure, allows the UK MoD to place orders
and to pay for services as required.
CyberSecurity provides companies, critical national
infrastructures and government and defence organisations
with reliable, high-performance products and services to detect,analyze and respond to increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks.
The market growth is driven by an exponential increase in cyberattacks, the increased use of connected assets and global
digital transformation. Customers are governments and privatecompanies with a high grade security requirement.

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Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Secure Land Communications includes infrastructures,devices, applications and services based on Tetra, Tetrapol andBroadband technologies.

In the ﬁeld of UAS, Airbus Defence and Space is active at bothproduct and service level. Airbus Defence and Space is theleading UAS service provider for the German air forces meeting
their MALE Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissanceneeds in the operational theatre. These interim solutions,based on non-proprietary MALE systems, will be replaced bya new generation European MALE Remotely Piloted Aircraft
System (RPAS) where Airbus Defence and Space is working
with its European partners. Airbus Defence and Space also
provides mini-UAS to the French armed forces and selectedexport customers and the KZO (Kleinflugzeug für Zielortung)
UAS to the German armed forces. It is developing the solarpowered Zephyr for both military and civil applications suchas relay stations for internet provision to remote or sparsely
populated regions.

Production
Airbus Defence and Space is headquartered in the Munich
region. The main engineering and production facilities of theDivision are located in France (Paris region and southwest
France), Germany (Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Bremen),
Spain (Madrid region and Andalusia) and the UK (southern
England and Wales). In addition, Airbus Defence and Space
operates a global network of engineering centres and ofﬁces
in more than 80 countries.

MBDA
The Company’s missile business, in addition to the ArianeGroupjoint venture, derives from its 37.5% stake in MBDA (a joint
venture between the Company, BAE Systems and Leonardo).
MBDA offers missile systems capabilities that cover the whole
range of solutions for air dominance, ground-based air defence,maritime superiority and battleﬁeld engagement. Beyond its
role in European markets, MBDA has an established presence
in export markets like Asia, the Gulf region and Latin America.
The broad product portfolio covers all ﬁ ve principal missile
system categories: air-to-air, air-to-surface, surface-to-air,anti-ship and surface-to-surface. MBDA’s product range also
includes a portfolio of airborne countermeasures such as
missile warning and decoy systems, airborne combat training
and counter-improvised explosive devices (IED) and countermine solutions. The most signiﬁ cant programmes currently
under development are the next generation of the successful
MICA (Missile d’interception, de combat et d’autodéfense) airto-air missile called MICA NG, the network enabled precision
surface attack SPEAR missile and the “Common Anti-Air
Modular Missile Extended Range (CAMM-ER)”, which is ananti-air missile family with land and naval launched applications,
the Anglo-French joint initiative for a “Future Cruise / Anti-Ship
Weapon (FC/ASW)” aiming to replace prior generation cruise-Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

missiles as well as Anti-ship weapons for the two nations.
Recent product upgrades also include the Aster Block 1 NT,
the air & missile defence family of systems for France and
Italy, the Sea Venom/ANL (Anti-Navire Léger) anti-ship missile
for the UK and French navies’ helicopters and the portablemedium range battleﬁ eld “Missile Moyenne Portée (MMP)”.
Further activities include preparations for the ground based
air defence system TLVS (Taktisches Luftverteidigungssystem)(based on MEADS (Medium Extended Air Defence System))for Germany jointly with Lockheed Martin, the production ofvarious aircraft packages for Euroﬁghter Typhoon and Rafale
as well as equipment of various fregates and corvettes withsystems and ammunition.

1

ArianeGroup
Airbus Defence and Space is active in the ﬁeld of launchers andlaunch services through its ArianeGroup joint venture, whichprior to July 2017 was named Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL).

1.1.5 Investments
Dassault Aviation
The Company entered into an agreement with the French State
pursuant to which the Company:– grants the French State a right of ﬁrst offer in case of the saleof all or part of its shareholding in Dassault Aviation; and– commits to consult with the French State prior to making any
decision at any shareholders’ meeting of Dassault Aviation.

The Company holds approximately 9.89% of Dassault Aviation’sshare capital and 6.12% of its voting rights. In case of exchange
in full of the bonds issued by the Company which are due in
2021, the Company will no longer hold any Dassault Aviation
shares or voting rights.

1.1.6 Insurance
The Company’s Insurance Risk Management function (“IRM”)
is established to proactively and efﬁciently respond to risks thatcan be treated by insurance techniques. IRM is responsible
for all corporate insurance activities and related protection
for the Company and is empowered to deal directly with
the insurance and re-insurance markets via the Company’s
inhouse broker entity. IRM’s continuous task in 2019 was
to further implement and improve efﬁ cient and appropriate
corporate and project-related insurance solutions.
IRM’s mission includes the deﬁ nition and implementation of
the Company’s strategy for insurance risk management tohelp ensure that harmonised insurance policies and standards
are in place for all insurable risks worldwide for the Company.
A systematic review, monitoring and reporting procedure
applicable to all Divisions is in place to assess the exposure
and protection systems applicable to all the Company’ssites. The Company’s insurance programmes cover high risk
exposures related to its assets and liabilities.

Asset and liability insurance policies underwritten by IRM
for the Company cover risks such as property damage,business interruption, cyber, aviation and non-aviation generaland product liability. IRM also provides a Group insurance
policy for Supervisory and Managing Board members andcertain other employees of the Company. The Company
follows a policy of seeking to transfer the insurable risk of theCompany to external insurance markets at reasonable rates,on customised and sufﬁ cient terms and limits as provided by
the international insurance markets.
The insurance industry remains unpredictable and mostGroup insurance policies are renewed on an annual basis.
There may be future demands to change scope of coverage,
premiums and deductible amounts. Thus, no assurance canbe given that the Company will be able to maintain its current
levels of coverage nor that the insurance policies in place are
adequate to cover all signiﬁcant risk exposure of the Company.

1.1.7 Legal and Arbitration Proceedings
The Company is involved from time to time in various legal
and arbitration proceedings in the ordinary course of its
business, the most significant of which are described below.
Other than as described below, the Company is not aware ofany material governmental, legal or arbitration proceedings(including any such proceedings which are pending or
threatened), during a period covering at least the previous
twelve months which may have, or have had in the recent
past significant effects on the Company’s or Airbus SE’sfinancial position or profitability.

Regarding the Company’s provisions policy, the Company
recognises provisions for litigation and claims when (i) it
has a present obligation from legal actions, governmental
investigations, proceedings and other claims resulting from past
events that are pending or may be instituted or asserted in the
future against the Company, (ii) it is probable that an outﬂow
of resources embodying economic beneﬁts will be required tosettle such obligation and (iii) a reliable estimate of the amountof such obligation can be made. Although the Company believes
that adequate provisions have been made to cover current or

Airbus / Registration Document 201947

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

contemplated general and speciﬁc litigation and regulatory
risks, no assurance can be provided that such provisions will
be sufﬁcient. For the amount of provisions for litigation andclaims, please refer to the “— Notes to the IFRS Consolidated
Financial Statements — Note 24: Provisions, Contingent Assets
and Contingent Liabilities”.

WTO
Although the Company is not a party, the Company is supporting
the European Commission in litigation before the WTO. Following
its unilateral withdrawal from the 1992 EU-US Agreement
on Trade in Large Civil Aircraft, the US lodged a request on
6 October 2004 to initiate proceedings before the WTO. On thesame day, the EU launched a parallel WTO case against the US
in relation to its subsidies to Boeing.
Following a series of interim WTO panel decisions, in May 2018
the WTO held that the EU achieved compliance in respect ofthe majority of the subsidies at issue but considered that someremaining obligations required adjustments. The Company
and the EU took corrective actions that were reviewed by a
WTO panel. The decision of that panel is currently being
appealed. In the meantime, the US requested authority to
impose countermeasures worth US$ 11.2 billion per year,
commensurate with its estimate of the adverse effects causedby the EU subsidies. The WTO did not agree with the US estimate
and authorised the US to impose US$ 7.5 billion in annual
countermeasures. The United States Trade Representative(“USTR”) imposed tariffs on a range of imports to the US fromthe EU including 10% on the importation of large civil aircraftfrom the EU. Those tariffs went into effect on 18 October 2019.
On 14 February 2020, the USTR announced the US is increasing
the additional duty rate imposed on aircraft imported from the
EU to 15%, effective 18 March 2020.
The tariffs could have a material impact on the Financial
Statements, business and operations of the Company. At thisstage it is too early to determine the full extent of any ﬁnancial
impact on the Company. Duties on the importation of Airbus
products into the US could result in (i) increased costs for theaerospace and airline industries as well as other industries that
rely on air transport, (ii) weakening demand for new aircraft andnegatively affecting the ﬁnancial condition of air carriers andlessors, (iii) decisions to defer, reject or reschedule the deliveryof new aircraft or limit the routes upon which new aircraft will
be used, (iv) increased costs to consumers, (v) retaliation by
the EU with its own import duties to be applied to US products,
and/or (vi) damage to the Company’s business or reputation via
negative publicity adversely affecting the Company’s prospects
in the commercial market place.
Several years of proceedings also identiﬁed signiﬁcant unlawful
support to Boeing. In its most recent decision on the matter
in March 2019, the WTO found that the steps by the US toaddress US subsidies to Boeing were inadequate. The WTO
Appellate Body also found that additional US federal and state
programmes, such as the Foreign Sales Corporation (“FSC”)
and Washington State tax reductions constitute illegal subsidies.
Consequently, the EU initiated its request for the authorisation ofannual countermeasures amounting to up to US$ 12 billion andpublished a preliminary list of products from the US on which the
EU may take countermeasures, which includes US aircraft. The
actual amount of duties to which the EU may be entitled will be

48

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

determined at the conclusion of WTO arbitration proceedings.
The imposition of equivalent or greater tariffs on aircraft imports
into Europe is likely.
Exact timing of further steps in the WTO litigation process issubject to further rulings and to negotiations between the US
and the EU.

GPTIn August 2012, the UK Serious Fraud Ofﬁce (“SFO”) announced
that it had opened a formal criminal investigation in relation to
GPT Special Project Management Ltd (“GPT”), a subsidiary
operating in Saudi Arabia that the Company acquired in 2007. The
investigation relates to issues initially raised by a whistleblower
concerning contractual arrangements originating prior to GPT’s
acquisition and continuing thereafter. The Company has engaged
with the SFO throughout and continues to actively cooperatewith the investigation.

Eurofighter Austria
In 2017, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Defence raised criminal
allegations against Airbus Defence and Space GmbH andEuroﬁghter Jagdﬂugzeug GmbH for wilful deception and fraudin the context of the sale of the Euroﬁghter aircraft to Austria andrespective damage claims. After the Austrian Federal Ministryof Defence raised its criminal allegations, the Austrian publicprosecutor opened an investigation against Airbus Defence andSpace GmbH, Euroﬁghter Jagdﬂugzeug GmbH and former andcurrent employees of the two entities including related to thecorresponding offset obligations. The Company has ﬁled several
submissions to the Austrian Public Prosecutor in response to
the allegations of deception in the procurement of Euroﬁghter
combat aircraft made by the Austrian Defence Minister. The
Company is cooperating fully with the authorities.

Investigation by the UK SFO,
France’s PNF, US Departments of Stateand Justice and Related Commercial
Litigation
The Company reached ﬁnal agreements (“the agreements”)
with the French Parquet National Financier (“PNF”), the UK
Serious Fraud Ofﬁce (“SFO”), and the US Department of Justice(“DoJ”) resolving the authorities’ investigations into allegationsof bribery and corruption, as well as with the US Departmentof State (“DoS”) and the DoJ to resolve their investigations into
inaccurate and misleading ﬁlings made with the DoS pursuant
to the US International Trafﬁc in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”). The
agreements were approved and made public on 31 January
2020.
Under the terms of the agreements, the Company has agreed
to pay penalties of € 3,597,766,766 plus interest and costs to
the French, UK and US authorities. This is recognised in the
Company’s 2019 accounts. The settlements with each authority
are as follows: PNF € 2,083,137,455, the SFO € 983,974,311,
the DoJ € 526,150,496 and the DoS € 9,009,008 of which€ 4,504,504 may be used for approved remedial compliancemeasures.

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.1 Presentation of the Company

Under the terms of the Convention Judiciaire d’Intérêt Public(“CJIP”) with the PNF, the Company has an obligation to submit
its compliance programme to targeted audits carried out by
the Agence Française Anticorruption (“AFA”) over a period of
three years.
Under the terms of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement (“DPA”)
with the SFO, no independent compliance monitor will be
imposed on the Company in light of the continuing monitorshipto be conducted by the AFA. Under the terms of the DPA with
the DoJ, no independent compliance monitor will be imposed on
Airbus under the agreement with the DoJ, but the Company will
periodically report on its continuing compliance enhancement
progress during the three year term of the DPA and carry out
further reviews as required by the DoJ.
The agreements result in the suspension of prosecution fora duration of three years whereupon the prosecutions will be
extinguished if the Company complies with their terms throughout
the period, including the payment of penalties.
Under the terms of the Consent Agreement with the DoS, the
DoS has agreed to settle all civil violations of the ITAR outlinedin the Company’s voluntary disclosures identified in theConsent Agreement, and the Company has agreed to retain an
independent export control compliance ofﬁcer, who will monitor
the effectiveness of the Company’s export control systems andits compliance with the ITAR for a duration of three years.
Any breach of the terms of the agreements by the Company
could lead to rescission by the authorities of the terms of theagreements and reopening of the prosecutions. Prosecution
could result in the imposition of further monetary penalties orother sanctions including additional tax liability and could havea material impact on the Financial Statements, business andoperations of the Company.
In addition to any pending investigation in other jurisdictions,the factual disclosures made in the course of reaching theagreements may result in the commencement of additional
investigations in other jurisdictions. Such investigations could
also result in (i) civil claims or claims by shareholders against theCompany, (ii) adverse consequences on the Company’s ability
to obtain or continue ﬁnancing for current or future projects,(iii) limitations on the eligibility of group companies for certain
public sector contracts, and/or (iv) damage to the Company’sbusiness or reputation via negative publicity adversely affecting
the Company’s prospects in the commercial market place.
The Company will continue to cooperate with the authorities in
the future, pursuant to the agreements and to enhance its strong
Ethics & Compliance culture within the Company.

Several consultants and other third parties have initiatedcommercial litigation and arbitration against the Company
seeking relief. The agreements reached with authorities maylead to additional commercial litigation and arbitration against
the Company and tax liability in the future, which could havea material impact on the Financial Statements, business andoperations of the Company.

1

ECA Financing
The Company and the ECAs reached agreement on a process
under which it is able to resume making applications for ECAbacked ﬁnancing for its customers across the Company on acase-by-case basis.

Other Investigations
The Company is cooperating fully with the authorities in a
judicial investigation in France related to Kazakhstan. In thisspirit, the Company asked to be interviewed by the investigating
magistrates and has been granted the status of “assisted
witness” in the investigation.
On 17 September 2019, the Company self-reported toGerman authorities potentially improper advance receipt
and communication of conﬁdential customer information by
employees of Airbus Defence and Space GmbH. The information
concerned relates to two future German government procurement
projects in the programme line Communications, Intelligenceand Security. The self-disclosure by the Company follows an
ongoing internal review with the support of an external law ﬁrm.
Both the German Ministry of Defence and the Munich publicprosecutor announced their intention to open an investigation
into the matter. The Company will continue to fully cooperatewith relevant authorities. The investigation could have an impact
on Airbus Defence and Space GmbH’s ability to participate in
future public procurement projects in Germany and may haveother legal consequences.

Other Disputes
In the course of a commercial dispute, the Company received
a statement of claim by the Republic of China (Taiwan) alleging
liability for refunding part of the purchase price of a large contract
for the supply of missiles by subsidiary Matra Défense S.A.S.,
which the customer claims it was not obliged to pay. An arbitralaward was rendered on 12 January 2018 with a principal
amount of € 104 million plus interest and costs against Matra
Défense S.A.S. Post-award proceedings are currently underway.

Airbus / Registration Document 201949

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

1.2 Non-Financial Information
1.2.1 The Company’s Approach to Responsibility & Sustainability
The Company and its Main Stakeholders

The Airbus “Next Chapter”

Airbus is an industrial company operating in businesses withlong product lifecycles and corresponding returns on investment.
There are signiﬁcant costs and risks in programme development
and cyclical markets. These features deﬁne the Company andshape its relationships with all stakeholders. For a description of
the Company’s business model, see “— 1.1.1 Overview”.

A new team, under the leadership of CEO Guillaume Faury, took
the helm of the Company in April 2019. This team is composedof both Airbus veterans and newcomers. Drawing widely on
many sources of expertise, it will need to plot the course for
the Company over the coming years, ensuring the Company
is best equipped to overcome intrinsic challenges whilenavigating a rapidly evolving environment externally (heightenedcompetition, multiple new technologies, geo-political uncertainty,
environmental imperatives, etc.). It will be the role of this new teamto reafﬁrm/adapt, formalise and champion a coherent purpose,
vision, mission, objectives and culture for the Company andto bring them to life. The Next Chapter team and project has
been set up, as a ﬁrst step, to support the new CEO and teamin providing them with input to inform their decisions with adiversity of views and ideas coming from individuals from allparts of the Company.

The Company is engaged in stakeholder dialogue at various
levels. Thanks to an update to its materiality assessment in 2019it had a privileged opportunity to capture the voice of 12 key
stakeholders as to which environmental, social and governancetopics were of most importance for them (see “Materiality
Assessment” below). This included the following stakeholder
groups: customers, suppliers, partners, NGOs, investors,
employees, authorities, governments, industry associations,
MRO providers, airports, and the community at large. While suchopportunities are run centrally, the responsibility for stakeholder
engagement, as a general rule, is decentralised and employees
are encouraged to initiate, develop and maintain relationships
with their respective stakeholders. The Company often seeks asectorial approach in order to strengthen the impact.
The Company’s main purpose, its missions and the objectives
resulting from them, are deﬁned in relation to these stakeholders.
The Company has deﬁned the following objectives:– generate long-term value by developing a sustainably
proﬁtable portfolio of aeronautics, helicopter, defence andspace businesses. For its shareholders, lenders and otherﬁnancial counterparts, the Company must meet its obligations
and foster its standing of creditworthiness and proﬁtability;– be a provider of choice, offering superior value-for-money
products and services to customers;– engage employees to share its goals and rise to its challenges.
Within the confines of applicable laws and regulations,the Company must respond to their expectations aboutdevelopment, people management and values;– build sustainable relationships with its suppliers basedon mutual interest to satisfy its customers to encourage
responsible practices. The Company promotes the Supplier
Code of Conduct as standards consistent with its own Codeof Conduct, and also develops and implements adequate
mechanisms to monitor supplier performance;– play a key role in society and towards local communities.
The Company is committed to responsible businesspractices in terms of respect for human rights, labour, theenvironment and anti-corruption. In addition, the Company
encourages initiatives that contribute to tackling societal
challenges whether through its products and services, skills
and resources or via key partnerships. In 2019 this has been
reinforced with the “Next Chapter” transformation platform,
launched by the Company’s new CEO, in which one of the six
strategic streams is dedicated to the role of Airbus in society,putting responsibility and sustainability (“R&S”) at the heartof the Company’s priorities.

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Airbus / Registration Document 2019

This company-wide, cross functional transformation platform isdesigned to support, prioritise, accelerate and connect efforts
across the Company. Next Chapter aims to create the rightconditions and environment to deliver both short and longterm priorities, with a mind-set of Safety, Quality, Integrity andCompliance and to build a capacity for continuous improvement.
It connects employees across the Company to encourage
creativity and answer the simple question: What should Airbus
of tomorrow look like and how can we make it a reality?
Ideas and initiatives have been structured around seven mainstreams:– Purpose and Story;– People@Airbus;– Competitiveness;– Customer@Heart;– Governance;– PeopleSafety@Work;– Airbus in Society.
As seen in the above streams, R&S is at the core of the next
chapter of the Company and with that a unique momentum has
emerged. This is most obvious in the “Airbus in Society” stream,
which has gathered ideas and projects aimed at ensuring Airbus
drives its business in a responsible and sustainable manner andcontributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”).
Next Chapter has also led to the reorganisation of the R&Steam and governance model that will be taking place in 2020.
The changes will reﬂect the ambition to fully embed R&S into
the business and its performance management systems, toengage the most senior leaders of the Company and the Boardof Directors, to drive our most material topics, while developing astrong R&S culture across the Company and developing greater
engagement with the Company’s stakeholders.

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

Materiality Assessment
In order to update its priorities regarding responsibility andsustainability efforts, in 2019 the Company performed a follow
up to the materiality assessment performed in 2017. The
exercise, in line with GRI methodology, consists of capturing
which environmental, social and governance issues are of themost importance for the Company’s main stakeholders andthen crossing that with the degree of impact that the Company
has on those issues. The results, along with other relevant
intelligence, will inform the Company’s strategy, targets andreporting.
The issues were developed, consolidated and ranked by theCompany’s R&S Network in 2017 and updated in 2019 toconsider emerging issues most relevant to the Company andthe aerospace industry. The R&S Network gathers a groupof internal experts advising on the Company’s R&S strategy,
monitoring progress in their respective areas of responsibility,

sharing knowledge and best practices throughout the entire
Company. The group is trans-functional, trans-national andtrans-divisional and meets on a monthly basis.

1

As for stakeholder groups, after solicitation of the R&S Network,
airports became the twelfth stakeholder selected, on top of the
11 groups from 2017 (see section above “The Company and its
Main Stakeholders”).
A major improvement in 2019 was the use of data mining andonline survey capabilities of the Datamaran tool, which alloweda more quantitative approach to the assessment, allowing, forexample, insights from nearly 40 top suppliers and 30 of theCompany’s most strategic customers.
As for determining the impact of the Company on the chosen
issues, an online survey was answered by 246 of its executives.
The results are captured in the matrix below with the mostmaterial issues being captured in the upper-right hand corner.

Materiality Matrix 2019Technology& innovation

Security
HIGHEST

Environmentally
responsible products
Product quality& responsibility
Health & Safety

HIGHER

Environmental
managementof operations
Business culture& leadershipResponsible
employer
Economic
Stakeholder
engagement
HIGH

INCREASING MATERIALITY TO STAKEHOLDERS

Materiality Matrix

Community
impactResponsible
supply chains

HIGH

HIGHERHIGHEST

INCREASING IMPACT OF AIRBUS
Environment

SocialEconomy & GovernanceSource: Datamaran.

You will ﬁnd these issues covered within the following sectionsof this chapter:– Responsible Company: 1.2.2(a) Aviation and Product Safety(“product quality & responsibility ” in the matrix), 1.2.2(b)Environment (“environmentally responsible products” and“environmental management of operations” in the matrix),
1.2.2(c) Responsible Defence and Space Products (“security”
and “product quality & responsibility” in the matrix);– Responsible Business: 1.2.3(a) Ethical Business Practices(“business culture & leadership” in the matrix), 1.2.3(b)Responsible Suppliers (“responsible supply chains” in thematrix);– Responsible Employer: 1.2.4(a) Workforce and 1.2.4(b) Human
Capital Management, Labour Relations and Human Rights(“responsible employer” in the matrix), 1.2.4(c) Health & Safety(same in the matrix), 1.2.4(d) Inclusion & Diversity (“responsible
employer” in the matrix), 1.2.4(e) Community Engagement(“community impact” in the matrix).

Airbus / Registration Document 201951

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

UN Sustainable Development Goals
Airbus has been a signatory to the UN Global Compact since2003 and has reached “Advanced Level”.
The Company adopted the UN SDGs in December 2015as a framework to align its responsible and sustainable
contributions. Over 2016, the Company performed a mappingof its contributions based on its publicly available information
which demonstrated that at least eight of the 17 SDG goals are
directly relevant to the Company’s businesses. Combined withstakeholders’ feedback, it was conﬁrmed that the Company isactively contributing to:– SDG 4: Quality education;– SDG 5: Gender equality;– SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth;– SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure;– SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production;– SDG 13: Climate action;– SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions; and– SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals.
This framework also drives the direction of innovation initiatives.
As an example, all projects and start-ups selected by theCompany’s in-house business accelerator, Bizlab, must now
demonstrate a strong contribution to one of the SDGs as apre-condition.

Airbus’ Way Forward: Vigilance Plan
The Company is determined to conduct its business responsibly
and with integrity. The Company is convinced that promoting
responsible business conduct within its value chain is key tosustainable growth. A dedicated programme has been launchedby the Procurement function in order to monitor the Company’s
suppliers. For more information on the programme and its
implementation, including the Company’s vigilance plan for
suppliers, see “— 1.2.3(b) Responsible Suppliers”.
As far as its own operations are concerned, the Company has
adopted internal policies and management tools to performthe assessment, monitoring, mitigation, reporting of risk
and compliance allegations, which are fully embedded into
the Company’s culture and processes. At Airbus, heads ofprogrammes and functions, as well as managing Directors
of afﬁliates, supported by respective specialists, shall ensure
proper deployment of the Company’s policies, management ofEnterprise Risk Management in their ﬁelds or perimeters as wellas duly reporting issues to top management. The Company’s
approach is thus based on its existing strengths, namely
strong management process already established and adopted
by employees; empowerment of specialists and an industry
approach whenever possible.
With regard to risk management, Airbus performed an in-depth
review of its ERM system in order to identify potential missing
risks related to human rights and fundamental freedoms, healthand safety and the environment in 2017. The ERM system was
updated to take into account the most signiﬁ cant potential
risks related to these areas that the Company may generateas part of its operations. In 2019, these risks and related actionplans were consolidated and are reported to the Company’s
top management on a regular basis. For more information on
ERM, see “— Corporate Governance — 4.1.3 Enterprise Risk
Management System”. For more information on the Company’s
risks, see “— Risk Factors”.

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Airbus / Registration Document 2019

To support our commitment to and promotion of a “Speak-Up”
culture, the Company has an “OpenLine” to provide employeeswith an avenue for raising concerns in a conﬁdential way. In 2018,
the Company decided to extend the scope to responsibility
and sustainability related topics. For more information on the
OpenLine, see “– 1.2.3(a) Ethical Business Practices”.
To continuously drive improvements, the Company offers
employees over 100 training opportunities, online and in-person,
linked to labour relations, diversity, environmental and health andsafety matters, as well as R&S and human rights. It continues
to deploy programmes for target groups. One programme
targeting all employees worldwide focuses on increasing
general awareness on R&S as well as on the Company’scommitments as outlined in the Charter. A second programmeis dedicated to risk-exposed populations, such as buyers andkey leaders of afﬁliates (including managing Directors and headsof ﬁnance or board members of afﬁliates). It aims at developing
in-depth understanding of legal requirements with regards toenvironment, health & safety, human rights, labour relations,anti-corruption within the Company’s operations and supply
chain, and promoting the Company’s internal processes to help
mitigate potential risks and help prevent violations. The Airbus
Leadership University took the lead to embed R&S strategy andcommitments into the courses it offers, in order to ensure theCompany’s managers are trained and equipped to instil the rightbehaviours, foster cultural change and encourage the search forinnovative solutions to answer societal challenges. For example,
the Company launched the day-long “Ethical and Responsible
Leadership” MasterClass targeting its Executives in the fall of
2019. As part of the Company’s talent development programme,
it offers developing leaders an eight-day, four-module course
called “Purpose and Values Driven Leaders”. In addition, theCompany also provides training to its employees, including thoseof afﬁliates, on the recently updated Airbus Code of Conduct.
CEO Guillaume Faury released the new Airbus Code of Conduct
on 2 July 2019. Company-wide communications around the
new Code of Conduct demonstrate strong tone at the top. They
include: message to all Airbus employees, dedicated article on
the HUB, Team Talk communicated to all Airbus Executives,
dedicated webinars for the Ethics & Compliance representatives
community, e-learning available in four languages. The Code of
Conduct was also communicated to Airbus afﬁliates.
All Airbus afﬁliates (afﬁliates where Airbus owns more than one
half of the voting rights, or is able to appoint or discharge morethan one half of the members of the board) with operational
activities are expected to deploy similar internal policies applying
Airbus directives. A corporate directive assists Airbus afﬁliates
in effectively fulﬁlling their responsibilities while assuring Airbus’
ongoing commitment to high standards of corporate governance.
In 2018, Airbus, working closely with its two Divisions, approved
one single directive on corporate governance for the Company’s
affiliates, which defines rules, processes and procedures
applicable to Airbus affiliates and their respective boards,
Directors and ofﬁcers. Airbus leveraged this in-depth work to
integrate enhanced requirements on labour and human rights,
environment, health and safety and procurement matters into
the new directive on the basis of related Airbus internal policies
including:– International Framework Agreement;– Agreement on the European Works Council;– Supplier Code of Conduct;– Health & Safety Policy;

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information– Airbus Code of Conduct (formerly Standards of BusinessConduct);– Environmental Policy; and– Airbus Anti-corruption Policy and related Directives.
Since September 2018, this directive has become a reference
for all afﬁliates from all Divisions, and the Company is working ona yearly update to constantly improve it. Based on the directive,
a newly harmonised questionnaire was sent to all afﬁliates in2019 to self-assess their internal controls, including how they
relate to the environment, health & safety, human resources
and procurement compliance requirements. Regarding theabove activities, afﬁliates were asked to conﬁrm that all relevant
Airbus policies were accessible to their employees and duly
communicated to them. If that is not the case, afﬁliates shalltake appropriate actions to remediate the gaps.
To verify that the answers provided to the questionnaire are inline with the Company’s expectations, so-called “Fit” checks
started to be performed in 2018 on some Finance, Complianceand Governance key controls for afﬁliates of the Company andits two Divisions. From 20 Fit checks performed in 2018, theCompany increased to 70 in 2019 and aims to reach 100 Fit
checks in 2020.

Since 2019, affiliates are also asked to regularly evaluate
risks via the Company’s ERM system, as well as to regularly
monitor them as part of their risk assessment process. The
Company endeavours to ensure that the procedures to assess,investigate and manage allegations are well aligned throughout
the Company.

1

Each afﬁliate with operational activities has in place a Boardof Directors and/or a shareholders’ meeting where strategic
decisions are made. Each afﬁliate has an Airbus supervisor who
is a Member or Chairman of the Board who ensures that all Airbus
requirements are considered by the afﬁliate’s management. At
least once a year the agenda of the board will include an update
on Ethics and Compliance matters (including training, awarenessand any other relevant issues).
For its principal and operational minority joint ventures, theCompany will work with the joint-venture partners to ensure
the proper application of relevant compliance and R&S policies.
For more information on the Company’s approach to theenvironment, see “— 1.2.2(b) Environment”. For more informationon the Company’s approach to human rights and health andsafety, see “ — 1.2.4(b) Human Capital Management, Labour
Relations and Human Rights” and “— 1.2.4(c) Health & Safety”.

1.2.2 Responsible Company
a. Aviation and Product Safety
I. Introduction
At Airbus, we believe that everyone in our industry has a role to play
to further enhance the safety of the air transport system. Flying
today is safer than ever before, and collective efforts continue
to ensure it will be even safer by anticipating and responding torisks, threats and challenges. Whilst the foundations of safety
are built on regulatory compliance, the Company goes beyond
airworthiness requirements to also focus on safety enhancement
activities in products and services.

II. Governance
A dedicated safety organisation within the Company acts as anindependent voice of safety. The Chief Product Safety Ofﬁcer
for the commercial aircraft activities of the Company reports
directly to the CEO and is the Chairman of the Product Safety
Board (PSB). Several Executive Committee Members andsenior executives are part of the PSB to ensure proactive safety
decision making is based on multidisciplinary assessments at
the highest decision level of the Company. The PSB does not
only make decisions regarding technical aspects but also safety
governance, strategy and performance aspects.

Airbus Safety Management System
Consistent with ICAO Annex 19, the Airbus Corporate Safety
Management System (SMS) is based on the four ICAO pillarsof safety policy and objectives, safety risk management, safetyassurance and safety promotion. The Airbus Corporate SMS
principles also integrate the end-to-end approach to safety with
the Company’s suppliers and operators. This is facilitated by anappointed Corporate SMS Ofﬁcer and SMS ofﬁcers per function
with support from a network of nominated SMS Representatives
throughout the Company.

Airbus Plan for Aviation Safety
The Airbus Plan for Aviation Safety (APAS) defines theCompany’s safety strategy by identifying the top safety threatsor opportunities and providing their associated key safety
objectives for the safe operation of Airbus aircraft. APAS is a
ﬁve-year projection, which is reviewed and updated annually.
APAS is a response to EASA’s annual European Plan for Aviation
Safety.

Regulatory Compliance
Product certiﬁcations are provided by the competent aviation
authorities including the main civil aviation authorities andspeciﬁc military authorities. Within each Division, and according
to their respective functions, the Company works to ensurecompliance through design and certification of products
under EASA Part 21 Design Organisation Approvals (DOA);
ECSS-Q ST-40-C for (Space Products) and Def-Stan 0056 (Defence Products); manufacturing under Production
Organisation Approvals (POA); monitoring of in-service safety
through approved EASA Part-M Continuing Airworthiness
Management Organisations (CAMO); aircraft maintenanceand retroﬁt operations conducted in line with civil and military
EASA Part 145 regulations; and training provided to ﬂight crews,
cabin crews and maintenance crews through EASA Part 147
Approved Training Organisations (ATO).
The certiﬁed organisations within the Company where speciﬁc
approvals are granted by the aviation authorities, are audited
and monitored by these authorities to ensure full compliance toregulatory requirements. Additional audits are also conductedby third parties as part of the quality certiﬁcations appropriate
to each Division, including EN9100, EN9001, EN9110, AQAP
2110, AQAP 2210 and AQAP 2310.

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Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

Commitment to Just and Fair Culture
The product safety and quality of the Company’s products is its
ﬁrst priority. Each employee of the Company, at any level, shall dotheir utmost to ensure that product safety is never compromisedand quality is considered in everything they do. This commitment
is documented and endorsed with the signature of the CEO,
Executive Committee Members and top management in key
functions. It also includes the commitment to ensure theappropriate reporting channels are available and known to all
employees, providing an atmosphere of trust and empowerment
to report product safety and quality related matters.

III. Risk Management
Applying proactive risk management principles has contributed
to signiﬁcant improvements for the safety of ﬂight in recent
decades. This risk management approach drives the Airbus
Corporate Safety Process, which has been in place for15 years. It also supports the principles of the Airbus safetyenhancement culture, going beyond compliance to certiﬁcation
and airworthiness duties.

IV. Initiatives
Consistent with its end-to-end approach and as part of its
safety strategy outlined in the APAS, the Company has several
collaborative initiatives contributing to reinforcing resiliencecapabilities in the air transport system and enhancing safetylevel of its products with all key actors.
For example, the Company is working with its supply chain toextend its safety enhancement principles with its suppliers. As
part of the SMS approach, this includes speciﬁc SMS forums
with the Company’s suppliers and initiatives to reinforce thecollaborative approach to optimise responses to in-service
feedback and reporting.

D10X (short for Air Transport Safety, Destination 10X Together)is another collaborative initiative with airlines. The aim of D10X
is to propose pragmatic solutions together with operators of
Airbus aircraft for the key safety issues identiﬁed within thisnetwork.
Sharing safety information is a key contributor to increasing
the level of safety. First held with the Company’s customers
in 1994, the annual Flight Safety Conference marked its
25th anniversary in March 2019. Another means of sharing
information is through “Safety first”, the Airbus safety magazine
contributing to the enhancement of safety for aircraft operations
by increasing knowledge and communication on safety
related topics in biannual editions since 2005. It reaches over
50,000 subscribers in the aviation community via the website
safetyfirst.airbus.com and the “Safety ﬁrst” app.
The Company is committed to the industry’s common objectiveof reinforcing resilience in the air transport system throughthe RAISE programme with its aim to “Reinforce AwarenessIn Safety for all Employees”. To support this programme, anAirbus Safety Promotion Center will open in 2020, which is a
dedicated space to foster a prevention mind-set throughout
the Company and encourage a deeper personal engagementwith safety.
All of these initiatives and the safety enhancement culture,
combined with the benefits brought by technology, leads
to a continuous improvement of the safety records. This is
illustrated in statistics showing that the safest aircraft arethose of the third-generation and fourth-generation jets. All
Airbus Fly-By-Wire family aircraft (including A320, A330/A340,
A380, A350, A220 fleets) are the latest fourth-generation
aircraft.

Yearly Fatal Accident Rate Per Million Flights
8,0
7,5
7,0
6,5
6,0
5,5
5,0
4,5
4,0
3,5
3,0

2,91

2,5
2,0
1,5
1,09

1,0
0,5

0,19
0,06

0,0
1959

1964

1969

Generation 1

54

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

1974

1979

1984

Generation 2

1989

1994

1999

Generation 3

2004

2009

2014

2019

Generation 4

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Informationb. Environment
I. Introduction“At Airbus we believe that by demanding more of ourselves, we
can demand less of our planet. We are challenging ourselves
to go further when it comes to taking responsibility for theenvironmental impact of our product throughout its lifecycle,
and are investing major efforts into examining and reducing
the impact of our products in operation together with all actors
within the aviation sector. We not only rigorously track andmeasure our own impact, in our sites, products and services,
but we also collaborate with our worldwide supply chain to drive
more effective environmental management and decarbonise
our industry. And we place innovation at the core of this effort
by investing in research, new technologies, and sustainable
solutions to help us reach our vision.”
Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO

II. Governance
New Policy“Go further” for Airbus means developing products and services
taking into consideration current and foreseeable futureenvironmental challenges for future generations and with longterm value creation in mind. This is driven through the Company’senvironmental policy, with a strong support from the CEO and
Executive Committee.
The policy focuses on three main directions:– continually improving our manufacturing and site operations
by achieving net zero GHG emissions, zero water and air
pollution, sustainable energy sources and zero waste to landﬁll
before 2050;– driving development of eco-efﬁcient products and services,taking into account environmental challenges; and– working in cooperation with the aerospace sector to develop
sustainable operations of air transportation.
The industry faces a variety of environmental challenges, including
climate change, and the Company invests and cooperates
with stakeholders across the value-chain in researching andimplementing innovative ways to meet them.
As aviation represents around 2.5% of global man-made CO2
emissions, the Company recognises its role in reducing the
global environmental footprint of the sector and the importanceof respecting the commitments of the Paris agreements.
Climate change may also affect the environmental conditions
in which the Company’s manufacturing activities and products
are operated. Another area of attention is the elimination ofsubstances posing a risk to human health or the environment.
The Company is continually seeking technically-feasible
sustainable solutions to reduce the environmental impacts of
its products and operations, in cooperation with its suppliers
and industrial stakeholders.

Organisation around Environmental Affairs Topics
Since September 2019, an Environment Executive Steering
Committee has been established. This committee gathers
members of the Executive Committee and managers in chargeof environmental topics. It meets regularly to review progress
and take decisions on all matters related to the environmental
strategy of the Company.

An Environmental Coordination Committee on a cross-Divisional
level ensures consistency in the operational management ofenvironment throughout the Company and aligns on reduction
objectives. The Coordination Committee meets four times a year
and is composed of the heads of Environment for Helicopters,
Defence and Space and the commercial aircraft activities of
the Company.

1

The role of the Airbus Environmental Affairs organisation
is to guide the business in environmental matters, to set
the policy and deploy, drive and improve the Environmental
Management System (EMS) throughout the Company toachieve the Company’s environmental objectives. The Airbus
EMS is based on ISO 14001:2015. Airbus was the ﬁrst aircraft
manufacturer to be ISO 14001 certiﬁed, and continues to show
its commitment by having been recertiﬁed to ISO 14001: 2015
in November 2019.
Airbus also monitors environmental regulatory developments
to understand, evaluate and prepare for legal and regulatory
evolutions applicable to its activities and products.
On an annual basis, the Company undertakes an extensive
exercise to collect, consolidate and report its environmental
data. This enables Airbus to measure the environmental impact
of its site operations, track its performance and communicate
information on environmental matters to internal and external
stakeholders. As part of its transparency policy, the Company
discloses its GHG emissions to the CDP, providing its investors
and other interested parties with the insight they need. Onceevaluated by CDP, Airbus’ entries to the climate change
questionnaire are made available publicly on the CDP website.

Working in Cooperation
Airbus understands the importance of working together withother stakeholders to ﬁnd solutions.
For instance, Airbus is a Founding Member of the International
Aerospace Environmental Group (IAEG) and is actively engaged
in all areas of work, such as greenhouse gas emissions,substances management, substitution technologies and supply
chain to share practices and promote the development of global
standards.
Airbus is also an active board member of the ATAG which setsindustry goals including CO 2 emission reduction goals, andmobilises action on strategic aviation issues.
Aviation is a global industry and requires global solutions. ICAO,
a specialised agency of the UN, has a proven track record ofdelivering robust aviation environmental standards and guidance(i.e. air quality, noise, CO2).
Airbus supported the ICAO agreement in 2016 on theCO2 standard and also the adoption of the new Carbon Offsetting& Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) in 2017.
Within the framework of this sectoral offsetting scheme, airlines
were scheduled to start the monitoring and reporting process of
CO2 emissions as of 1 January 2019. CORSIA is the ﬁrst global
sectorial offsetting scheme.
On space activities, Airbus has worked with the ESA in Earthobservation for over 25 years. EarthCARE (Earth clouds, aerosols
and radiation explorer) and Copernicus, the most ambitious Earthobservation programme to date, are two examples.

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Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

Recyclability is another important topic that the Company istackling in cooperation with other entities through TARMAC
Aerosave, a joint venture between Airbus SAS, Safran Aircraft
Engines and Suez, providing state of the art services for the
management of an aircraft’s end of life.

III. Risk Management
Environmental risk and opportunities are managed following
the Company’s ERM system and requirements deﬁned within
the ISO 14001:2015 certiﬁ ed EMS. Identiﬁcation of speciﬁc
environmental risks and opportunities is deﬁned by internalguidance and it notably highlights the Life Cycle Perspective
approach to be adopted and the inputs to be considered:environmental aspects and impacts, compliance obligations
and other issues and requirements including stakeholders’expectations.
Risks and opportunities are reported quarterly to the Executive
Committee of each Division and top risks are consolidated at
Company level to be brought to the attention of top management.

1. Climate Change Risk on Aircraft and Industrial
Operations
The air transport market and Airbus business and operations
may be disrupted by climate change, air emissions related
impacts and stakeholders expectations including those ofsociety, regulators and customers.

Climate Change Mitigation
Developing lower emission products and services to satisfy those
expectations will require breakthrough advances in technology
research (e.g. development of energy storage for electric aircraft,electrical distribution in the aircraft, power to weight ratio ofelectrical machines, etc.).
Airbus pursues incremental improvement of its programmes andhas developed a dedicated organisation aimed at developing
the future technologies that will be required. However, thesetechnologies may not be available on time or may not deliver therequired improvements to meet the climate objectives.
The Company’s reputation may be affected if its or the sector’s
expected contributions on GHG emission reduction are notdelivered as deﬁned by ATAG to support the Paris agreements.
Society’s sensitivity to climate change leading to a change
in passengers’ behaviour including preference for alternativemeans of transport may change the market and demand for air
travel. The Company may face reduced demand for its products
and may need to adapt its business model in consequence.

Climate Change Adaptation
The foreseen consequences of climate change include harsher
average weather conditions and more frequent extreme weather
events, such as hurricanes, hail storms, heat waves or extreme
cold spells. To cope with degraded operational conditions, more
frequent redesigns may be required to meet more stringent
regulation and certiﬁcation criteria or standards.
Industrial operations and supply chain may also be affectedby the consequences of climate change and require speciﬁc
adaptation measures to remain operational.

56

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

2. Chemicals of Concern
Evolution of the hazardous chemicals’ regulatory framework maylead to short- and long-term potential bans and result in businessdisruption across the Company’s value chain.
With the aim of protecting human health and the environment,
regulators at national and international level have developed astringent set of legal requirements that are continuously evolving
to ensure that hazards related to substances are under control
or eliminated.
In order to mitigate the risk of disruption in its operations andsupply chain, the Company’s policy is to develop safe alternatives
to the targeted substances and substitute these as soon as thosealternatives have proven reliable enough to meet the stringent
airworthiness criteria.

IV. Initiatives
Industrial Operations
The Company is engaged in an industrial transformation to
anticipate mid-term evolutions of its industrial systems as well
as looking for longer term solutions to build its “factories of the
future”. This company-wide initiative will support the reductionof Airbus’ environmental footprint on air, soil and water quality,
climate change, biodiversity and resource availability. An
evaluation of hotspots based on life cycle assessment studies
of some Airbus products is also ongoing to help focus on
appropriate topics.
In 2019, Airbus has rolled out High5+, a 2030 plan to reduce
the footprint of all Airbus activities globally and reach out to the
supply chain. High5+ engages all sites and functions, making
sure that each area plays its part in delivering the global 2030
objectives. These objectives have been set in absolute value
compared to 2015 levels to reduce energy consumption, CO2
emissions, water consumption, VOC emissions and waste
production as follows:– energy and C O 2: Following “Science Based Targets”
methodology, reduce energy consumption by 20% and reduce
direct (scope 1), indirect (scope 2) and oversize transportation(scope 3) GHG emissions by 40%. Reduction of oversize
transportation impact will involve use of carbon offsetting toachieve overall ambition;– waste and raw m aterials: divert 100% of the waste fromlandfilling and incineration without energy recovery, andreducing the amount of waste produced by 20%;
– air emissions: comply with air emissions regulations with 0%increase of air emission by 2030;– water: develop strong maintenance and rehabilitation
programs to improve reliability and lower costs in order toreduce water purchase by 50%, with no increase in water
consumption; and– deploy environmental requirements and risk evaluation
across a targeted scope of the supply chain. Enhance theuse of environmental risk evaluation for consideration as aquantitative input during selection, contracting and supply
chain control phases.
In order to better embed this ambition into the Company’s
performance management, the Executive Committee agreed
in 2019 to include a CO2 reduction target for 2020 of 2.7% on
the same perimeter as part of the Company’s top objectives. As
such it will form part of the CEO’s and other Executive Committee
Members’ remuneration in 2020.

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

2030 Target

2015

2019

2019 v. 2015

Energy (MWh )-20%

2 323 287

2 408 751

3,7%CO2e (tonnes)-40%

934 788981 9855,0%1

Waste :
Landfilled and incineration without energy recovery

0%

18%

26%

-20%

67 11568 9972,8%VOC (tonnes)

0% increase

1 156

1 208

4,5%

NOX (tonnes)

0% increase

203

237

16,9%

SOX (tonnes)

0% increase

11,6

11,8

1,5%

-50%

2 606 859

3 006 246

15,3%

0% increase

2 944 677

3 454 085

17,3%

Waste produced
Air emissions

Water
Water purchase (m3)
Water consumption (m3)Perimeter : Airbus sites w/o subsidiaries. Airbus FAL in Mobile (US) & in Mirabel (Canada) were not operated in 2015 and therefore do not contribute to the baseline.
2017 data used as baseline for Airbus Tianjin & Oversize Transportation

The 2019 status shows a moderate increase compared to the2015 baseline. This is expected and can be explained by theCompany’s signiﬁcant industrial ramp-up over the same period
combined with the introduction of the A220 FAL in Mirabel(Canada) in 2019. Compared to previous objectives that were
calculated relative to revenue, the High5+ plan targets speciﬁc
initiatives to achieve the absolute value reduction targets by
2030.
VOC emissions have been reduced by over 15 tonnes
annually in Nantes by switching from liquid cleaning
solutions to sprays and wipes.
The Company is also engaged on circular economy. Beyond
waste reduction, the Company has been proactive in seeking
ways to reuse and recycle materials beyond their initial life.
Not only does the Company send nearly 60% of its waste to
be recycled, but today, through the TARMAC Aerosave joint
venture, more than 90% of an aircraft weight is recycled or reusedthrough a selective dismantling (reverse manufacturing) process.
As airplanes manufactured with large volumes of composites
start retiring in the next few decades, Airbus is working incooperation with several specialist companies involved incarbon ﬁbre recycling, as part of an industry goal to determine
the best processes and uses for recycled and reused carbon
ﬁbre materials.

Wherever its industrial activities have an impact on biodiversity,
the Company is engaged with local partners on conservation
and remediation projects to preserve the affected ﬂora and faunaand ensure they are not adversely affected by the Company’s
activities.
In order to promote biodiversity and educate employees onenvironmental protection, a beehive has been installed on
Airbus Helicopters’ Marignane site with approximately 15,000
bees and a seedling nursery has produced 300 seedlings ofgardening, fruits and native plants on the Itajuba site.
Noise around Airbus sites can also be an important topic forneighbouring communities. The Company is actively engaged
with local authorities and the affected population to minimise
its impact, by adapting operating times and actively seeking to
reduce the noise at the source. In Toulouse, Airbus has launched
the Median initiative regrouping actors in charge of ﬂight activities
around the airport to ﬁnd the most effective solution to reducenoise levels.
Light pollution caused by Airbus activities has been deemed to
be non-material to the Company’s value chain.
The Company monitors and makes available data veriﬁed byexternal auditors, and publishes transparently its industrial
performance. Environmental data has been externally audited
since 2010. Below is a selection of externally reviewed
environmental indicators.

Airbus / Registration Document 201957

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

ANNUAL REPORTING OF PERFORMANCE INDICATORS TABLE
Environmental
performance

Energy

GRI

302-1

KPI

Unit

2019

2018

Total energy consumption (excluded electricity generated
by CHP on site for own use) ✔

MWh4,054,849

4,006,108

Energy consumption from stationary sources ✔

MWh1,359,018

1,304,338

Energy consumption from mobile sources ✔

MWh1,112,573

1,094,851

Total electricity consumption, heat & steam consumption
excluding CHP for own use ✔

MWh1,583,258

1,606,919

Of which purchased electricity from renewable sources (REC)MWh101,612Generated electricity from CHP on-site for own use ✔

Air emissions

MWh

187,846

190,287

Total Scope 1 + Scope 2 CO2 emissions ✔

tonnes CO2

927,529

959,825569,838

553,887305-1

Total direct CO2 emissions (Scope 1) ✔

tonnes CO2

305-2

Total indirect CO2 emissions (Scope 2) ✔

tonnes CO2

357,691

405,938

305-3

Indirect CO2 emissions Business Travel (Scope 3) ✔

tonnes CO2

109,403

111,666(1)

Indirect CO2 emissions Oversize Transportation (Scope 3)

305-7

Water

Waste

EMS certification

tonnes CO2

198,526

185,500

Total VOC emissions(2) ✔

tonnes

1,535

1,553

Total SOx emissions

tonnes15

17

Total NOx emissions

tonnes

280

323

303-5

Total water consumption ✔

m3

3,987,289

3,647,950

303-4

Total water discharge

m3

3,740,566

3,338,712

306-2

Total waste production, excluding exceptional waste ✔

tonnes99,28098,631

Material recovery rate ✔

%

54.0

57,8

Energy recovery rate

%

21.2

20,7

Number of sites with ISO 14001 /EMAS certification(3) vs total
number of covered by environmental reporting

Unit

62 / 8060 / 71

Workforce effectively covered by reporting over workforce
subject to reporting according to the environmental guidelines(4)

%

94

89

2018 baseline has been recalculated to integrate changes in accounting methodology (emission factors & exclusion of close loop water consumption in Donauworth).
Electricity Emission factors updated according to IEA 2018 v1.01 for 2019 data and IEA 2017 v1.03 for 2018 data.
Sites A220 FAL in Mirabel, Canada, Satair Copenhagen, Ashburn & Miami, AH Oxford, ATR Francazal, are included in 2019 according to reporting rules.
✔ 2019 data audited by Ernst & Young et Associés. 2019 data covers 92% of total group employees.
(1) Oversize emissions cover transport of large and non standards shipments. Values cover aircraft commercial activities and are estimated.
(2) 2019 VOC emissions data is estimated and 2018 data actualised. The accurate 2019 data will be consolidated and available during March 2019(3) Number of sites covered by the environmental reporting which are certified ISO 14001.
(4) Airbus environmental reporting guidelines include sites worldwide with a workforce on-site higher or equal to 50 employees. Note that only 100% consolidated entities are taken
into account to calculate this 50 employee threshold. Coverage varies from 92% to 93% for waste, water, heat & refrigerants indicators.

As part of its plan to tackle scope 3 emissions, the Company
has decided to offset all emissions linked to air business travel.
In 2019, the Company has also started compensating emissionsof activities for which reduction and use of renewable energy are
not sufﬁcient to meet the targets, such as air and sea logistics
means.
In 2019, Airbus undertook an initial assessment of its scope 3“Purchased Goods and Services” impact using a methodology
developed by IAEG. The results of this assessment will be used
to understand where the main impacts are in the Airbus supply
chain in terms of GHG emissions and engage with suppliers on
targeted projects to address them in the most effective way.

58

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

As can be expected, GHG emissions linked to the operationof Airbus’ products are among the areas of particular focus as
they represent the main part of the value chain’s emissions.
Recent internal studies, aiming at understanding the spreadof GHG emissions of a commercial aircraft product over its
current complete lifecycle, have concluded that over 97% of
GHG emissions occur during the ﬂight operations phase. As
this phase is inﬂuenced by several factors beyond Airbus’ directcontrol and needs to be calculated as a projection of an aircraft’s
operation over its entire service life, Airbus calls for a sectoralalignment on a methodology providing consistency to the way
such impacts are calculated and communicated throughout the
air transport sector.

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

Illustration of a Typical Commercial Aircraft Lifecycle GHG Distribution**

Ground operations:
2%

Production:1%

End of life:0%

Flight operations:97%

1

Initial assessment for illustrative purposes only.

Products in Operation
In the last 60 years, the aviation industry has cut fuel consumption
and CO2 emissions per seat / kilometre by more than 80%, NOxemissions by 90% and noise by 75% of aircraft in operation.
Whilst this performance is impressive, Airbus and the aviationindustry recognise the importance to continue improving thesector’s environmental performance in all areas – from noise to
air quality and GHG emissions, notably CO2. Due to the industry’s
short- and mid-term reliance on hydrocarbon fuels as well as
potential additional impacts from non-CO2 factors, the reductionof aviation’s impact on climate change remains an environmental
challenge.
Airbus, along with airlines, airports, air trafﬁc management
and other manufacturers, committed in 2008 to sectoral CO2
emission goals (ATAG):– improve ﬂeet fuel efﬁciency by an average of 1.5% per annum
between 2009 and 2020;– stabilise: from 2020, net carbon emissions from aviation will
be capped through carbon neutral growth (CNG); and– by 2050, net aviation carbon emissions will be half of what
they were in 2005.
The Company is actively working on a greater decarbonisation
potential through new fuels and energies, technology andinnovations (aiming at zero emissions ﬂights) and carbon offsetting.
Meeting these challenging goals will require a truly collaborative
approach across the industry, investors and ﬁnancial institutions,
governments and civil society, focused on a combination of
improvement measures encompassing technology (including
sustainable fuels), operational improvements, infrastructure(including air trafﬁc management) and market based measures.
Sustainable aviation fuels (“SAF”) are vitally important to thedecarbonisation potential of our sector. These are not just “a niceto have” and as such the Company is fully engaged with otherindustry partners to drive the development of the industry. Airbus
is the ﬁrst manufacturer to offer delivery ﬂights on sustainable
fuels and intends to use SAF for test ﬂights and Beluga ﬂights aswell as increasing the opportunity for more delivery ﬂights. The
ﬁrst Beluga ﬂight with SAF is an important milestone towards
Airbus’ decarbonisation strategy. Airbus plans to progressively
use SAF in its new ﬂeet of Beluga XLs and plans to deploy thisto other operational bases in Europe.
Beyond climate change, the Company also focuses on reducing
the other aspects of the environmental impacts of aircraft inoperations. For instance, the Airbus Noise Technology Centre

based at the University of Southampton is continually modelling
and testing to better understand noise, its sources and solutions
to be embedded into current and future products.

Substances Roadmap
Many substances used in the global aerospace industry toachieve high levels of product quality, safety and reliability are
subject to strict regulatory requirements.
In the aerospace industry, regulations on substances impact
key processes and products, such as surface treatments,
paints and ﬁre protection. The Company remains committed
to move towards replacement of such substances in products
and processes. To help achieve this, the Company has put inplace a portfolio of activities and projects, working with suppliers
to identify, develop, qualify and deploy new technologies andsolutions that avoid the use of substances classiﬁed as posing
a risk to human health or the environment, whilst satisfying
airworthiness, certiﬁcation and performance requirements. The
Company also engages with suppliers to promote the adoptionof a similar approach through regular communication and,more widely, by working together with the aerospace industry
to promote worldwide harmonisation of regulations and ways
of working, taking into account the sector’s safety and lifecycle
speciﬁcities.
Using information obtained from its suppliers, the Company
tracks, registers, assesses and declares regulated substances.
Since 2011, the Company has analysed the impact of over 1,100
substances and qualiﬁed and deployed substitutes for over 100
substances in 300 products. Currently, the Company is actively
working to substitute 65 substances in its own design, and an
additional 45 in its supply chain, over the next 5 years.
Airbus invests substantial time and resources in researchand development for technologies that use alternatives toregulated substances. When it can be demonstrated that thesetechnologies meet the strict safety and reliability criteria required
for aviation, Airbus seeks to implement them in its aircraft design
and manufacturing.
For example, in 2006, the Airbus Chromate-Free project was
launched with the aim of developing, qualifying and deploying
chromate-free alternatives to materials containing and processes
using chromates in aircraft production and maintenance.
Chromate-free external paint systems developed initially for the
A380 programme are now used in all Airbus commercial aircraft
manufacturing programmes and across the aerospace industry.

Airbus / Registration Document 201959

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

Another example is the Airbus Basic Primer project that
researches potential alternatives with the aim of phasing out
the green chromated primer coat.

c. Responsible Defence and Space
Products

Cultural Change

I. GovernanceCorporations across industries are increasingly realising how
essential their employees are as stakeholders in the conversations
driving their business. At Airbus, this is no exception. The people
who work here see sustainability in the aerospace industry not
as an add-on to the business priorities but as an important partof their personal motivation in everything they do.

The Company delivers defence and space products andsolutions that enable governments and organisations to protect
people and resources, and it aims to do so in a sustainable,
respectful and fair manner.

According to a 2018 survey, 11% of the Airbus Toulousebased employees cycle to work. An annual event isorganised by the Company to spread the initiative.
As part of its roll out plan, high5 + initiated a group-widecommunication campaign to engage employees on day-to-day
actions in order to reduce their environmental impact.

V. Future Outlook“By 2050, we have made the commitment to bring CO 2
emissions to half of 2005 levels. A new generation of technology,
research and development, and our total respect for the planet
lay the foundation for a more sustainable aviation industry. By
demanding more of ourselves in the areas of research, supply,
production and operations, we can demand less of our planet.
This clears the path toward a future in which we can connect
more people than ever before, in the most sustainable way
possible.”
Guillaume Faury - Airbus CEO

New Technologies
When it comes to research and technology portfolio, theCompany’s ﬁrst priorities are set on designing and maturing thetechnologies, which will then enable us to come to the market
with an emission free aircraft.
The E-Fan projects are contributing to illustrate and disseminate
the idea that electrically-based propulsion will probably be thenext major breakthrough in our industry. So far, the E-Fan
programmes have delivered assets and knowledge, but also
aim to provide momentum for electriﬁcation with the Company
taking a lead in the vision and its drive. E-Fan X is the next stepof our electriﬁcation journey.
In order to advance aerodynamics research, the Company has
developed a scale demonstrator aircraft with the ﬁrst inﬂight,
freely ﬂapping wing tips that could revolutionise aircraft wing
design through a biomimetic approach. Known as AlbatrossONE,
this remote controlled aircraft has already taken its ﬁrst ﬂights
to prove the concept.
The Company’s fello’fly project aims to demonstrate thetechnical, operational and commercial viability of two aircraft
ﬂying together for long-haul ﬂights. Through fello’ﬂy, a follower
aircraft will retrieve the energy lost by the wake of a leader
aircraft, by ﬂying in the smooth updraft of air it creates. This
provides lift to the follower aircraft allowing it to decrease engine
thrust and, therefore, reduce fuel consumption in the range of
5-10% per trip.

60

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

This commitment is deﬁned in terms of two thematic areas:– A more secure world: Contributing to protecting citizens andnations’ sovereignties, values, and infrastructure in a world of
evolving threats; and– A healthier environment: Designing products with a smaller
eco-footprint and developing solutions to better monitor andmanage natural resources.
In 2019, Airbus Defence and Space’s R&S GovernanceCommittee set a long-term objective to expand the number of
products and services that contribute to its sustainability goals
and the eight aforementioned UN SDGs. While inventive solutions
are in the pipeline, this section describes solutions that currently
contribute to a more secure world and a healthier environment.

II. Initiativesa) Products for a More Secure WorldAs long-standing threats to public safety and infrastructure
are compounded by emerging risks that take on new forms
in our cyber age, the Company aims to increase the safetyof communities and protect human lives through its defence
solutions, space-based intelligence and communication, andcyber security solutions. Representative contributions include:

Maritime
The Company makes locating, tracking and communicating withseafaring vessels across the globe’s vast and remote oceanspossible through its optical and SAR satellite imagery. Its Ocean
Finder solution allows customers to monitor ships and activity
at sea, which may be at risk due to illegal activities, hijacking or
hostile waters and can assist with search and rescue efforts.
On the dock, ports need software to enable the secure and
efﬁcient movement of levied goods, and in the water they needto monitor incoming sea vessels to ensure safe movement
among cruise ships, freight liners, private vessels and tankers.
The Company provides real-time maritime information to helporganise port trafﬁc, provide navigation assistance to vessels
and ensure smooth goods operations on land. Australia, with oneof the largest harbours in the world with 1.6 million passengers
passing through its Port Authority, depends on Airbus’ STYRIS®
system to manage Sydney Harbor and Port Botany.

Public Safety
The Company helps to protect societies and cities by providing
communication and collaboration solutions to government
authorities, law enforcement agencies, emergency services,
healthcare providers and other public safety organisations.
Their solutions enable authorities to respond to, and collaborate
on, multiple simultaneous missions, often in emergency or
high-security scenarios, through the sharing of high-value
information (voice and data). The Company has equipped 19

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

nationwide networks for public safety forces (of which 13 arein Europe) and more than 30 networks for local authorities anddefence forces.
When security threats arise at large events or gatheringsof people, the Company offers real-time secure data andsurveillance, cyber security, secure connectivity and situationalawareness.

Critical Infrastructure Protection
The Company protects government installations, air bases andmilitary sites, ports and airports, sensitive industrial sites andcivil infrastructure. The focus of our critical infrastructure portfolio
is to provide operators of protected facilities with situationalawareness of that site, as well as with actionable intelligence andcommand and control systems that enable them to respond to
threats and manage incidents when they do occur. For example,
Airbus communications solutions help to secure over 100 metro
lines, 20 airports and 11,000 km of pipelines.

Secure Connectivity for Transportation
With the growth of large urban areas around the world, efﬁcient
but safe transportation is vital. The Company provides someof the busiest airports, train stations and underground trainsystems in Europe and China with its Tetra system, a secure radio
communication network, allowing hundreds of users to securely
communicate in real time. These operators rely on Airbus’ securecommunications to relay urgent and conﬁdential messages inemergency situations.

Cyberspace Protection
Airbus CyberSecurity’s Orion Malware solutions provide
businesses with the ability to detect malware in their networks
and investigate emerging threats. In the past when the French TV
channel (TV5 Monde) suffered an unprecedented cyber-attack,taking the station ofﬂine, Airbus CyberSecurity provided a fastand satisfactory resolution of this crisis.

Defence and Security
The Company works with the EU, NATO and other governments
to supply the necessary equipment to support their efforts tomake the world a safer place. Nations need defence systems
and equipment to guarantee sovereignty, security and humanrights. The Company’s military aircraft, satellites and security
technologies help protect democratic values around the globe.
A partnership with the Company also helps them to protect
their nations from the changing nature of terrorism threats andcybercrime.
Airbus Defence and Space does not produce nuclear weapons.
Through its 50% share in ArianeGroup, there is a connection
to the French Nuclear Deterrence Programme as ArianeGroup
produces the M-51 launcher. However, the warhead is exclusively
built by France’s Directorate General of Armaments (DGA).

Earth Monitoring
Copernicus, the EU’s Earth Observation programme, is thebiggest provider of Earth observation data in the world. Its
images are vital to managing the health of our planet. The
Company contributes to all the Copernicus Sentinel satellites and
its SpaceDataHighway, a near-real time laser communication
relay, is used to transmit data from the Sentinel-1 and -2
satellites. Airbus satellites include:– Sentinel-2, which circles the Earth’s landmasses every ten
days, delivering data for agriculture, forestry, natural disastermonitoring and humanitarian relief efforts;– Sentinel-5 Precursor, which provides critical insights inhelping to understand and mitigate the effects of climatechange.

1

Other Airbus satellites in orbit include:– ADM-Aeolus provides global observations of atmosphericmodelling and analysis techniques, which are used in weather
forecasting and climate research;– the MetOp satellites. Since their launch, errors in one-day
weather forecasting have been reduced by 27%. The MetOp
mission provides meteorological observations from polar
orbit and contributes to long-term climate monitoring;– Twin Grace-FO satellites are mapping the Earth’s gravitational
ﬁeld to better understand movement of water, ice and landmasses.

Agriculture
Satellite and drone imagery integrated with Airbus digitalplatforms enable agricultural stakeholders to understand andmonitor crop growth. Platform solutions include:– Verde helps farmers optimise crop scouting, irrigation,
seeding, fertilisation, and crop detection, to improvepractices over the long run to get more out of ﬁ elds in asustainable way;
– Farmstar supports French farmers to improve their harvest
quality with plot-specific accuracy, offering a complete
range of information on the condition of crops (standcounts, nutritional condition, risk of disease, etc.) in order
to rationalise fertiliser input and safeguard the environment;– AgNeo provides agribusinesses with an innovative andreliable decision support platform to drive greater efﬁciency. It
provides in-season actionable information utilising imagery,ﬁeld data and weather insights.

Forest Management
Airbus’ Starling is a private and independent tool that allows
companies to monitor the implementation of their “No
Deforestation” policies by tracking land cover change overtime. Nestlé is using the Starling system to monitor its entire
palm oil supply chain. Starling helps Nestlé understand better
where deforestation occurs, what drives it and who is involved.

Sustainable Spaceb) Products for a Healthier Environment
The Company has been a trusted provider of governmental
space capability since the birth of European space 50 years
ago, delivering satellites as well as data solutions that inform
decision making on signiﬁcant environmental issues. Its aerial
imagery of climatic and environmental changes around theplanet reveal the scale of change and dependencies at work,
deepening understanding of Earth’s systems and enablingsmarter responses.

The Company is working to ensure a sustainable spaceenvironment to prevent space debris and protect valuable
national assets, such as satellites in orbit around the globe.
For example:– Airbus is the ﬁrst company to test technologies to clear out
space junk and avoid spacecraft collisions. Three main debris
removal technologies have been tested in orbit: harpoon,
net and vision-based navigation. In addition, active debris
capture using robotic arms is being developed on the Airbus
site in Stevenage;

Airbus / Registration Document 201961

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information– Airbus also participates in research collaboratives that harness
corporate and university know-how to work towards preventing
space collision (e.g., RemoveDEBRIS and Technology for SelfRemoval of Spacecraft (TeSeR));– the ground-based Airbus Robotic Telescope (ART) is a testbed which performs automated tracking and surveillance ofsatellites and debris in space. This is important to prevent
satellites or the International Space Station from colliding withdebris or each other.
The Company is wholly committed to ensuring its products
meet space debris mitigation regulations as it believes in theimportance of promoting sustainable space. Speciﬁ cally, it isalready aligning with the French Space Operations Act andthe ISO standard 24113:2019 to avoid generation of debris inorbit and ensure safe removal of spacecraft from useful orbit
at the end of life. Moreover, the Company is involved in task
forces on Space Trafﬁ c Management, aimed at organisingsustainable use of outer space as massive constellations
become a reality.
Last but not least, as part of the advisory group of the World
Economic Forum (WEF), the Company has also been promoting
the Space Sustainability Rating (SSR) eco-label for space
missions.

1.2.3 Responsible Businessa. Ethical Business Practices
I. Introduction
The Airbus Ethics & Compliance programme seeks to ensurethat the Company’s business practices conform to applicablelaws, regulations and ethical business principles, as well as
developing a culture of integrity and speak-up. In 2019, Ethics
and Compliance continued to be a top priority for the Company
as for 2018 and 2017. In its list of priorities for the year, theCompany set the objective to: “Enforce respect of Airbus ethics& compliance standards and principles”.
The Company has worked over the past several years to develop
an Ethics & Compliance programme that is structured aroundthe following key risk areas: Business Ethics/Anti-Corruption
Compliance, Export Compliance and Data Protection
Compliance. Each of these areas is, in turn, supported bydedicated compliance policies and a team responsible for theirimplementation, together with the identiﬁcation and proposalof new measures to adapt to a constantly evolving regulatory
landscape.
Improving the Ethics & Compliance programme remains
a constant and ongoing process, in cooperation with otherfunctions within the Company, in order to sustain and capitaliseon our values.

II. Governance
The Ethics & Compliance organisation is part of the Legal
Department under the ultimate responsibility of the Airbus
General Counsel. The aim is to provide strong governancethroughout the Company with the global presence of qualiﬁed
compliance ofﬁ cers who ensure the Ethics & Complianceprogramme is implemented consistently in the different
functional and operational areas.
The Airbus Chief Ethics & Compliance Ofﬁcer, who reports
to both the General Counsel and the Ethics & Compliance
Committee of the Board of Directors, leads a dedicated teamof Compliance professionals who are responsible for supporting
and advising across the Company on compliance related topics,
performing risk assessments, drafting policies, conducting
third party due diligence, investigating compliance allegations,
implementing tools and controls and delivering compliancetraining.

62

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

The Ethics & Compliance Committee of the Board of Directors
also plays a key role in the oversight and continued developmentof Airbus’ Ethics & Compliance programme, organisationand framework for the effective governance of Ethics andCompliance.
In addition to the dedicated Compliance professionals,
the Company re-launched a network of part-time Ethics &Compliance Representatives (ECRs) in 2019, spanning all
divisions, functions, and regions. Although the ECR network
members are not compliance experts, they play an importantrole in promoting the Ethics & Compliance programme andculture and serve as points of contact for any employee who
has questions about the Ethics & Compliance programme or
wishes to raise an Ethics and Compliance concern, including
but not limited to bribery or corruption.
Likewise, the network of Data Protection focal points in thebusiness (functions and afﬁliates) grew considerably in 2019.

III. Risk Management
The Company is required to comply with numerous laws andregulations in jurisdictions around the world where it conducts
business. This includes countries perceived as presenting an
increased risk of corruption.
Accordingly, since 2017, the Company has been conducting
a thorough bribery and corruption risk assessment acrossits different Divisions and businesses. The results of thisrisk assessment are embedded and monitored within the
Company’s Enterprise Risk Management framework andhighlight, among others, the risk of improper payments being
made to or via third parties such as business partners, lobbyists
and special advisors, suppliers, distributors and joint venture
or offset partners. Further corruption risks include the use ofsponsorships, donations, or political contributions to improperly
beneﬁt decision-makers, or the provision of excessive or overly
frequent gifts and hospitality by Airbus employees.
In order to ensure its compliance with Export Control regulations
and laws in the EU, US and internationally, the Company has also
initiated a review of its Export Control compliance programme.
Where risks are identified, the Company will implement
corrective actions to mitigate these risks which are embedded
and monitored within the Company’s ERM framework.

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

Regarding Data Privacy, the Company systematically undertakes
Privacy Impact Assessment for applications meeting thecriteria (nature of the personal data processed or scale of theprocessing, etc.) as deﬁned by the General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR). In addition, risks derived from GDPR are
also assessed in the context of the ERM and kept updated.
Specific directives have been adopted to address the key
compliance risk areas at Airbus. These include among others:– Requirements for Gifts & Hospitality;– Requirements for Sponsorships, Donations and Corporate
Memberships;– Requirements for the Prevention of Corruption in the
Engagement of Business Development Support Initiative
Third Parties (BDSI);– Requirements for the Prevention of Corruption in the
Engagement of Lobbyists & Special Advisors;– Requirements for Supplier Compliance Review;– Requirements for Preventing and Declaring Conflicts ofInterest;– Requirements for the Prevention of Corruption related
to Mergers & Acquisitions, Joint Ventures and similar
Transactions;– Method for the Prevention of Corruption in the Context ofInternational Cooperation & Offset Activities;– Requirements for Anti-Money Laundering/Know your
Customer;– Export Compliance Directive;– ITAR Part 130 Directive;– Data Protection Directive, Method and Binding Corporate
Rules.
The Ethics & Compliance organisation is charged with oversightand monitoring of these directives to ensure that they are being
implemented effectively. Periodic controls on key processes
are performed and reports provided to the Airbus Executive
Committee and the Ethics & Compliance Committee of the Boardof Directors, including recommendations to strengthen the Ethics& Compliance programme where necessary.
In addition, the Corporate Audit & Forensic Department conducts
periodic, independent audits of Airbus compliance processes
to assess the effectiveness of internal controls and procedures
and allow the Company to develop action plans for strengthening
such controls.

IV. Initiatives
Awareness and Training
All Airbus employees are required to undergo a minimum amountof compliance training via e-learning. Additionally, depending on
the function, the country and the level of risk implied by their role,some employees may be selected to attend face-to-face training
as well. Attendance in such cases is mandatory, and managers
have a responsibility to ensure that their team members do so.
From 1 October 2018 to 30 September 2019, the Company’s
employees followed 185,365 Ethics & Compliance, including on
corruption and bribery, digital training sessions. Furthermore,
3,020 employees attended face-to-face HR catalogue trainings
on different E&C topics in 2019.

Last but not least, Ethics & Compliance led a series of E&C
symposia targeting Executives and Senior Managers in 2019,
aimed at raising awareness on Ethics and Compliance issues.

1

Speak-Up Channel: OpenLine
The Company recognises that the Code of Conduct cannot
address every challenging situation that may arise. The Company
therefore encourages its employees to speak-up throughvarious channels, including through OpenLine (available athttps://www. airbusopenline.com). The OpenLine enables
users to submit an alert securely and conﬁdentially, and also
to ask questions related to Ethics and Compliance. In 2019,
the Company decided to further improve the accessibility anduse of the OpenLine by extending its coverage to third parties
and by offering an anonymous option when authorised by law.
In addition, the dataprotection@airbus.com mailbox issystematically published in the Airbus data protection policies
and information notices speciﬁc to the various apps, for the
purpose of exercising data subject’s rights and /or lodging
complaints.
The Company protects those who speak up and raise concerns
appropriately and in good faith. The Company does not retaliate
against anyone who raises a concern, or against those who
assist in investigations of suspected violations.

2019 Initiatives
The foundation for integrity at Airbus is the Code of Conduct. In
2019, the Company restructured and re-issued the Code, whichis intended to guide daily behaviour and help employees resolve
the most common ethical and compliance issues that they
may encounter. The Code of Conduct applies to all employees,ofﬁcers and Directors of the Company as well as entities that
the Company controls. Third-party stakeholders with whom theCompany engages are also expected to adhere to the Code of
Conduct in the course of performing work on Airbus’ behalf.
In addition to the Code, the Company also updated its policy
related to Gifts & Hospitality in 2019, and issued new policies
related to the management of conﬂicts of interest and the due
diligence screening and on-boarding process related to new
suppliers.

V. Future Outlook
An effective Ethics & Compliance programme is one that, by
deﬁnition, continuously adapts to changes and improves overtime. Going forward, the Company will continue to assess its
risks and monitor and test the implementation of mitigation
measures at all levels: corporate level, divisions, regions andlocal entities.
When misconduct reveals a gap in compliance policies,
procedures or tools, the Company undertakes revisions to
its Ethics & Compliance programme commensurate with thewrongdoing and in light of lessons learned. While compliance at
Airbus will therefore always be a work in progress, the Company
is committed to this endeavour, as it aims to make its Ethics &Compliance programme sustainable over time.

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b. Responsible Suppliers
I. Introduction
Approximately 24,000 suppliers from more than 100 countries supply parts, components, systems and services to the Company.
In 2018, the overall external sourcing volume of the Company was valued at around € 52 billion and shared between Divisions andpurchasing commodities as follows:

Cabin & Cockpit: 3%
Indirect Goods& Services: 16%
Not Assigned: 8%

Helicopters:
5%
Defenceand Space:
11%
Commercial
Aircraft:
84%

2018
External Sourcing
52 bn€

2018
External Sourcing
52 bn€

Product Related
Services: 4%
Production Material& Parts: 5%
Propulsion
Systems: 40%
Structure& Airframe: 14%
Systems& Equipment: 10%

Source: PYDAP Procurement Performance & Reporting Services; Airbus Sourcing Report 2018.

Whilst the Company’s products and services are sold all over the world, the majority of its supply chain is based in Europe andOECD countries.
However, in the past few years, the supply chain has become concentrated and more international. The Company has identiﬁed
local sourcing in Asia as one of its leading long-term objectives. In addition, and due to increasing consolidation within the aerospaceand defence sector, larger work packages are being placed with a smaller number of lead suppliers.
The Company’s global sourcing footprint is represented as follows based on Tier1 and subtiers data:

59%
in Europe27%
in NorthAmerica8%in AsiaPacific<1%in Africa<1%
in Middle East

<1%
in SouthAmerica<1%
in Oceania

64

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Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

To promote further globalisation of its sourcing footprint, Airbus
has established regional sourcing ofﬁces in North America, China& East Asia and India.
For the sourcing of indirect Goods and Services, the Airbus
General Procurement function is represented in the three coreregional sourcing ofﬁces. Throughout China, India and North
America, Airbus General Procurement has over 50 employees
managing “Local for Local” activities across 18 sites. Airbus
General Procurement will continue to grow the global footprint byimplementing new developments within Asia Paciﬁc (Singapore
and Malaysia) and the Middle East throughout 2020.
Airbus and its Divisions being certified ISO 14001, theProcurement function is acting in adherence with ISO 14001
requirements.

II. Governance
Responsible sourcing and supplier management
The Company strives to make environmental and societal
responsibility a core element of its procurement process,managing the relationships with suppliers through sourcing
strategy, supplier selection, contract management, suppliermonitoring and development.
The Company’s suppliers must comply with all applicable laws
and regulations of the countries in which operations are managed
or services provided. In addition, wherever suppliers are located,
all business should be conducted in compliance with the Airbus
Supplier Code of Conduct.
The Airbus Supplier Code of Conduct is the document ofreference for Airbus’ responsible supplier management (available
at https://www.airbus.com/content/dam/corporate-topics/
corporate-social-responsibility/ethics-and-compliance/
Supplier-Code-Conduct-EN.pdf).
This Supplier Code represents the group-wide values andprinciples in line with internationally recognised standards andconventions (such as OECD and ILO). It has been developed with
the International Forum on Business Ethical Conduct (IFBEC).
Responsibility and sustainability activities in the supply chain are
managed by the Procurement R&S department together withdivisional representatives and a network of focal points from thedifferent purchasing commodities. The Head of Procurement
R&S department is part of the Procurement Leadership Team
(PLT).
The central Procurement R&S department manages integrity
topics and awareness within the Procurement function anddeploys the corporate Supplier R&S programme with related
supplier due diligence actions. The Supplier R&S ProgrammeManager is also part of the corporate cross-functional group,
the R&S Network.
In response to legislative developments and new regulatory
requirements, Airbus launched in 2017 the Supplier R&S
programme, a transverse governance structure for environmental,
human rights, health and safety issues. It is based on the following
key elements and principles of due diligence following the OECDframework on responsible business conduct:– Supply base risk mapping– Supplier assessment/audits and development plans– Supplier engagement and contractual requirements– Policies, tools and reporting

For anti-corruption topics in the supply chain, the Procurement
department cooperates closely with the Legal & Compliancedepartment.

1III. Risk Management
The Company’s direct procurement-related risks are embedded
into the Company’s ERM system. A specific risk category
regarding R&S-related risks in the supply chain has been
integrated into the risk management plan.

a) Regulatory Non-Compliance
The Company may not obtain sufﬁcient visibility and informationfrom its supply chain in regards to compliance with environmental,
human rights, health and safety laws and regulations and a
supplier’s adaptation of international sustainable development
goals.
In the event of an industrial accident or other serious incident
in the supply chain, or any problems of the supplier to fulﬁlits operational or product compliance, this may also have asigniﬁcant adverse effect on the reputation of the Company
and its products and services. The Company’s reputation
may also be affected by the public perception of social and/or
environmental impacts of its supply chain’s industrial operations
on local environments, communities, biodiversity and the generalpublic’s health.

b) Supplier’s Impact on Local Environment
From the extraction of raw materials to the manufacturing of parts
delivered to the Company, a supplier’s industrial operations may
have signiﬁcant environmental impacts on the local environment
where the activity is performed, with possible impacts on air,water, soil, biodiversity, workers’ occupational health and safety
and on the general public’s health.

c) Disruption Risk
In the event that a supplier fails to comply with environmental,
human rights, health and safety laws and regulations, even if
caused by factors beyond its control, that failure may result in thelevying of civil or criminal penalties and ﬁnes against the supplier.
Regulatory authorities may require them to conduct investigations
and undertake remedial activities, curtail operations or close
installations or facilities temporarily to prevent imminent risks.
In response to above a) to c), the Company deploys responsible
sourcing activities and speciﬁc supplier due diligence actions inframe of the corporate Supplier R&S programme.

d) Risk of Product Non-Compliance
The various products manufactured and sold by suppliers mustcomply with relevant environmental, human rights, health andsafety laws and regulations, for example those designed toprotect customers and downstream workers, and those covering
substances and its contents, in the jurisdictions in which they
operate. Even if a supplier seeks to ensure that its products
meet the highest quality standards, increasingly stringent
and complex laws and regulations, new scientiﬁc discoveries,
delivery of defective products or the obligation to notify or provide
regulatory authorities or others with required information (suchas under the REACH regulation) may force it to adapt, redesign,
redevelop, recertify and/or remove its products from the market.
Seizures of defective products may be pronounced that could
prevent delivery to Airbus.

Airbus / Registration Document 201965

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

In response, a Procurement Task Force has been established inorder to have a group-wide governance for supplier management
and assessment of chemical regulations and obsolescence
impact.

A dedicated pocketbook on environment, health & safety andhuman rights risks has been developed in 2019 and publishedon the Airbus intranet.

IV. Initiatives: Airbus Supplier Vigilance Plan

In 2019, the Company has worked with external expert companies
for the performance of R&S related desktop assessments andspeciﬁc on-site audits. The assessments cover social compliancecriteria such as human rights, labour practices, health and safety
and anti-corruption as well as environmental regulations andsustainability criteria based on the environmental questionnairedeveloped by the IAEG.

The Company requires commitment to responsible businesspractices and sustainable development from all suppliersof its entities and strives to make environmental and social
responsibility a core element of our sourcing and suppliermanagement process. This joint commitment is a key element
in securing success, conformance to applicable laws and asustainable future of the aviation industry.

Supply Base Risk Mapping
Social Compliance Risks
Since 2018, the Procurement R&S department has performed aproactive social risk mapping in line with international guidance,internal commodity expertise and externally available country
indices. The risk mapping resulted from both a country risk anda purchasing category perspective considering indices like childlabour, modern slavery/forced labour, recruitment practices,
working time, wages, people safety at work and freedom of
association. In 2019, the methodology has been formalised andpublished in an internal commodity guide and applied to theentire Company.

Environmental Compliance Risks
In addition, an environmental risk mapping has been performed,
taking into consideration categories such as the existence of
hazardous substances, energy consumption, CO2 emissions,water usage, waste management, air pollution and speciﬁc local
Chinese environmental regulations. In 2020, environmental risk
mapping will be included in the above methodology.

Supplier Assessment / Audit and Development

All business relevant external risk suppliers are eligible to an
R&S assessment by an external expert company. By end ofJanuary 2020, the Company had launched approximately 55% ofsuch assessments with a target to reach 100% by end of 2020.
Speciﬁcally on environmental matters, the Company further
fostered REACH awareness in the supply chain and engaged
with suppliers to accelerate the substitution and manage the useof the most hazardous substances. In particular, regarding the
REACH EHS readiness of suppliers, the Company focused on:– engagement with 223 in situ suppliers through webinars andsupplier conferences to develop their readiness to comply withenhanced REACH EHS conditions when working on Airbus
sites. Further direct exchanges with AIRBUS EHS experts has
been organised with 25% of them;– evaluation of the maturity of external suppliers in Airbus
qualified processes in regards to the future enhanced
protection requirements that are being defined by theEuropean Commission. Out of 357 suppliers of Airbus qualiﬁed
processes using chromates in industrial processes, the 80
most impacting suppliers have been assessed on-site in 2019by a third party on behalf of Airbus.

Supplier Engagement
Number of business-relevant external risk suppliers
identified in 2019 (thereof lower tiers)

Environmental

212 (26)

Social200

Source: Procurement Responsibility & Sustainability Risk mapping methodology
and Airbus Sourcing Report 2018

Supplier Factory Visits
Related to the commercial aircraft activities of Airbus, the Gemba
Walk pocketbook is a practical and visual guideline for Airbus
employees visiting a supplier’s shopﬂoor, which supports theidentiﬁcation and reporting of risks or improvement opportunities
observed during factory visits.

66

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Contractual Requirements
The Company’s standard procurement contract templates have
evolved over the last few years to reinforce R&S related clausesthat require suppliers to:– comply with all applicable laws and regulations relating to
production, products and services;– provide information on substances used in manufacturing
processes and contained in the product itself;– provide information on environmental, health and safety
matters such as safe usage and management of products
across its lifecycle (including waste management);– implement an Environmental Management System based on
ISO 14001 or equivalent;– comply with the Company’s anti-corruption and bribery
requirements; and;– comply with the Airbus Supplier Code of Conduct, including
with regard to environment, human rights, labour practices,
responsible sourcing of minerals and anti-corruption.
In 2019, the full scope of clauses were included in new contracts
by default and the implementation in existing contracts has
started according to the contractual roadmap of each purchasing
commodity.
During the 2019 Annual Supplier Conference for the commercial
aircraft business of Airbus, for the ﬁrst time an award waspresented to two suppliers with regard to responsibility &sustainability. This award recognised these suppliers for theirefforts to drive sustainability within the Airbus supply chain.

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

Training & AwarenessPromoting Disability Friendly Companies

Throughout 2019, the Procurement R&S department supported
both internal awareness sessions and workshops as well as
external supplier meetings on responsibility & sustainability inthe supply chain.

Since 2011, Airbus in France has been promoting employment of
disabled people by its suppliers. Concretely, a speciﬁc mention
is integrated into all relevant calls for tender that are launched,requesting bidding suppliers to propose a partnership with adisability friendly company.

The Company’s internal Procurement Academy provides
training on core competences and skills to develop procurement
expertise and prepare employees within the Procurement
department for the challenges of the future. R&S modules areembedded in Procurement’s newcomer induction path andmanager development programme.
The e-learning specifically developed for the Procurement
population on environmental issues has been updated in orderto reﬂect the latest status of laws, regulations and Airbus internal
processes. This training targets supply chain quality managers,ordering ofﬁcers and buyers.

Policies & Tools
The Company is currently assessing all Procurement processes
and tools in order to integrate R&S-related requirements, where
relevant, on top of environmental requirements, which are alreadylargely considered. This will lead over the next years to theadaptation of Procurement process & tools managed by theProcurement strategy teams and creation of speciﬁc guidelines
and/or commodity awareness.

Grievance Mechanism
Since 2019, the Airbus OpenLine is available to external
stakeholders, such as suppliers and their employees, as asecure and conﬁdential channel through which they may, ona voluntary basis, raise alerts related to Airbus in the areasof bribery, human rights, environment and health and safety.
This medium is available through the Airbus OpenLine website(www. airbusopenline. com) in 13 languages. For more
information on OpenLine, see “—1.2.3(a) Ethical Business
Practices”.

Work with External Stakeholders
As mentioned under “Environment” in section 1.2.2(b), Airbus
is a founding member of IAEG, which is working on common
aerospace industry standards and tools to manage environmental
obligations.
More speciﬁcally, for supply chain the IAEG has developed:– a Supply Chain Environmental Survey, which has been
implemented in 2019 at Airbus and will be used as theenvironmental assessment module as mentioned inparagraph 2 above;– an EMS implementation guideline to encourage a wider uptake of environmental management systems as appropriate
for each company in a phased approach and cost effective,
consistent and supportive manner;– a GHG Reporting Guidance, including a parametrical approachto evaluate emissions.
IAEG has also set-up a working group in 2019, to deﬁne an
Environmental Qualiﬁcation Programme to assess and develop
the environmental maturity of suppliers.
In October 2019, the Company joined the Responsible Business
Alliance’s Responsible Mineral Initiative (RMI), in order to further
enforce activities of responsible sourcing while applying industry
standards for supplier due diligence and data management inaccordance with the OECD framework.

1

At the end of 2019, the global volume of business with disability
friendly companies in France was € 50 million with an increaseof 20% compared to 2018 for Airbus in France. At the end of
2019, 60 disability friendly companies are working with Airbus
compared to 10 in 2010.
In November 2019, the Company organised its ﬁrst (Dis)Ability
Forum in Hamburg to increase its cooperation with disability
friendly companies in Germany.

Conflict Minerals
The Company places great importance on the responsible
sourcing of materials used in manufacturing. Some minerals
including 3TG (tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold) are necessary
for the proper functioning of components within its products.
The Company largely does not directly import minerals but theseminerals are found in certain products the Company procures.
In that context, the Company requires from all suppliers tocomply with applicable laws and regulations on conﬂict minerals,
including 3TG.
For the small portion of direct procurement of minerals in Airbus
Defence and Space, the Company has established a dedicatedConﬂict Mineral Management System. This document describes
the necessary activities needed to monitor potential future
legal obligations linked to the upcoming EU regulations on theimportation of 3TG.
To outline the Company’s commitment to responsible business,
the Responsible Mineral Policy was released in 2019 (available
at https://www.airbus.com/company/sustainability/humanrights.html), which details its engagement to improve safety andhuman rights conditions in the mineral supply chains.

Plastic-Free Supply Chain
Aligned with the R&S Charter and SDG 12 (responsible
consumption & production), a dedicated project has beenlaunched at Airbus Defence and Space with the aim of reducing,reusing and recycling plastic waste and packaging in Airbus areaof involvement by 2025. This includes the following initiatives inrelation to Airbus products, logistic ﬂow and the supply chain:– implementation of optimised processes for inter-site/supply
chain deliveries;– review of specification and contractual requirements ofpackaging;– review of the current take-make-waste extractive industrial
model and promotion of the circular economy approach
towards a sustainable way to use plastic.
Discussions to extend this project to both Divisions and toenlarge to packaging at large have started in 2019 and willcontinue in 2020.

CO2 Emissions
In 2019, Airbus undertook an initial assessment of its scope 3“Purchased Goods and Services” impact using a methodology
developed by IAEG.

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Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

V. Future Outlook
The Supplier R&S programme activities will evolve to actively
mitigate R&S risks in the supply chain, adapt to evolving R&S
requirements and our ambition as a sustainable company.
From 2020 onwards, Airbus will conduct R&S-related on-site
assessments and speciﬁc development plans with a certain
number of risk suppliers identiﬁed during the self-assessment
campaigns that were launched in 2019.
The Company aims to embed R&S assessments systematicallyin the supplier approval, monitoring & control process to assessin the future not only suppliers in speciﬁc R&S risk countries
and activities but all suppliers that are strategic and critical tobusiness.

Speciﬁc R&S training modules and solutions will be developedfor both internal use and awareness in purchasing commodities
and some speciﬁcally to be made available to suppliers throughthe supplier portal and online.
Regarding environmental sustainability and substancemanagement, the Company will focus on the following in 2020:– monitoring of the mitigation action plan to close the ﬁndings of
the REACH readiness assessment conducted in 2019;– identiﬁcation of Airbus suppliers contributing the most to VOC
emissions, water or energy consumption in order to requestfrom them a regular monitoring and continuous improvementof their operational performance;– identiﬁcation of the key contributors to CO 2 emissions inthe supply chain and engagement in a supplier dialogue, toevaluate opportunities for GHG emission reduction and ways
to monitor the progress.

1.2.4 Responsible Employer
a. Workforce
As of 31 December 2019, the Company’s workforce amounted
to 134,931 employees (compared to 133,671 employees
in 2018), 95.54% of which consisted of full-time employees.
These statistics take into account consolidation effects andperimeter changes throughout 2019. Depending on country
and hierarchy level, the average working time is between 35
and 40 hours per week.

Entries & Leaves

2019

2018

2017

Newcomers

11,27010,9597,318Core division

6,643

5,246

3,900

Subsidiaries

4,627

5,713

3,418

Leavers (including partial retirement)

5,842

6,198

5,151

Core division

2,902

3,245

2,646

Subsidiaries

2,940

2,953

2,505

In terms of nationalities, 35.6% of the Company’s employees arefrom France, 31.6% from Germany, 8.5% from the UK and 10.1%
from Spain. US nationals account for 2.1% of employees. The
remaining 12.0% are employees coming from a total of 142 othercountries. In total, 90.1% of the Company’s active workforce islocated in Europe on more than 100 sites.

Furthermore, Airbus expects its workforce to evolve naturally tosupport the business.

Workforce by Division and Geographic Area
The tables below provide a breakdown of Airbus’ employees by Division and geographic area, including the percentage of parttime employees.
Employees by Division
Airbus Commercial Aircraft

31 December 201931 December 201831 December 2017(1)

80,98580,92474,542

Airbus Helicopters

20,024

19,745

20,161

Airbus Defence and Space

33,92233,002

32,171

0

0

2,568

134,931

133,671

129,442

Airbus (former HQ)Group Total(1) Airbus commercial Aircraft includes population of Airbus Former HQ since 1 January 2018.

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Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

Employees by geographic area

31 December 201931 December 201831 December 2017

France49,14348,14447,865Germany

45,63845,38744,214

Spain

12,637

13,684

13,177

UK

11,109

11,214

11,304

US

3,151

2,489

2,707

Other Countries

13,25312,753

10,175

Group Total

134,931

133,671

129,442

31 December 201931 December 201831 December 2017

4.46%

4.22%

4.20%

31 December 201931 December 201831 December 2017

130,591

130,131

126,534

4,340

3,540

2,908

% Part time employees
Group Total

Active Workforce by contract type
Unlimited contract
Limited contract > 3 months

Airbus´ attrition rate is 4.4% overall (incl. subsidiaries) and 8.43%
in subsidiaries only.
Airbus’ headcount reporting includes all consolidated
companies worldwide. The internationally comparative ﬁgures
are based on the active workforce, i.e. the number of permanentand short-term employees, irrespective of their individual
working times. The headcount is calculated according to theconsolidation quota of the respective companies. The scopefor HR structure reporting covers about 99.9% of Airbus’ total
active workforce from consolidated companies. In total, about
0.1% of Airbus’ employees are not included in the scope, as
no detailed employee data is available at group level for somecompanies belonging to Airbus, usually recently acquired.
For more details on Scope and Methodology, please refer to the
Airbus website at www.airbus.com.

1b. Human Capital Management,
Labour Relations and Human Rights
The Company’s workforce is managed by the HR function
thanks to a set of HR policies and a strong labour structure. HR
policies are discussed and agreed with social partners throughcontinuous and regular meeting at global and local levels. The
current priorities of the Company’s HR function are:– to ensure that the Company can attract, develop and retain
a world-class competent, motivated and ﬂexible workforce,
which ﬁts current and future business requirements;– to facilitate diversit y, continuous integration andinternationalisation of the Company and contribute to acommon culture based on strong company values;– to be a global employer of choice and an innovative, inclusive
and engaging place to work for all employees.

Training & Mobility
In 2019, Airbus provided 1.5 million training hours and more than 12,000 participants took part in learning within the leadership domain.
2019*

2018*

Number of Classroom Training

129,296

114,327

Number of Digital Training

397,938

248,448* Change of reporting period since 2018: from 1 October to 30 September.

The training KPIs in this report are provided for the legal entities
in which at least one employee followed a training during theyear. These entities’ headcount represents 97.6% of the total
active workforce from full consolidated companies. Someentities may monitor local trainings outside of the group’s
centralised training tool MyPulse, the corresponding additional
trainings are not included in the KPIs above.
In addition, in 2019 more than 37,900 employees beneﬁ ted
from other developments and transformation solutions
proposed by the Airbus Leadership University. The purposeof the university is to strengthen the Company’s approach toleadership, offering equivalent opportunities for all leaders todrive their development one step ahead, while accelerating thecultural evolution and human transformation of the Company.
Mobility of employees within or across Airbus and its Divisions is
one of the main priorities for the overall beneﬁt of the Company.
In 2019, as of end of December, more than 12,000 employeeschanged jobs cross-divisionally and cross-country.

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Labour Relations
I. Introduction
Wherever it operates, the Company wishes to grow its economic
success in consideration of common principles and standards
consistent with International Labour Organisation (ILO)
conventions, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
and the principles laid down by the UN Global Compact, which
the Company has adopted. The principles are in compliancewith the Airbus Code of Conduct and with the International
Framework Agreement signed in 2005.

II. GovernanceIn the International Framework Agreement, the Company
reafﬁrms its willingness to respect the regulation regarding
fundamental human rights, equal opportunities, free choice of
employment, as well as prohibition of child labour and respectand ensuring the conditions for industrial dialogue.
The Company in particular intends, via its agreements, to respect
the disposition of the following ILO conventions: numbers 111(discrimination – employee and occupation), 100 (equal
remuneration), 135 (workers’ representatives), 29 (forced labour),105 (abolition of forced labour), 182 (child labour), 138 (minimumage), 87 (freedom of association and protection of the right toorganise) and 98 (right to organise and collective bargaining).
The head of each business is responsible for ensuring compliancewith these principles.
The provisions of this framework agreement define theCompany’s standards to be applied wherever Airbus operates
provided they are not in contravention of local law, insofar as
more favourable conditions do not exist already. Monitoring will
be deﬁned to ensure that the provisions of this agreement are notbreached wherever Airbus operates, insofar as more favourable
conditions do not exist already.
The Company is in continuous dialogue with social partners on its
sites in Europe, principally through meetings with management
at the European Committee level but also through meetings andnegotiations at national or local level. Sites outside Europe arecovered by Airbus’ ILA framing the social dialogue and social
culture in line with local labour legislation, culture and practicesof respective countries and by the newly installed Airbus Global
Forum – see below.
Regular social dialogue is ensured as per ILO requirements andlocal legislation thanks to Airbus’ Societa Europea Work Council(SEWC) agreement in 2015 and reshaped in 2018.
Industrial relations and social dialogue are fully part of Airbus’
DNA and, therefore, its continuous evolution and improvement
are embedded in the Company’s Human Resources strategy
supporting Airbus’ business challenges. Strengthening the roleof industrial relations and social dialogue is an enabler of shaping
the future of work through workplace cooperation, collective
bargaining by enhancing cooperation between employees’
representatives and top management.

III. Initiatives
Airbus joined the Global Deal for Decent Work and Inclusive
Growth initiative (“Global Deal”). The engagement letter was
signed conjointly by Airbus’ Chief HR Ofﬁcer, Head of Group
Social Policies & Industrial Relations and Head of Responsibility

70

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

& Sustainability. Developed in cooperation with the ILO and theOECD, the Global Deal is a multi-stakeholders’ partnershipthat seeks to address two of the greatest challenges of ourtime: to reduce high and rising inequalities in opportunities andoutcomes and to restore fading trust in the ability of governments
and institutions to make economic growth work for all against
a backdrop of rapid changes in the world of work. The Global
Deal’s founding principles aim at encouraging action throughvoluntary commitments, increasing knowledge base about social
dialogue and sound industrial relations and providing platforms
for sharing experiences and best practices. Airbus’ active
representation demonstrates that social dialogue’s globalisationis rooted in Airbus’ R&S strategy and commitments reﬂecting
Airbus being an employer of choice.
In line with its commitments, the Company demonstrated its
engagement through the following signiﬁcant initiatives in 2019:– in June, the ﬁrst Airbus Global Forum (AGF) was held chaired
by Airbus Chief HR Ofﬁcer in presence of Airbus European
Select Committee and Airbus Staff Representatives from
Airbus main operating regions: Africa/Middle East, Asia
Paciﬁ c, India, China, Latin America and North America.
The AGF was launched with the aim of piloting constructive
exchange of information with staff representatives at a global
level, in line with responsibility and sustainability policies
to further engage the social dialogue towards Company
globalisation;– in Spain and in France professional elections took place.
For the ﬁrst time, all French Airbus companies have voted
between November and December;– the main French entities of Airbus have signed beginning ofMarch a group agreement with four representative unions(FO, CFE-CGC, CFTC and CFDT) about Employment andCareer Paths Management. This new agreement is part of the
Airbus “Future of Social Dialog” approach, which consists, inparticular, of coordinating and simplifying the implementationof the new social norms that come out of most of the Frenchgovernment reforms (Loi “Avenir professionnel”). Employment
and Careers Paths Management incorporates all processes
and tools, in association with economic, technological, socialand demographic changes and with respect to Airbus’
strategy, which enables:– for the Company to improve its ability to anticipate its
future competences and employment requirements, andto meet these by putting in place appropriate actions andmechanisms,– for employees to better manage their individual career
paths and develop their competences and employability.
– New Gender Neutral Family Leave Policies and improved suiteof family leave policies were implemented on 1 June 2019
in the UK. Airbus believes that these policies provide equal
opportunities by ensuring they are accessible and equitable
to all. Through thorough benchmarking, Airbus is conﬁdent
that its policies compare well to other organisations and that
Airbus is taking a lead in supporting cultural change. The aim
is to help improve recruitment and retention and contributetowards closing the gender pay gap. The policies have been
well received by employees so far and, in particular, Airbus
has seen an increased interest in requests for information
about Shared Parental Leave;– programme for “Continuous Development for social
partners” with social partners started. The implementationof modernised career management arrangements forInformation on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

mandated representatives to strengthen the attractivenessof union careers, enhance experience, sustain the link withbusiness competencies and promote return to work:– training courses, access to the Airbus Leadership
University,– dedicated budgets,– GEPP (job description database),– “Anti-discrimination” measures, wage development
guarantees;– new union communication terms adapted to our increasingly
digitalised world (i.e. relaxation of the use of e-mail towards
members, more visibility on the Airbus Intranet, establishmentof “communities” shared with Management during main
negotiations). Strengthening the rules on conﬁdentiality anddata protection and complete overhaul of the use of the
Airbus database to share compulsory social and economic
information.

IV. Future Outlook
In France, concrete and signiﬁcant changes will come from thenew metallurgy branch agreement that should be deployed in2020. It will give Airbus the opportunity to re-negotiate all its
company agreements, creating a “new social contract”. This
broad re-negotiation will also help us ensure the deploymentof our HR strategy especially on New Remuneration Scheme.
Anticipating this coming negotiation, a preliminary phase iscurrently ongoing to review our existing agreements and deﬁne
our target.
In Spain, a three-year cross-Divisional intercompany agreement(“CBA”) regulates social policies and has to be renewed for theperiod 2020-2022. For Airbus’ commercial aircraft activities inGermany, the “Collective Agreement for the Future” will expire
end of 2020. Main objectives of the future negotiation for both
new agreements are:– competitiveness (cost contention + ﬂ exibility): in order toimprove our competitiveness, we should not increase any
labour cost. In relation to the ﬂexibility that is a key topic toreact against picks and deeps by the use of proper temporary
contracts and new ways of working;– proximity: we need to be a customer-centric organisation thatmeets Business needs. CBA should be a valuable tool andnot an obstacle for the Business development;– empowerment of Managers: managers should be empoweredin order to give them ﬂexibility to drive their business. Provide
managers a framework to take decisions that ﬁt with their own
reality. Try to remove blocks points from the CBA that limit thedecision capability of managers.

Human Rights
The Company has a zero tolerance approach to all formsof human rights abuse, including modern slavery, within its
business, its operations and within its supply chain.

During 2019, the Company undertook a human rights impact
and gap analysis across its global business to understand more
fully its positive and potential negative human rights impacts.
This analysis, conducted with the help of external consultants,
considered current and upcoming regulatory requirements andinternational best practice as well as growing human rights
requirements linked to the UN Guiding Principles for Businessand Human Rights (UNGPs) within standards such as the UN
Global Compact.

1

The analysis also included an initial identiﬁ cation of Airbus’salient areas of potential human rights risks (see box with
impacted groups in parenthesis). This identification was
based on benchmarking of industry peers and companies insimilar industries and analysis of stakeholder expectations. As
they are subject to change over time, Airbus is committed toreview these issue areas on a regular basis. Speciﬁc actionplans based on these identiﬁ ed potential risks, as well as
key recommendations from the analysis, are currently underconsideration.
During 2019, Airbus started to identify potential KPIs related tohuman rights which could be used to measure progress. The
following annual KPIs have been identiﬁed and will be reviewed
on a regular basis:– number (or %) of assessments of Airbus’ business relevant
external risk suppliers (target to be determined in 2020);– number of due-diligence assessments carried out on
Airbus sites, including subsidiaries and afﬁliates (target to
be determined in 2020);– number of human rights concerns linked to modern slavery/
fundamental freedoms reported via OpenLine and escalated
for further investigation (0 in 2019);– number of participants who have completed e-learning
modules on human rights and modern slavery (3,400
completed in 2019 – 8,372 in total to date).
UK Modern Slavery Act:As part of its obligations under the UK Modern Slavery Act(MSA), the Company published its third statement in recognitionof the global aim of this legislation. Human Rights, including
modern slavery, continues to be a focus area for Airbus andduring 2019 we continued the roll-out of our e-learning modules
focused on helping employees identify the signs of human rights
abuse and modern slavery, including raising awareness of what
to do if they have concerns.
At the end of 2019, 8,372 participants had completed thise-learning, which is available in four languages and forms
part of the Ethics and Compliance catalogue of learning. The
Company is also committed to promote awareness throughinternal communication initiatives and awareness sessions.
A link to Airbus’ latest Modern Slavery Statement can be foundon the front page of the Airbus website.

Salient areas of potential human rights risks:– Impact of products and services on the right to life andliberty (passengers and citizens)– Privacy (individuals and their personal data)– Impact of climate change on livelihoods (climate vulnerable
communities)– Forced and child labour (contractors and supply chains)– Diverse and inclusive workplaces (Airbus workforce andcontractors)

Airbus / Registration Document 201971

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Informationc. Health & Safety
I. Introduction
The Company is committed to pursuing the highest standardsof health and safety. The Company’s health and safety priorities
are the following:
1. protecting our people and the business from health and safety
risks that could arise from our work activities;
2. fostering a health and safety culture in which we all accept
appropriate responsibility for ourselves and others;
3. ensuring good management of work-related health, safety, andwell-being as an ethical and commercial imperative, and4. business sustainability and compliance with the UN Global
Compact
These priorities are expressed in the newly issued Airbus Codeof Conduct.

II. GovernanceThe company-wide Occupational Health and Safety Policy,
issued in 2018 is the foundation of the Company’s system for
management of health and safety at work. It applies companywide: to Airbus’ commercial aircraft activities, Airbus Helicoptersand Airbus Defence and Space Divisions including afﬁliates.
The policy principles, mission and vision, and key initiatives
continue to apply:– policy principles:– responsible management of health and safety;– all employees accepting appropriate responsibility forthemselves and others;– a health and safety management system that drives
continuous improvement and compliance;– a preventative approach.
– health and safety mission and vision:– our mission is to deliver a culture and management systemthat promotes health and safety at work, related compliance,
and the sustained reduction of health and safety risks related
to Airbus work activities;– our vision is that the Company has world class health andsafety risk management and is known as a company where
safety, health and welfare are valued as an integral part ofour success. The Company aspires to zero work related
injuries and ill-health.
– key initiatives:– a health and safety management system based on theprinciples of the ISO Standard 45001;– the implementation of a company-wide health and safety
software platform (Federated Information for Safety, Healthand environment (“FISH”));– the reinforcement of a company-wide health and safetyfunction by the harmonisation of health and safety philosophy
and methodology.
This report further details the application of the policy principles
and status of key initiatives.
Centres of Expertise are being developed within the health,safety and operational environment “Centre of Excellence”.

72

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

These Centres of Expertise address the various specialised
disciplines of health and safety and environment, and engage
the necessary key skills and competences. In addition, they areable to embark “Communities of Practice” where needed towork on particular topics. These Communities of Practices are
the evolution of the former transversal expert groups, providing
advice and helping to improve management of risk control work,on the domains of industrial hygiene, occupational health andwellbeing, and safety management.

III. Risk Management
The Company continues structuring its corporate health andsafety management framework based on the principles of
the international standard – ISO 45001. Airbus sites either are
pursuing systems based on the ISO 45001 principles, or are
already ISO 45001 certiﬁed, or are OHSAS 18001 certiﬁed andprogressively transferring to ISO 45001.
The Company is reinforcing its health and safety risk management
process by building a standardised and company-wide method
for risk assessment and control. The escalation process for
signiﬁcant health and safety top risks has also been further
developed to raise such risks to top management, using theCompany’s ERM system. In common with many manufacturingorganisations, main risks remain the possibility of injury, ill-health,asset damage, business interruption and regulatory action. In
2019, main causes of injury that could arise from work activities
included slip, trip and fall, ergonomics and the use of hand tools
and equipment. These represent the majority of injuries recorded
using the FISH platform.
Since 2018, the FISH platform has been supporting the companywide management framework for health and safety at work.
The Company continued the development of the platform in
2019, enhancing the Company’s incident, risk, health and safety
capability.
The incident management module of the platform has now
been deployed in Airbus and its Divisions in France, Germany,
Spain and the UK, as well as the Airbus commercial aircraft
plants in Mobile, USA and in Tianjin, China. The module
supports the investigation, evaluation and analysis of workrelated incidents and the development of risk mitigation actions.
The deployment of the incident management module and theoverall harmonisation process have allowed improvement in
the production and collection of the overall company-wide key
performance indicator, detailed below (rolling year average of
the Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate).
The FISH platform will progressively improve the Company’s
ability to collect, analyse and report on work-related health andsafety information, continuously improving the identiﬁcation andmitigation of risk.
Collection of health and safety data has allowed Airbus to
produce and publish an accident indicator at a company-widelevel. The reporting scope of this harmonised health and safety
data (reﬂected in the table below) covers Airbus and its Divisions
for the four home countries as well as the Airbus commercial
plants in Mobile, USA and Tianjin, China, and continues to be
progressively extended. The table below represents the rollingyear average of the Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate.

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

1

Airbus and its Divisions Rolling 12 Months Employee Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate

6

5.92

6.03

5.97

5.80

5.87

5.91

5.88

5.75

5.67

5.66

S

O

5.56

5.58

N

D

5

4

3

2

1
J

F

M

A

M

J

J

A

2019
AIRBUS

The People Safety@Work project was launched for Airbus’commercial aircraft activities in mid-2018. This project has themotto “Nearly Safe is Not Safe”, and it aims to improve themanagement of work-related injuries in operational areas anddrive a safety mind-set. The project purpose is to embed aculture of excellence and a mind-set where risk prevention iscore. The project is structured through a multi-functional team
involving all impacted functions (e.g. Human Resources, Industry,
Final Assembly Line, Facility Management, Procurement). The
project has been extended company-wide in 2019. Actions fromthe People Safety@Work project are detailed in the Initiatives
section, together with other health and safety actions, and havebeen included in the Next Chapter initiatives company-wide.
Since 2018, the particular focus on health and safety has beenstrongly supported by the Airbus Executive Committee, the rollout of the FISH reporting platform and the implementation of
dedicated safety projects such as People Safety@Work, havereinforced the need to report incidents. This resulted in an
increase of the Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate in 2018. In
2019, the rate slightly decreased.

IV. Initiatives
Dedicated initiatives, either local or company-wide focussing on
occupational safety have been launched in 2019:– safety rules have been harmonised company-wide, by thecreation of “6 Primary Safety Rules”;– various communication campaigns have been run to remind
workers of common health and safety issues, such as holding
the handrail, being attentive and not focussed on mobile
phone, wearing their safety cap;
– safety days focusing on topics such as chemical hazards,
road risk prevention, ﬁrst aids;– “Safety Labs” have been installed in most of the Airbus’commercial aircraft sites. The Safety Labs are places to meetand exchange on safety subjects;– the Airbus Helicopter “Safety Boxes” concept has been
adopted for Airbus commercial aircraft activities to reduce
accidents and incidents by gaining employee commitment tosafety rules. The Safety Boxes consist of a number of different
activities which help to trigger discussion on safety matters
between participants in an informal way. So far, ten Safety
Boxes have been deployed for Airbus’ commercial aircraft
activities and more are planned for 2020.
As part of the continuous improvement objective, the “REACH-IT”
project within Airbus’ commercial aircraft activities has pursued
its initiatives to review Airbus manufacturing processes, tools
and workstations in light of the REACH authorisation application
measures for environment, health and safety protection. Similar
initiatives are ongoing in the Divisions.
A review of on-site sub-contracting processes has been
performed for Airbus’ commercial aircraft activities and a project
has been launched in order to harmonise the on boarding
process of our on-site sub-contractors.
Employees’ health is protected by programmes that include
mandatory and voluntary health checks, health campaigns suchas ﬂu vaccination campaigns, stress or addictions guides, skin,vein or cardiovascular screenings and well-being management.
Wellbeing weeks have been organised company-wide focusing
on topics such as mindfulness, sophrology, harassment
prevention.
The Company continues to use learning to support the integrationof health and safety into the business culture, and has worked on
the harmonisation of employees’ training to ensure consistently
high standards of delivery.
– From October 2018 to September 2019, the Company
delivered over 148,000 hours of dedicated health and safety
training to approximately 20,900 individual employees.
– Executives and managers have been encouraged to focus
on health and safety, supported by a dedicated leadershipdevelopment strategy.
– Executives are provided with an “Environment and Healthand Safety Masterclass” to enable their visible and active
commitment. In 2019, over 70 executives attended theEnvironment and Health and Safety Masterclass.

Airbus / Registration Document 201973

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information– Additionally, the executives are offered practical training,“Back To The Floor”, to enable hazard-spotting and employee
engagement during tours of factory ﬂoor. Over 200 executives
have attended Back To The Floor since launch in May 2019.
– Managers at all levels attend the new “Airbus Environmentand Health and Safety Leadership Certiﬁcate”. This intensive
course has four modules, which, if completed within a certain
period, lead to an externally validated “Environment, Healthand SafetyCertiﬁcate”. Over 300 managers have attended theEnvironment, Health and Safety Certiﬁcate ﬁrst modules sincelaunch in September 2019.

V. Future Outlook
The reinforcement of the health and safety organisation will be
pursued in 2020 to continuously enhance the health and safety
management system with the aim to sustainably reduce risk topeople, the environment and the business.

d. Inclusion & Diversity
The Company is convinced that diversity helps foster innovation,collective performance and engagement. Harnessing everyone’s
unique potential while ensuring an inclusive workplace is what it
takes to succeed together. At Airbus, we live diversity as a core
part of our identity: Airbus is proud of its European roots andpassionate about its achievements around the world. More than
135 nationalities are represented and more than 20 languages
are spoken within the Company.
The Company’s approach to Inclusion & Diversity (“I&D”) takes
different forms including: I&D Advisory Board composed of Airbus
executives and facilitated by the Head of I&D, dedicated training
and awareness, internal incentives for international mobility,
initiatives to attract women, ﬂexible work-life solutions. In fact,
the Company strives to ensure I&D is embedded in all it does,
serves business purposes and beneﬁts all employees worldwide.
With full support of the entire HR function, I&D initiatives are runand coordinated by a dedicated team of experts worldwide. The
Company’s efforts are supported by platforms for exchange
like “Knowing Me, Knowing You” and “Disability Community”.
The Company’s efforts towards more inclusion and diversity arealso supported by Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) throughBalance For Business, the federating platform of Airbus ERGs.
These are employee-led groups that foster a diverse, inclusive
workplace aligned with organisational mission, values, goals,
business practices and objectives. To date, this platform brings
together over 11,000 volunteers, followers and allies. It is a groupwide business focused platform seeking to harness everyone’s
potential in a more responsible, safe, inclusive and balanced
Airbus environment.
In line with its aspiration for a more diverse workplace, theCompany is working to increase the number of applications
from areas that are currently under-represented in its workforce,
including but not limited to women, nationalities, age groups,
disability and social backgrounds to ensure a broader range ofcandidates for open positions.
In order to support recruitment of women in all areas, the Company
has entered into partnerships to increase the number of womenstarting a career in the aeronautical industry – for example with
Capital Filles, Women in Aviation and IAWA. Internally, an I&D
network of over 4,000 employees work on how to attract, develop

74

Airbus / Registration Document 2019and retain diverse proﬁles, especially women, in the Company. In
parallel, the Company strives to increase the number of womenin leadership positions, including through dedicated coaching
and training such as “I Unleash My Potential” as well as byﬁghting stereotypes in internal conferences or workshops. In
terms of internationalisation of proﬁles, Airbus facilitates theattraction of talents from around the world to Airbus’ traditional
home countries (France, Germany, Spain, the UK) through an
International Graduate Programme enabling talents from allaround the world to come and work on their development over
one year at Airbus sites in Europe. In addition, Airbus also put inplace several actions to boost mobility from other regions to thehome countries. In regards to differently-abled proﬁles, Airbus
has developed several partnerships to increase the number ofapplications from people with disabilities, like “Atout pour tous”,“Handisup” and “Handi Pro Conseil”. Airbus has created as wellthe “Club Handilink” in France, a club composed by aeronauticaland aerospace companies to federate and foster best practices
sharing about disability inclusion.
Although the Company welcomes many forms of diversity, itmeasures the evolution of the diversity of its workforce witha speciﬁc focus on gender diversity, internationalisation anddisability with key KPIs such as: proportion of women promoted
to a position of senior manager or above, proportion of womenamong white collar external hires, gender pay gap at all levels
between women and men, and the number of moves from the
key countries (including India, China, US) to the home countries
and disability employment rates.
The Company has launched several actions to embrace otherforms of diversity, including:– reverse mentoring to connect all generations in the Company;– accompany the creation of Employees Resource groups like
Pride@Airbus (LGBT+ network);– develop a world-wide strategy together with local initiatives
towards disability, with several thousand differently abled
employees all around the world, that boosts best practices
sharing and awareness towards disability inclusion.
For example, promoting the people-centric approach, a speciﬁc
focus on the competences of and support to differently-abled
candidatures to boost their access to employment at Airbus.
This process was created at Airbus in France and thanks to
it, Airbus has succeeded in doubling its disability recruitment
objectives in 2019. Based on its success, Airbus is extending
this people-centric approach to other countries like Spain, andbusiness units, such as Airbus Defence & Space and Airbus
Helicopters in France.
Another example is the Airbus Ability Weeks campaign, a three
weeks world-wide awareness campaign in which Airbus hosts
many activities with the objective of challenging the way wethink about disability inclusion, promoting an “all concerned”
philosophy towards disability inclusion.
As far as the Airbus SE Board of Directors is concerned, theCompany is moving in the right direction with 3 women since2017 compared to not a single woman on the Board in 2013.
For a description of the diversity policy of the Airbus SE Boardof Directors, see “— Corporate Governance — 4.1.1 Corporate
Governance Arrangements” under the heading “Boardof Directors” and “— Corporate Governance — 4.1.2 Dutch
Corporate Governance Code, ‘Comply or Explain’” under theheading “Gender Diversity”.

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.2 Non-Financial Information

31 December 201931 December 201831 December 2017

Women in active workforce

18.0%

17.7%

17.5%

Women in management positions

13.1%

12.6%

12.4%

1

The reference to “management positions” in the ﬁgure above only applies to the top 4% of the active workforce.

e. Community Engagement
The Company recognises the importance of contributing to thedevelopment of the communities where it operates. Airbus wascreated by establishing a European partnership for a long-term
industrial project and this same spirit of cooperation drives
the development of the Company’s international footprint. Its
approach to community engagement is driven by the willingness
to develop a win-win cooperation with the local eco-systemand often materialises through partnerships with local NGOs,
institutions and other companies.

Economic and Social Impact
Air transport industry is a major contributor to global economic
prosperity: supporting a total of 65.5 million jobs globally, its
economic impact is valued in $2.7 trillion (equivalent to 3.6% ofworld GDP). By facilitating tourism and world trade, it generates
economic growth and jobs, improves living standards, alleviates
poverty and increases revenues from taxes. But above all,aviation enables connectivity, a key element to ensure
participation in a global economy, to encourage investments
and innovation and to attract talent.
Airbus has a signiﬁcant economic impact at a country level. In
the UK, the last report of the Oxford Economics estimated that
Airbus contributed £ 7.8 billion to the GDP, while its worldwide
activities were estimated to sustain 117,400 jobs in the UK,
counting 15,000 people directly employed by Airbus at UK
sites and supporting another 64,000 jobs through its supply
chain (in 2015).

Local Involvement
On a regional level, Airbus continued to support economic,
academic and institutional players to create the conditions
for long-term sustainability and innovation development. In
Toulouse, Airbus is the largest employer in the region with
26,000 direct employees and having created 80,000 indirect
jobs across the region in 2019. It also had a regional economic
impact with purchases from local suppliers totalling € 5 billion.
In 2019, Airbus worked with its stakeholders in the areas of:– Artiﬁcial intelligence. Airbus supported the creation of theArtiﬁcial and Natural Intelligence Toulouse Institute (ANITI).
It aims at making of Toulouse one of the world leaders on
the topic in research, education, innovation and economic
development.
– Urban mobility: Following a public survey, a new line of the
Toulouse metro was approved. All Airbus sites in Toulouse
will be served, which is expected to reduce trafﬁc in town.
– Quality of life: the Company works with its stakeholders
to decrease nuisances from airpor ts’ activities inneighbourhoods.

Bringing industry and education together, the Airbus Global
University Partner Programme connects a network of 26
universities from 13 countries to develop the engineeringand technology specialists of the future. Sponsorships anddonations provided meaningful positive impact to communities
around the world. With its company-wide framework, theCompany’s local contributions are aligned with global strategy,
priorities and values, encouraging initiatives around:– education and youth development;– innovation & digitalisation;– aerospace & defence community relationships;– corporate citizenship and/or local community engagement;– environment / sustainability.
In addition, Airbus is an active member in several industry
associations and national or international advocacy
organisations, such as GIFAS, World Economic Forum andAdvanced Robotics for Manufacturing – ARM institute.

Volunteering at Airbus
The Company encourages and facilitate employees’ initiatives
to contribute to societal challenges in the communities aroundtheir workplaces.
In 2019, more than 5,000 Airbus employees were involved involunteering for 97 initiatives.
Airbus ProtoSpace, for example, supported by the Airbus
Foundation, established the “Humanity Lab” as an opportunity
for employees to volunteer their time, skills and knowledge
to develop initiatives with a societal purpose. Responding toNGOs’ needs, over 90 employees have created solutions suchas dynamic prosthesis, an optimised wheelchair, or a portableand durable baby weighing scales to tackle malnutrition indeveloping countries.
“Airbus Balance for Business”, an employee platform with morethan 10,000 followers, covers outreach projects like “Fly withme”, a mentorship programme of Airbus Africa Community toraise awareness of STEM education in Africa.

The Airbus Foundation
Since its renewal in 2018 for a further ﬁve years, the Airbus
Foundation has signiﬁcantly ramped up activities across its
two strategic pillars: youth development and humanitarian
emergency response. With 38 partnerships in place with nonproﬁt and social enterprises, the Foundation seeks to undertake
sustainable and impactful actions for the communities it
supports.
The Foundation’s goal is to suppor t international aid
organisations, using its products and services to help alleviate
some of the world’s challenges. Through its Humanitarian
Flights Programme, the Foundation coordinates relief ﬂ ights

Airbus / Registration Document 201975

Information on the Company’s Activities /1.3 Recent Developments

using Airbus test aircraft to transport emergency goods tosupport disaster relief, as well as offering customer to use thedelivery of their aircraft to transport cargo for humanitarianorganisations. It brokers the use of Airbus helicopters for
emergency aerial assessment and cargo transportation,
reaching isolated inaccessible communities; and theFoundation now provides dedicated satellite imagery to its
selected partners enabling them to make rapid assessmentsof areas affected by disaster and aiding quicker, more informed
decision making.
At the request of its partners, the Foundation extended its
portfolio to include capacity-building activities to help thoseorganisations strengthen their workforce in terms of knowledge,
expertise and innovation, providing trainings on helicopter
evacuation, medical services or satellite imagery analysis andopening the doors of the Airbus Leadership University forleadership and personal development courses.

Across its youth programs, the Foundation has engaged
over 14,100 young people across the globe since 2012, andleveraged the support of more than 2,000 passionate employee
volunteers. The Flying Challenge programme operates on
25 sites in 10 countries inspiring young people to pursue theirstudies, promoting social inclusion and access to training andemployment.
Through its STEM programmes, Airbus Little Engineer andDiscovery Space, thousands of students from 15 countries haveparticipated in hands-on robotics workshops. The Discovery
Space digital platform encourages space exploration, to support
children’s discovery of 3D design software, tutorials and designcompetitions in collaboration with ESA.
Successfully bringing together employees, products and services
from across all divisions, the Foundation remains at the “heart”
of the business, generating pride by employees; achieving longlasting impact for its partners and beneﬁciaries; and supporting
the wider responsible image of aerospace.

1.3 Recent Developments
On 31 January 2020, the Company reached ﬁnal agreementswith the French PNF, the UK SFO, the US DoS and DoJ.
See “— Information on the Company’s Activities — 1.1.7 Legaland Arbitration Proceedings — Investigation by the UK SFO,
France’s PNF, US Departments of State and Justice andRelated Commercial Litigation”.
The UK formally exited the EU on 31 January 2020. From
1st February, both parties enter the “transition period” during
which the EU and UK will negotiate additional relationshiparrangements. The transition period runs until 31 December
2020. See “— Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations — 2.1.1.3 Significant
Programme Developments, Restructuring and Related Financial
Consequences in 2017, 2018 and 2019 — Brexit”.
On 12 February 2020, the Company and IQ have agreed toacquire Bombardier’s remaining stake in Airbus Canada
Limited Partnership. This brings their holdings to 75% and
25% respectively. As part of this transaction, Airbus SE, via its
wholly owned subsidiary Stelia Aerospace, has also acquired
the A220 and A330 work package production capabilities from
Bombardier in Ville Saint-Laurent, Quebec. Airbus SE will pay a
total consideration of $ 0.6 bn, of which $ 0.5 bn would be paidon closing. With this transaction Bombardier is released of its
future funding capital requirement to ACLP. The Company isassessing the impacts of the transaction on its 2020 Financial
Statements.
On 12 February 2020, the governments of France and Germany
have awarded Dassault Aviation, Airbus, together with theirpartners MTU Aero Engines, Safran MBDA and Thales, theinitial framework contract (Phase 1A), which launches thedemonstrator phase for the FCAS.

76

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On 13 February 2020, the A330-800 received joint Type
Certiﬁcation from the EASA and the FAA.
On 22 March 2020, Airbus SE announced that it expects
production and assembly work to partially resume in France
and Spain on Monday, 23 March 2020 following health andsafety checks after the implementation of stringent measures.
In addition, the Company is supporting efforts globally to tackle
the COVID-19 crisis.
Airbus has carried out extensive work in coordination with its
social partners to ensure the health and safety of its employees,
while securing business continuity. The implementation ofthese measures required a temporary pause in production andassembly activities at the French and Spanish sites for a periodof four days. Work stations will only re-open if they comply
with the new health and safety measures in terms of hygiene,
cleaning and self-distancing while improving the efﬁciency ofoperations under new working conditions.
The same measures are being deployed across all other sites
without full interruption.
For other non-production activities globally, Airbus continues
to support home-working where possible. Some employees
will be asked to return to support business continuity following
the implementation of these new measures. In February, theAirbus Final Assembly Line in Tianjin, China, reopened following
a temporary production stoppage related to the coronavirus
outbreak and is now operating efﬁciently.
Airbus is supporting those in the health, emergency and public
services that rely on its aircraft, helicopters, satellites andservices to accomplish their critical missions. In addition, in thepast days, the Company has donated thousands of face masks
to hospitals and public services around Europe and has started

Information on the Company’s Activities /to use its test aircraft to obtain larger quantities from suppliers in
China. A ﬁrst ﬂight with a test A330-800 aircraft has this weekend
transported approximately 2 million masks from Tianjin backto Europe, of which the large majority will be donated to the
Spanish and French authorities. Additional ﬂights are planned
to take place in the coming days.
“Health and safety is our number one priority at Airbus so
the work stations at our sites in France and Spain will only
re-open if they meet the required standards. I’d like to salutethe strong commitment from our employees to ensure business
continuity in close cooperation with our social partners andother stakeholders. At the same time we are doing all we canto support those on the frontline to ﬁght the coronavirus andlimit its spread. We try to live up to our values, humbled by thecomplexity of the situation, and contribute as much as we can tosociety in these very difﬁcult times,” said Airbus Chief Executive
Ofﬁcer Guillaume Faury.
Airbus is committed to ensuring the health and safety of its
people while maintaining delivery capability for its products andservices to its customers.

On 23 March 2020, Airbus SE announced measures to bolster
its liquidity and balance sheet in response to the COVID-19
pandemic as it continues to assess the ongoing situation andthe impact on its business, customers, suppliers and the industry
as a whole.
“Our ﬁrst priority is protecting people while supporting efforts
globally to curb the spread of the coronavirus. We are also
safeguarding our business to protect the future of Airbus andto ensure we can return to efﬁcient operations once the situation
recovers. We have withdrawn our 2020 guidance due to thevolatility of the situation. At the same time, we are committed
to securing the liquidity of the Company at all times through aprudent balance sheet policy. I am convinced that Airbus andthe broader aerospace sector will overcome this critical period,”
said Airbus Chief Executive Ofﬁcer Guillaume Faury.

Reﬂecting the Company’s prudent balance sheet policy and toensure ﬁnancial ﬂexibility, Airbus’ management has received
approval from the Board of Directors to: secure a new credit
facility amounting to € 15 billion in addition to the existing€ 3 billion revolving credit facility; withdraw the 2019 dividend
proposal of € 1.80 per share with an overall cash value ofapproximately € 1.4 billion; and suspend the voluntary top up in
pension funding. Given the limited visibility due to the evolving
COVID-19 situation, the 2020 guidance is withdrawn. Operational
scenarios, including measures to minimise cash requirements,
have been identiﬁed and will be activated depending on thefurther development of the pandemic.

1

With these decisions, the Company has signiﬁcant liquidity
available to cope with additional cash requirements related
to the coronavirus. Liquidity resources previously standing at
approximately € 20 billion, comprising around € 12 billion in
ﬁnancial assets at hand and around € 8 billion in undrawn credit
lines, were further bolstered by converting an existing € 5 billion
credit line into a new facility amounting to € 15 billion. Available
liquidity now amounts to approximately € 30 billion.
By maintaining production, managing its resilient backlog,
supporting its customers and securing ﬁnancial ﬂexibility for
its operations, Airbus intends to secure business continuity foritself even in a protracted crisis. Safe and efﬁcient air travel isa key backbone of global economic development and cultural
exchange. Airbus therefore highly welcomes governmental
efforts around the globe to stabilise this industry by supporting
the ﬁnancial health of its airline customers and its suppliers.
Airbus continues to monitor the overall health of the industry.
Airbus has convened its 2020 Annual General Meeting in
Amsterdam on 16 April 2020. Due to the global outbreak of
COVID-19, Airbus discourages physical attendance and strongly
encourages shareholders to vote by proxy in line with publichealth and safety measures.
For more information, see “— Risk Factors – Business-Related
Risks – COVID-19 Risks”.

Airbus / Registration Document 201977

Chapter

2
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2

Management’s Discussion
and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Resultsof Operations
2.1
2.1.1
2.1.2

80
81

2.1.6
2.1.7

Operating and Financial Review
Overview
Significant Accounting Considerations,
Policies and Estimates
Performance Measures
Results of Operations
Changes in Total Equity(Including Non-Controlling Interests)
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Hedging Activities

2.2

Financial Statements

98

2.3

Statutory Auditor Fees

98

2.4

Information Regarding the Statutory Auditors

99

2.1.3
2.1.4
2.1.5

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

83
84
89
93
94
98

79

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

2.1 Operating and Financial Review
The following discussion and analysis is derived from and should be read together withthe audited IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements as of and for the years ended 31 December
2019, 2018 and 2017. These Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with
International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) issued by the International AccountingStandards Board as endorsed by the European Union, and with Part 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch
Civil Code. When reference is made to “IFRS”, this intends to be EU-IFRS.
The following discussion and analysis also contains certain “non-GAAP ﬁnancial measures”,
i.e. ﬁnancial measures that either exclude or include amounts that are not excluded or
included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordancewith IFRS. Speciﬁcally, the Company makes use of the non-GAAP ﬁnancial measures(i.e. Alternative Performance Measures) “EBIT Adjusted”, “net cash” and “Free Cash Flow”.
The Company uses these non-GAAP ﬁnancial measures to assess its consolidated ﬁnancial
and operating performance and believes they are helpful in identifying trends in its performance.
These measures enhance management’s ability to make decisions with respect to resource
allocation and whether the Company is meeting established ﬁnancial goals.
Non-GAAP ﬁnancial measures have certain limitations as analytical tools, and should not be
considered in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of the Company’s results as reported
under IFRS. Because of these limitations, they should not be considered substitutes
for the relevant IFRS measures.
The Company also measures and communicates its performance on the basis of“EBIT” (reported).

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Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

2.1.1 Overview
With consolidated revenues of € 70.5 billion in 2019, theCompany is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related
services. The Company offers the most comprehensive range ofpassenger airliners. It is also a European leader providing tanker,
combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as one of theworld’s leading space companies. In helicopters, the Company

provides the most efﬁcient civil and military rotorcraft solutions
worldwide. In 2019, it generated 86% of its total revenues in thecivil sector (compared to 84% in 2018) and 14% in the defence
sector (compared to 16% in 2018). As of 31 December 2019,
the Company’s active headcount was 134,931 employees, anincrease compared to 2018 (133,671 employees).

2

2.1.1.1 Exchange Rate Information
The ﬁnancial information presented in this document is expressed in euro, US dollar or pound sterling. The following table setsout, for the periods indicated, certain information concerning the exchange rate between the euro, the US dollar and the poundsterling, calculated using the ofﬁcial European Central Bank ﬁxing rate:
AverageYear-end

€/US$

€/£

€/US$

€/£

31 December 20171.12970.8767

1.19930.887231 December 20181.18100.88471.14500.894531 December 2019

1.11950.87781.12340.85082.1.1.2 Reportable Business Segments
The Company operates in three reportable business segments
which reflect the internal organisational and management
structure according to the nature of the products and services
provided.
– Airbus — Development, manufacturing, marketing and saleof commercial jet aircraft of more than 100 seats; aircraft
conversion and related services; development, manufacturing,marketing and sale of regional turboprop aircraft and aircraftcomponents. It also includes the holding function of theCompany and its bank activities.
– Airbus Helicopters — Development, manufacturing,marketing and sale of civil and military helicopters; provisionof helicopter related services.
– Airbus Defence and Space — Military Aircraft design,development, delivery, and support of military aircraft suchas combat, mission, transport and tanker aircraft and theirassociated services. Space Systems design, development,delivery, and support of full range of civil and defence
space systems for telecommunications, earth observations,navigation, science and orbital systems. ConnectedIntelligence provision of services around data processing
from platforms, secure communication and cyber security. In
addition, the main joint ventures design, develop, deliver, andsupport missile systems as well as space launcher systems.
Unmanned Aerial Systems design, development, delivery andservice support.
“Transversal/Eliminations” comprises other activities notallocable to the reportable segments, combined together withconsolidation effects.

2.1.1.3 Significant Programme
Developments, Restructuring
and Related Financial
Consequences in 2017, 2018and 2019
The following paragraphs present significant programme
information for the past three years. 2017 descriptions include
ﬁgures that have not been restated due to the application of
IFRS 15. 2018 descriptions include previous year ﬁgures restated
due to the application of IFRS 15.
A380 programme. In 2017, Airbus delivered 15 A380 aircraft.
In 2018, Airbus delivered 12 A380 aircraft. As of 31 December
2018, the Company’s largest A380 operator reviewed its
aircraft ﬂeet strategy going forward and concluded it is forced
to restructure and reduce its A380 order by 39 aircraft. The
Company entered into discussions with the customer in late 2018
which ﬁnally resulted in the signature of a head of agreement
on 11 February 2019. Without this customer’s A380 order, theCompany has no substantial order backlog and no basis tosustain A380 production, despite all sales and marketing efforts
in recent years. As a consequence of this decision, deliveriesof the A380 will cease in 2022. At year-end 2018, in view of
the above, the Company reassessed accordingly the expectedmarket assumptions and the recoverability and depreciation
method of speciﬁc assets allocated to the A380 programme. As aresult, the Company impaired speciﬁc A380 assets in the amountof € 167 million, recognised an onerous contract provision for
an amount of € 1,257 million and updated the measurementof refundable advances including interest accretion for a total
amount of € 1,426 million. As a consequence, the recognition of
the onerous contract provision as well as other speciﬁc provisions
and the remeasurement of the liabilities affected the consolidated
income statement before taxes by a net € 463 million in EBIT andpositively impacted the other ﬁnancial result by € 177 million asof 31 December 2018.

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Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

In 2019, Airbus delivered 8 A380 aircraft. In 2019, the Company
recorded a n additional net charge of € 99 million in EBIT aspart of its continuous assessment of assets recoverability andquarterly review of onerous contract provision assumptions.
A350 X WB programme. In 2017, Airbus delivered
78 A350 XWB aircraft.
In 2018, Airbus delivered 93 A350 XWB aircraft.
In 2019, Airbus delivered 112 A350 XWB aircraft. New orde r
intakes, cancellations, delivery postponements and othercontractual agreements to the end of December 2019 havebeen reﬂ ected in the Financial Statements. Risks continue
to be closely monitored in line with the schedule, aircraft
performance and overall cost envelope, as per customer
commitments. Despite the progress made, challenges remain
with recurring cost convergence. The breakeven target for theA350 was achieved in 2019. Given overall customer demand
for widebody aircraft, Airbus expects A350 deliveries to stay
between a monthly rate of 9 and 10 aircraft.
A400M programme. Technical progress on the A400M
programme resulted in the recognition of revenues of € 2.2 billion
in 2017 (restated), € 2.1 billion in 2018 and € 1.5 billion in 2019.
In 2017, 19 A400M aircraft were delivered. In 2017, the Company
continued with development activities toward achieving therevised capability roadmap. Given the order of magnitude of the
cumulative programme loss, the Board of Directors mandated
the management in February 2017 to re-engage with customers
to cap the remaining exposure. The Company signed a
Declaration of Intent (“DOI”) with the A400M Launch Customer
Nations (Germany, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Turkey,
Belgium, Luxemburg) deﬁning the framework for achieving amutually binding contract amendment initially expected laterin the year. The Company, European defence agency OCCAR(who is managing the A400M programme on behalf of theseven Launch Customer Nations) and the Customer Nations
had agreed to work on a number of contractual elements
including a revamped delivery plan as well as a roadmap forthe development and completion of military capabilities for the
A400M. The DOI, ﬁnalised on 7 February 2018, represented
an important step towards reaching a contractually binding
agreement also mitigating the commercial exposure whilesatisfying customer needs with regard to capabilities andavailability of the aircraft. This DOI provided a new baselineon which to evaluate the A400M contract. A detailed reviewof the programme concluded in the fourth quarter of 2017
including an estimate of the ﬁ nancial impacts of the above
mentioned adaptations on schedule, capabilities and retroﬁt
resulted in an update of the loss-making contract provision of€ 1,299 million (reported) for the year 2017 (restated equivalentloss following the implementation of IFRS 15 was € 992 million
for the year 2017).
In 2018, 17 A400M aircraft were delivered. In 2018, the Company
worked together with OCCAR and concluded the negotiations
on a contract amendment. In the fourth quarter 2018, an
update of the contract estimate at completion triggered a net
additional charge of € 436 million. This reﬂected the outcomeof the negotiations, updated estimates on the export scenario
during the launch contract phase of the A400M programme
as well as applicable escalation and some cost increases. The
contract amendment was successfully completed in June 2019,
after each nation ﬁnalised their domestic approval processes.

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Airbus / Registration Document 2019

This new contract de-risked the programme and provided
the Company, OCCAR and customers greater visibility, which
supported future planning and preparedness. Yet, despite theprogress, the A400M programme was not entirely risk free.
Risks remained on development of technical capabilities andthe associated costs, on securing sufﬁcient export orders intime, on aircraft operational reliability in particular with regards
to engines, and on cost reductions as per the revised baseline.
In 2019, 14 A400M aircraft were delivered. In total, theCompany has delivered a total of 88 A400M aircraft as of
31 December 2019. On 13 June 2019, the Company concluded
together with OCCAR and the Nations the negotiations on a
global re-baselining of the programme. A contract amendment
has been signed by all parties, providing a revised aircraft
delivery schedule, an updated technical capability roadmap
and a revised retroﬁ t schedule. The Company continued
with development activities toward achieving the revised
capability roadmap. Important certiﬁcation milestones havebeen achieved in 2019, in particular on critical Paratrooper
Simultaneous Dispatch and Helicopter Air to Air refuellingcapabilities. Technical modiﬁ cations corresponding to the
New Standard Operating Clearance (NSOC2) contractual
standard have been certiﬁed and qualiﬁed. However NSOC2
Type Acceptance initially planned in 2019 is still pending due toongoing discussions on some operational limitations. Retroﬁt
activities are progressing in line with the customer agreed plan.
In the fourth quarter 2019, an update of the contract estimate
at completion has been performed and an additional chargeof € 1,212 million has been recorded. This reﬂects mainly the
updated estimates on the export scenario during the launch
contract phase based on a revision of the market perspectives
taking into account the current environment, including thesuspension of the export licenses by the German Government
and its consequences on potential prospects. It reﬂects as wellsome cost increases in particular for retroﬁt and an updated
view on applicable escalation. Risks remain on developmentof technical capabilities and the associated costs, on aircraft
operational reliability in particular with regard to powerplant,on cost reductions and on securing export orders in time as
per the revised baseline.
A320 programme. In 2017, a total of 181 A320neo Family
aircraft were delivered.
In 2018, A320neo Family deliveries increased to 386 aircraft
and represented over 60% of overall A320 Family deliveries
during 2018. The ﬁ rst long-range A321LR was delivered in
the fourth quarter.
In 2019, NEO aircraft deliveries rose by 43% year-on-year to551 aircraft. The ramp-up continued for the Airbus Cabin Flex(“ACF”) version of the A321 with almost 100 more deliveries
than in 2018. The Airbus teams are focused on securing theongoing ACF ramp-up and improving the industrial ﬂ ow.
Airbus is discussing further ramp-up potential for the A320
programme beyond rate 63 per month with the supply chain,
and already sees a clear path to further increase the monthly
production rate by 1 or 2 for each of the 2 years after 2021.
A330 programme. In 2017, 67 A330 were delivered. On the
A330neo, the ﬁrst ﬂight was completed in October 2017.
In 2018, 49 A330 were delivered. On the A330neo programme,
the first A330-900s were delivered and the A330-800
conducted its maiden ﬂight in the ﬁnal quarter of 2018.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

In 2019, 53 A330 were delivered. Given overall customer
demand for widebody aircraft, Airbus expects A330 deliveriesof approximately 40 aircraft per year beginning in 2020.
A220 programme. As of 1 July 2018, the A220 aircraft
programme was consolidated into Airbus. In 2018, theCompany delivered 20 A220s.
In 2019, A220 aircraft deliveries rose to 48 aircraft. Total
deliveries since inception of programme are now at 105 aircraft.
Our focus continues to be on cost reduction as well as growing
the backlog to support the ramp-up plan in Mirabel (Canada)
and Mobile (US) where we target our ﬁ rst delivery in 2020.
Order backlog stood at 495 aircraft as of 31 December 2019.

Estimate at Completion (“EAC”) was performed. As a resulta € 221 million impairment charge mainly on inventories on
top of a € 112 million ﬁ nancial expense related to hedge
ineffectiveness, have been recognised as of 30 September
2019. The Company is engaging with its customer to agree
a way forward on this contract. The outcome of thesenegotiations is presently unclear but could result in signiﬁcant
further ﬁ nancial impacts.

On 19 February 2020, Airbus Defence and Space announced
that it had entered the consultation process with the Company’s
European Works Council on its planned restructuring in thatsegment.

Brexit. In June 2018, the Company published its Brexit Risk
Assessment outlining its expectations regarding the material
consequences and risks for the Company arising from the UK
leaving the European Union without a deal (a “No deal Brexit”).
In September 2018, the Company launched a project tomitigate against the major disruptions Brexit could potentiallycause to the Company’s business and production activities.
To date, signiﬁ cant progress has been made in mitigating theidentiﬁed risks through for example the modiﬁcation of Airbus’
customs systems, and the stockpiling of parts associated withtransportation and logistics. The UK Government’s Withdrawal
Agreement was ratiﬁ ed and the UK left the European Union inan orderly manner on 31 January 2020, opening a transition
period until 31 December 2020. During this transition
period, the European Union and the UK are continuing tonegotiate their future long term relationship, including aroundalignment of the regulatory framework for aviation. Until weknow and understand the new EU/UK relationship, the riskof a No deal Brexit at the end of the transition period cannot
be excluded. Despite the actions the Company is taking
internally, the Company’s operations and supply chain may
still suffer from disruptions, the nature, materiality and durationof which is impossible to predict with any level of certainty.
Accordingly, the Company will continue to run its Brexit project
and associated crisis management plan, in order to further
eradicate and mitigate identiﬁ ed future risks.

Defence export ban. Due to the repeatedly prolonged
suspension of defence export licences to Saudi Arabia by
the German Government, and the consequential inabilityof the Company to execute a customer contract, a revised

Litigation. For information, see “— 1.1.7 Legal and Arbitration
Proceedings” and “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial
Statements – Note 24: Provisions, Contingent Assets andContingent Liabilities”.

Provisions. The Company makes estimates and provides,
across the programmes, for costs related to identiﬁed in service
technical issues for which solutions have been deﬁned, and forwhich the associated costs can be reliably estimated taking
into consideration the latest facts and circumstances. The
Company is contractually liable for the repair or replacementof the defective parts but not for any other damages whether
direct, indirect, incidental or consequential (including loss ofrevenue, proﬁt or use). However, in view of overall commercial
relationships, contract adjustments may occur, and must be
considered on a case by case basis.
Restructuring provisions. In 2019, a provision of € 103 million
related to restructuring measures at Premium AEROTEC has
been recorded following the announcement in December 2019
to the Works Council of the main features that will be carriedout to increase future competitiveness.

2

2.1.2 Signiﬁcant Accounting Considerations, Policies and Estimates
The Company’s significant accounting considerations,policies and estimates are described in the Notes to the IFRS
Consolidated Financial Statements. Please refer to the “Notes
to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements – Note 2:
Signiﬁcant Accounting Policies”, “– Note 3: Key Estimates andJudgements” and “– Note 4: Change in Accounting Policies
and Disclosures”.
On 1 January 2018, the Company implemented the newstandards IFRS 15 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”
and IFRS 9 “Financial Instruments”. As a result, the Company
changed its accounting policies for revenue recognition andfor the accounting of ﬁnancial instruments.
On 1 January 2019, the Company implemented the newstandard IFRS 16 “Leases” and the new interpretation IFRIC 23“Uncertainty over Income tax treatment”.

2.1.2.1 Scope of and Changes
in Consolidation
For further information on the scope of and changes in
consolidation as well as acquisitions and disposals of interests
in business, please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated
Financial Statements – Note 6: Scope of Consolidation” and“– Note 7: Acquisitions and Disposals”.

2.1.2.2 Capitalised Development Costs
Pursuant to the application of IAS 38 “Intangible Assets”,
the Company assesses whether product-related development
costs qualify for capitalisation as internally generated intangible
assets. Criteria for capitalisation are strictly applied. All researchand development costs not meeting the IAS 38 criteria are
expensed as incurred in the consolidated income statement.

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Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

Please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial
Statements — Note 2: Signiﬁ cant Accounting Policies —Research and development expenses” and “– Note 19:
Intangible Assets”.

2.1.2.3 Accounting for Hedged
Foreign Exchange Transactionsin the Financial Statements
More than 75% of the Company’s revenues are denominatedin US dollars, whereas a substantial portion of its costs isincurred in euros and, to a smaller extent, in pounds sterling.
The Company uses hedging strategies to manage and minimise
the impact of exchange rate ﬂuctuations on its proﬁts, including
foreign exchange derivative contracts, interest rate and equity
swaps and other non-derivative ﬁnancial assets or liabilities
denominated in a foreign currency.
For further information, see “— 2.1.7 Hedging Activities”,“Risk Factors — 1. Financial Market Risks — Foreign
Currency Exposure” and please refer to the “Notes to the
IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements – Note 2: SigniﬁcantAccounting Policies” and “– Note 37: Information about
Financial Instruments”.

2.1.2.4 Foreign Currency Translation
For information on transactions in currencies other than thefunctional currency of the Company and translation differences
for other assets and liabilities of the Company denominatedin foreign currencies, please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS
Consolidated Financial Statements — Note 2: Signiﬁ cantAccounting Policies — Transactions in Foreign Currency”.

Currency Translation Mismatch
Customer advances (and the corresponding revenues recorded
when sales recognition occurs) are translated at the exchange
rate prevailing on the date they are received (historical rates

of customer advances). US dollar-denominated costs areconverted at the exchange rate prevailing on the date they
are incurred (historical rates of US dollar-denominated costs).
To the extent those historical rates and the amounts received
and paid differ, there is a foreign currency exchange impact(mismatch) on EBIT. Additionally, the magnitude of any suchdifference, and the corresponding impact on EBIT, is sensitive
to variations in the number of deliveries and spot rate (€/US$).

2.1.2.5 Accounting for Sales Financing
Transactions in the Financial
Statements
The accounting treatment of sales ﬁ nancing transactions
varies based on the nature of the financing transaction
and the resulting exposure. Please refer to the “Notes tothe IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements – Note 21:
Other Investments and Other Long-Term Financial Assets”,“– Note 24: Provisions, Contingent Assets and Contingent
Liabilities” and “– Note 27: Sales Financing Transactions”.
For further information on the signiﬁcance of sales ﬁnancing
transactions for the Company, see “— 2.1.6.4 Sales Financing”.

2.1.2.6 Provisions for Onerous
Contracts
Provisions for onerous contracts are reviewed and reassessed
regularly. However, future changes in the assumptions used by
the Company or a change in the underlying circumstances maylead to a revaluation of past provisions for onerous contracts
and have a corresponding positive or negative effect on
the Company’s future ﬁnancial performance. Please refer tothe “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements— Note 2: Signiﬁcant Accounting Policies — Provisions for
Onerous Contracts” and “– Note 24: Provisions, Contingent
Assets and Contingent Liabilities”.

2.1.3 Performance Measures
2.1.3.1 Business Segments
Airbus(In € million)

2019

2018

2017(1)

Revenue

54,77547,97043,486

EBIT

2,205

4,295

2,257

4.0%

9.0%

5.2%

in % of revenue(1) 2017 figures are restated due to the application of IFRS 15.

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Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

Airbus Helicopters(In € million)

2019

2018

2017(1)

Revenue

6,007

5,934

6,335

414

366

247

6.9%

6.2%

3.9%

(In € million)

2019

2018

2017(1)

Revenue

10,907

11,063

10,596

EBIT
in % of revenue

2(1) 2017 figures are restated due to the application of IFRS 15.

Airbus Defence and Space

EBIT
in % of revenue

(881)

676

462

-

6.1%

4.4%

(1) 2017 figures are restated due to the application of IFRS 15.

2.1.3.2 Order Intake and Order Backlog
Year-end order backlog consists of contracts signed up to that
date. Only ﬁrm orders are included in calculating order backlog
for commercial aircraft and civil helicopters. A ﬁrm order isdeﬁned as one for which the Company receives a down payment
on a deﬁnitive contract. Defence-related orders are included in
the backlog upon enforcement of the signed contract (and thereceipt, in most cases, of an advanced payment). Commitments
under defence “umbrella” or “framework” agreements bygovernmental customers are not included in backlog until
the Company is ofﬁcially notiﬁed.
As of 31 December 2019 and 2018, the total order backlog andorder intake represent the aggregate amount of the net transaction
price allocated to the unsatisfied and partially unsatisfied
performance obligations to the Company’s customers. Backlog
commitments are relative to the Company’s enforceable contracts
with its customers where it is probable that the consideration
will be collected. The value of the order backlog is measuredin accordance with the revenue recognition standard (IFRS 15)
implemented as of 1 January 2018. The order intake value ismeasured consistently with IFRS 15. As a result, contractual
rebates, engine concessions and variable considerations aretaken into account for measurement. Contracts stipulated in acurrency different than the presentation currency are translated
to euro using the spot rate as of 31 December 2019 and 2018.
Adjustments to the value of the order backlog could result fromchanges in the transaction price. Options are not consideredin the valuation of order intake and order backlog. The orderbacklog will mainly be released into revenue over a period ofseven years.
Up until 1 January 2018, amounts of order backlog for commercial
aircraft contracts reﬂected in the table below were derived from
catalogue prices, escalated to the expected delivery date and, tothe extent applicable, converted into euro (at the corresponding
hedge rate for the hedged portion of expected cash ﬂows, and at
the period-end spot rate for the non-hedged portion of expectedcash ﬂows). The amount of defence-related order backlog wasequal to the contract values of the corresponding programmes.
The signiﬁcant reduction in order backlog value was mainly
due to the adjustment for net prices versus list prices. 2017
ﬁgures have not been restated for IFRS 15, as allowed by thestandard, and are based on catalogue prices for commercial
aircraft activities.

ORDER INTAKE
2019

2018
(1)

(In € billion) (In percentage)

2017
(1)

(In € billion) (In percentage)(In € billion) (In percentage)(1)

Airbus

65.8

80.7%

41.5

73.7%

143.4

90.3%

Airbus Helicopters

7.2

8.8%

6.3

11.3%

6.5

4.1%

Airbus Defence and Space

8.5

10.5%

8.4

15.0%

8.9

5.6%

Subtotal segmental order intake

81.5

100%

56.3

100%

158.8

100%

Transversal / Eliminations

(0.3)

(0.8)

(1.1)

Total

81.2

55.5

157.7

(1) Before “Transversal / Eliminations”.

Airbus / Registration Document 201985

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

ORDER BACKLOG
31 December
2019

2018

(In € billion) (In percentage)(1)2017(In € billion) (In percentage)(1)(In € billion) (In percentage)(1)

Airbus

424.1

89.7%

411.7

89.1%

950.4

95.1%

Airbus Helicopters

16.6

3.5%

14.9

3.2%

11.2

1.1%

Airbus Defence and Space

32.3

6.8%

35.3

7.7%

37.4

3.8%

Subtotal segmental order backlog

473.0

100%

461.9

100%

999.0

100%

Transversal / Eliminations

Total

(1.5)

(2.4)

(2.1)

471.5

459.5

996.8

(1) Before “Transversal / Eliminations”.

2019 compared to 2018. The € 12.0 billion increase in orderbacklog to € 471.5 billion (2018: € 459.5 billion) which represents
about 7 times our 2019 revenues, reﬂecting the strengtheningof the Company’s backlog.
Airbus’ backlog increased by € 12.4 billion to € 424.1 billion.
While the book to bill ratio in units was below 1 (calculatedusing units of new net orders, i.e. new net orders in units
divided by deliveries in units), the value of the backlog has
slightly increased year on year. Order intake consisted of
768 net orders in 2019 (as compared to 747 in 2018), driven
mainly by the A320 Family, which received 654 net ﬁrm orders(662 A320neo and -8 A320ceo) and included 63 A220s. Total
order backlog at Airbus amounted to 7,482 aircraft at the endof 2019 (as compared to 7,577 aircraft at the end of 2018).
Airbus Helicop ters’ backlog increased by € 1.7 billion to€ 16.6 billion and the book-to-bill ratio was above 1 in terms ofvalue, a good performance in a difﬁcult market environment.
Airbus Helicopters received 310 net orders in 2019 (as compared
to 381 in 2018). Total order backlog amounted to 695 helicoptersat the end of 2019 (as compared to 717 helicopters at the endof 2018).
Airbus Defence and Space’s backlog decreased by € -3.0 billion
to € 32.3 billion and the book-to-bill ratio in value amounted to
0.8 with new net orders of € 8.5 billion, supported by A400M
service contracts and key contract wins in Space.

2018 compared to 2017. Due to implementation of IFRS 15,
no comparison in terms of value was made between 2018 and2017. The decrease in the Company’s order backlog in terms ofvalue primarily reﬂected the change in measurement principles,
especially the use of contractual price versus catalogue price.
Airbus’ book-to-bill ratio amounted to 0.9 (calculated using
units of new net orders, i.e. new net orders in units divided bydeliveries in units). Order intake consisted of 747 net orders
in 2018 (as compared to 1,109 in 2017), driven mainly by theA320 Family, which received 541 net ﬁrm orders (531 A320neo
and 10 A320ceo) and included 135 A220s. Total order backlog
at Airbus amounted to 7,577 aircraft at the end of 2018 (ascompared to 7,265 aircraft at the end of 2017). Airbus’ backlog
included Airbus Canada (formerly CSALP). This represented arecord year-end level of backlog in units, showing the underlying
health of the market.
Airbus Helicopters’ book-to-bill ratio was above 1 in terms ofunits. Airbus Helicopters received 381 net orders in 2018 (ascompared to 335 in 2017). Total order backlog amounted to 717
helicopters at the end of 2018 (as compared to 692 helicoptersat the end of 2017).
Airbus Defence and Space’s book-to-bill ratio amounted to ~0.8
with new net orders of € 8.4 billion, supported by key contract
wins including the Euroﬁghter contract with Qatar, 4 A330 MRTT
Tankers and 2 new generation telecommunication satellites.

The following table illustrates the proportion of civil and defence backlog at the end of each of the past three years.
31 December
2019(In € billion)(1)2017(In percentage) (In € billion)(1)(In percentage)

Civil sector

433.4

92%

420.2

91%

959.9

96%

Defence sector

38.1

8%

39.3

9%

36.9

4%

471.5

100%

459.5

100%

996.8

100%

Total
(1) Including “Transversal / Eliminations”.

86

2018

(In percentage) (In € billion)(1)

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

2.1.3.3 EBIT Adjusted
The Company uses an alternative performance measure EBIT Adjusted as a key indicator capturing the underlying businessmargin by excluding material charges or proﬁts caused by movements in provisions related to programmes, restructurings or foreignexchange impacts as well as capital gains/losses from the disposal and acquisition of businesses.

2

The following table reconciles the Company’s EBIT with its EBIT Adjusted.
(In € million)

2019

2018

2017(1)

EBIT

1,339

5,048

2,665

PDP mismatch / BS revaluation

170

(129)

7

A380 programme

202

463

0

A400M charge

1,212

436

992

Penalties

3,598

0

0

Compliance costs

206

123

117

M&A impact(2)

(111)

(188)

(591)

Defence export ban

221

0

0

Restructuring / Transformation

103

8

0

6

73

0

6,946

5,834

3,190

Other costs

EBIT Adjusted(1) 2017 figures are restated due to the application of IFRS 15.
(2) Including net capital gains from PFW Aerospace GmbH (€ -57 million) and Alestis Aerospace SL (€ -45 million) in 2019, Plant Holdings, Inc (€ -159 million) in 2018 and DefenceElectronics (€ -604 million) in 2017.

2.1.3.4 EBIT Adjusted by Business Segment(In € million)

2019

2018

2017(1)

Airbus

6,358

4,808

2,383

422

380

247

Airbus Helicopters
Airbus Defence and Space
Total business segment EBIT Adjusted

565

935

815

7,345

6,123

3,445

Transversal / Eliminations

(399)

(289)

(255)

Total

6,946

5,834

3,190

(In € million)

2019

2018

2017(1)

Airbus

2,205

4,295

2,257

414

366

247

(1) 2017 figures are restated due to the application of IFRS 15.

2.1.3.5 EBIT by Business Segment

Airbus Helicopters
Airbus Defence and Space

(881)

676

462

Total business segment EBIT

1,738

5,337

2,966

Transversal / Eliminations

(399)

(289)

(301)

Total

1,339

5,048

2,665

(1) 2017 figures are restated due to the application of IFRS 15.

Airbus / Registration Document 201987

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

2019 compared to 2018. The Company’s consolidated EBIT
decreased by 73.5%, from € 5.0 billion for 2018 to € 1.3 billion for2019. The decrease reﬂects the strong operational performanceat Airbus, driven by higher deliveries and favourable mix,
overcompensated by the compliance penalties, the A400M
charge recognised in the period and the lower performance at
Airbus Defence and Space.
Airbus’ EBIT decreased from € 4.3 billion for 2018 to € 2.2 billion
for 2019, negatively impacted by the recognition of penalties
for agreements with authorities of € 3.6 billion and € 206 million
related to compliance costs. This partially offset the recorddeliveries and operational performance, largely driven by theA320 ramp-up and progress on the A350. It also included thegain from disposals of PFW Aerospace GmbH of € 57 millionand Alestis Aerospace S.L. of € 45 million.
Airbus Helicopters’ EBIT increased from € 366 million for 2018
to € 414 million for 2019, reﬂecting a higher contribution fromservices and lower research and development costs, partiallyreduced by less favourable delivery mix.
Airbus Defence and Space’s EBIT decreased from € 676 million
for 2018 to € -881 million for 2019, mainly due to the recognition of
the A400M programme charge of € 1.2 billion and the € 221 million
suspension of defence export licences to Saudi Arabia by theGerman government. EBIT deterioration also reﬂects the lower
performance in Space and efforts to support sales campaigns.
Airbus Defence and Space’s EBIT in 2018 also included theimpact of disposals, mainly the gain from the Plant Holdings,
Inc. of € 159 million.
2018 compared to 2017. 2018 financials reflected strong
operational performance and programme execution, evidenced
in record deliveries at Airbus and higher revenues at Airbus
Defence and Space. The Company’s consolidated EBIT
increased by 89.4%, from € 2.7 billion for 2017 (restated) to€ 5.0 billion for 2018.
Airbus’ EBIT increased from € 2.3 billion for 2017 (restated)to € 4.3 billion for 2018 reflecting the strong operational
performance and record deliveries. A net charge of € 463 million
was recorded related to the A380 programme for the period
ended at 31 December 2018. Airbus’ EBIT in 2018 also included
a negative impact of € 123 million related to compliance costs.

88

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Airbus Helicopters’ EBIT increased from € 247 million for 2017
(restated) to € 366 million for 2018, reﬂecting higher Super Puma
deliveries, a favourable mix and solid underlying programme
execution.
Airbus Defence and Space’s EBIT increased from € 462 million for2017 (restated) to € 676 million for 2018, reﬂecting continued solid
programme execution and contributions from its joint ventures
MBDA and ArianeGroup. In 2018, it also included the impact
of disposals, mainly the gain from the Plant Holdings, Inc. of€ 159 million. A net charge of € 436 million was recorded related
to the A400M programme for the period ended 31 December
2018 (2017 (restated): € 992 million).
Foreign currency impact on EBIT. More than 75% of
the Company’s revenues are denominated in US dollars,
whereas a substantial portion of its costs is incurred in euros and,to a lesser extent, pounds sterling. Given the long-term natureof its business cycles (evidenced by its multi-year backlog),
the Company hedges a signiﬁcant portion of its net foreignexchange exposure to mitigate the impact of exchange rate
ﬂuctuations on its EBIT. Please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS
Consolidated Financial Statements – Note 37: Information about
Financial Instruments” and see “— Risk Factors — 1. Financial
Market Risks — Foreign Currency Exposure” and “— 2.1.2.4
Foreign Currency Translation”. In addition to the impact that
hedging activities have on the Company’s EBIT, the latter isalso affected by the impact of revaluation of certain assets andliabilities at the closing rate and the impact of natural hedging.
During 2019, cash flow hedges covering approximately
US$ 24.0 billion of the Company’s US dollar-denominated net
exposure matured. In 2019, the compounded exchange rate at
which hedged US dollar-denominated revenues were accounted
for was €/US$ 1.24, as compared to €/US$ 1.24 in 2018.
During 2018, cash flow hedges covering approximately
US$ 25.4 billion of the Company’s US dollar-denominated net
exposure matured. In 2018, the compounded exchange rate at
which hedged US dollar-denominated revenues were accounted
for was €/US$ 1.24, as compared to €/US$ 1.29 in 2017.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

2.1.4 Results of Operations
The following table summarises the IFRS Company’s Consolidated Income Statements for the past three years:(In € million)

2019

2018

2

2017(1)

Revenue

70,47863,70759,022

Cost of sales(59,973)(54,920)(52,149)

Gross margin

10,505

8,787

6,873

Selling and administrative expenses(6,125)(2,435)(2,439)Research and development expenses(3,358)(3,217)(2,807)

Other income

370

1,656

981

Other expenses

(356)

(182)

(336)

Share of profit from investments accounted for under the equity
method and other income from investments

303

439

393

Profit before finance costs and income taxes

1,339

5,048

2,665

Interest result

(111)

(232)

(328)

Other financial result

(164)

(531)

1,489

Income taxes(2,389)(1,274)(1,462)(Loss) Profit for the period(1,325)

3,011

2,364

(1,362)

3,054

2,361

37

(43)

3

Attributable toEquity owners of the parent (Net income)Non-controlling interests

Earnings per share

€

€

€

Basic

(1.75)

3.94

3.05

Diluted(1.75)

3.92

3.04(1) 2017 figures are restated due to the application of IFRS 15.

2.1.4.1 Revenues
The following table presents a breakdown of the Company’s revenues by business segment for the past three years:(In € million)

2019

2018

2017(1)

Airbus54,77547,97043,486

Airbus Helicopters

6,007

5,934

6,335

Airbus Defence and Space

10,907

11,063

10,596

Subtotal segmental revenue

71,68964,96760,417

Transversal / Eliminations(1,211)(1,260)(1,395)

Total

70,47863,70759,022(1) 2017 figures are restated due to the application of IFRS 15.

For 2019, revenues increased by 10.6%, from € 63.7 billion for2018 to € 70.5 billion for 2019, reﬂecting higher commercial
aircraft deliveries and a favourable mix at Airbus.

For 2018, revenues increased by 7.9%, from € 59.0 billion for 2017
(restated) to € 63.7 billion for 2018, reﬂecting record commercial
aircraft deliveries at Airbus, and supported by Space Systems
and Military Aircraft activities at Airbus Defence and Space, partly
offset by the perimeter change in Airbus Helicopters resulting
from the disposal of Vector Aerospace.

Airbus / Registration Document 201989

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

REVENUE BY GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS
2019

2017(1)

2018(2)(In € billion) (In percentage)(2)(In € billion) (In percentage)

Asia / Pacific

22.6

32.1%

23.3

36.6%

Europe

22.6

32.1%

17.8

North America

12.0

17.0%

11.1

Other countries

(3)

Total

(In € billion) (In percentage)(2)

21.3

36.1%

27.9%

15.8

26.8%

17.4%

10.8

18.3%

13.3

18.8%

11.5

18.1%

11.1

18.8%

70.5

100%

63.7

100%

59.0

100%

(1) 2017 figures are restated due to the application of IFRS 15.
(2) Percentage of total revenue after eliminations.
(3) Including the Middle East.

Airbus
The following table presents a breakdown of deliveries of commercial aircraft by product type for the past three years.
(In units)

2019

2018

2017

(1)

48

20

-

A320 Family

642

626

558

A330

53

49

67

A350 XWB

78

A220

112

93

A380

8

12

15

Total

863

800

718

(1) A220 consolidated into Airbus as of 1 July 2018.

Airbus’ revenues increased by 14.2%, from € 48.0 billion for2018 to € 54.8 billion for 2019. This was due to record deliveriesof 863 aircraft (compared to 800 deliveries in 2018) including
112 A350 XWBs and 48 A220s.

For 2018, Airbus’ revenues increased by 10.3%, from € 43.5 billion
for 2017 (restated) to € 48.0 billion for 2018. This was due torecord deliveries of 800 aircraft (compared to 718 deliveries in2017) including 93 A350 XWBs and 20 A220s supported bysolid operational performance.

Airbus Helicopters
The following table presents a breakdown of deliveries of helicopters by product type for the past three years.
(In units)

2018

2017

Light

159

156

166

Medium

122

137

178

Heavy

47

54

48
40

32

36

Tiger

4

9

17

Total

332

356

409

thereof NH90

Airbus Helicopters’ revenues amounted to € 6.0 billion in 2019(2018: € 5.9 billion). This stability was supported by growth inservices, which offset lower deliveries of 332 units (2018: 356
units).

90

2019

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

For 2018, Airbus Helicopters’ revenues decreased by 6.3%, from€ 6.3 billion for 2017 (restated) to € 5.9 billion in 2018. Revenues
on a comparable perimeter were stable, despite lower deliveriesof 356 units (2017: 409 units). The perimeter reduction following
the disposal of Vector Aerospace had a negative impact ofapproximately € -0.5 billion.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

Airbus Defence and Space
The following table presents a breakdown of deliveries of Airbus Defence and Space by product type for the past three years.
(In units)

2019

2018

2017

A400M

14

17

19

A330 MRTT (Tanker)

7

6

1

Light & Medium aircraft

8

6

7

Telecom satellites

2

2

4

Total

31

31

31

Airbus Defence and Space’s revenues of € 10.9 billion in 2019(2018: € 11.1 billion) remained broadly stable compared to theprevious year.

2.1.4.5 Other Income
and Other Expenses

For 2018, Airbus Defence and Space’s revenues increased by
4.4% from € 10.6 billion for 2017 (restated) to € 11.1 billion in 2018,
supported by Space Systems and Military Aircraft activities.

Other income and other expenses typically include gains andlosses on disposals of investments, of ﬁxed assets and income
from rental properties.

2.1.4.2 Cost of Sales
Cost of sales increased by 9.2% from € 54.9 billion for 2018
to € 60.0 billion for 2019. This was principally due to higherdeliveries and provisions recognised on the A400M programmeof € 1.2 billion.
For 2018, cost of sales increased by 5.3% from € 52.1 billion
for 2017 (restated) to € 54.9 billion for 2018. The increase wasprincipally due to impairments and provisions recognised on the
A380 programme of € 1,257 million. It also included a positive
impact from a lower net charge related to the A400M programmein the amount of € 436 million (2017 (restated): € 992 million) at
Airbus Defence and Space.

2.1.4.3 Selling and Administrative
Expenses

For 2019, other income and other expenses was € 14 million
net as compared to € 1,474 million net for 2018. The decreaseis mainly related to the release of liabilities on the A380
programme in 2018, partly compensated by the capital gains
from the sale of PFW Aerospace GmbH and Alestis Aerospace
S.L in 2019.
For 2018, other income and other expenses was € 1,474 million
net as compared to € 6 45 million net for 2017. In 2018, theincrease is mainly related to the release of liabilities on the A380
programme and the gain of € 159 million following the disposalof Plant Holdings, Inc.

2.1.4.6 Share of Profit from Investments
Accounted for under the Equity
Method and Other Income
from Investments

For 2018, selling and administrative expenses remained stableversus 2017 at € 2.4 billion.

Share of proﬁt from investments accounted for under the equity
method and other income from investments principally include
results from companies accounted for under the equity method
and the dividends attributable to unconsolidated investments.
Please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial
Statements – Note 8: Investments Accounted for under the
Equity Method” and “– Note 14: Share of Proﬁt from Investments
Accounted for under the Equity Method and Other Income from
Investments”.

2.1.4.4 Research and Development
Expenses

For 2019, the Company recorded € 303 million in share of proﬁt
from investments accounted for under the equity method andother income from investments as compared to € 439 million
for 2018.

For 2019, selling and administrative expenses increased from€ 2.4 billion for 2018 to € 6.1 billion for 2019. This was driven
by the € 3.6 billion penalties recognised as a consequence of
the ﬁnal agreements reached with the French Parquet National
Financier (“PNF”), the U.K. Serious Fraud Ofﬁce (“SFO”) and the
U.S. Department of State (“DoS”).

Research and development expenses increased by 4.4%, from€ 3.2 billion for 2018 to € 3.4 billion for 2019, particularly related
to the DDMS project ramp-up and A350 XWB p rogramme.
In addition, an amount of € 133 million of development costs
has been capitalised, mainly linked to Airbus programmes.
See“— 2.1.2.2 Capitalised Development Costs”.

2

For 2018, the Company recorded € 439 million in share of proﬁt
from investments accounted for under the equity method andother income from investments as compared to € 393 million
for 2017 (restated).

For 2018, research and development expenses increased by
14.6%, from € 2.8 billion for 2017 to € 3.2 billion for 2018, mainly
reﬂecting development cost on the A320neo. In addition, anamount of € 91 million of development costs were capitalised,
mainly relating to Airbus Helicopters programmes.

Airbus / Registration Document 201991

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

2.1.4.7 Interest Result

2.1.4.9 Income Tax

Interest result reﬂects the net of interest income and expense
arising from ﬁnancial assets and liabilities, including the interest
expense on refundable advances provided by European
governments to ﬁnance R&D activities. Please refer to the “Notes
to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements – Note 16: Total
Financial Result”.

For 2019, income tax expense was € -2,389 million as comparedto € -1,274 million for 2018. The increase, despite the lower income
before tax recorded in 2019 (€ 1,064 million) as compared to 2018(€ 4,285 million), was mainly driven by the non-deductibility ofthe penalties, deferred tax impairments and tax risk updates,
partially offset by the sales of PFW Aerospace GmbH and Alestis
Aerospace S.L at a reduced tax rate. Please refer to the “Notes
to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements – Note 17: IncomeTax”.

For 2019, the Company recorded a net interest expense of€ -111 million, as compared to € -232 million for 2018. The
decre ase in net interest expense was principally due to acontinued lower interest expense relating to the European
governments’ refundable advances.
For 2018, the Company recorded a net interest expenseof € -232 million, as compared to € -328 million for 2017.
The decrease in net interest expense was principally due tolower interest expense related to the European governments’refundable advances.

2.1.4.8 Other Financial Result
Other ﬁnancial result includes the impact from the revaluationof ﬁnancial instruments, the effect of foreign exchange valuationof monetary items and the unwinding of discounted provisions.
Please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial
Statements – Note 2: Signiﬁcant Accounting Policies” and “–
Note 16: Total Financial Result” and “– Note 25: Other Financial
Assets and Other Financial Liabilities”.
Other ﬁnancial result increased from € -531 million for 2018 to€ -164 million for 2019. This is mainly due to a positive impact
from the revaluation of ﬁnancial instruments of € +408 million
and foreign exchange valuation of monetary items of€ +169 million. The ﬁ nancial result includes € -112 million on
hedge ineffectiveness relating to the defence export licences to
Saudi Arabia. In 2018, it included an impact due to the European
governments’ refundable advances revaluation related to the
update of the A380 programme.
For 2018, other ﬁnancial result decreased from € 1,489 million
for 2017 (restated) to € -531 million for 2018. This is due to anegative impact from the revaluation of ﬁnancial instrumentsof € -732 million and foreign exchange valuation of monetary
items, partly compensated by the net effect of the changeof treatment of certain ﬁ nancial instruments under IFRS 9.
In addition, in 2017 it included the impact of the refundable
advances release.

Profit for the period attributable to equity owners of the parent(Net income)Weighted average number of ordinary shares

Basic earnings per share

For 2018, income tax expense was € -1,274 million as comparedto € -1,462 million for 2017 (restated). The decrease, despite thehigher income before tax recorded in 2018 (€ 4,285 million) as
compared to 2017 (€ 3,826 million, restated), was mainly driven
by a lesser volume of deferred tax asset impairment than in
2017. The effective tax rate was 30% in 2018, mainly impacted
by non-realised tax losses in the period leading to additional
deferred tax asset impairment. This was partially offset by thetax-free sale of Plant Holdings Inc. Without these impacts, theeffective tax rate would be approximately 26%.

2.1.4.10 Non-Controlling Interests
For 2019, proﬁt for the period attributable to non-controllinginterests was € 37 million, as compared to € -43 million for 2018.

2.1.4.11 Profit for the Period Attributable
to Equity Owners of the Parent(Net Income)As a result of the factors discussed above, the Company
recorded a net loss of € -1,362 million for 2019, as compared to
the net income of € 3,054 million for 2018.

2.1.4.12 Earnings per Share
Basic earnings were € -1.75 per share in 2019, as compared to€ 3.94 per share in 2018. The denominator used to calculateearnings per share was 777,039,858 shares (2018: 775,167,941),
reﬂecting the weighted average number of shares outstanding
during the year. In 2017, the Company reported basic earningsof € 3.05 per share (restated), based on a denominator of
773,772,702 shares.

2019

2018

2017(1)€ (1,362) million€ 3,054 million€ 2,361 million

777,039,858

775,167,941

773,772,702€ (1.75)€ 3.94€ 3.05(1) 2017 figures are restated due to the application of IFRS 15.

Diluted earnings were € -1.75 per share in 2019, as comparedto € 3.92 per share in 2018. The denominator used to calculate
diluted earnings per share was 777,039,858 (2018: 780,943,038),
reﬂecting the weighted average number of shares outstanding
during the year, adjusted to assume the conversion of all

92

Airbus / Registration Document 2019potential ordinary shares. In 2017, the Company reported diluted
earnings of € 3.04 per share (restated), based on a denominatorof 779,301,228 shares. As there is a loss in 2019, the effect ofpotentially dilutive ordinary shares is anti-dilutive.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

Profit for the period attributable to equity owners of the parent(Net income), adjusted for diluted calculation
Weighted average number of ordinary shares (diluted)

2019

2018

2017(1)€ (1,362) million€ 3,061 million€ 2,368 million

777,039,858

780,943,038

779,301,228€ (1.75)€ 3.92€ 3.04

Diluted earnings per share2(1) 2017 figures are restated due to the application of IFRS 15.

For further information, please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements – Note 18: Earnings per Share”.

2.1.5 Changes in Total Equity (Including Non-Controlling Interests)
The following table sets forth a summary of the changes in total equity for the period 1 January 2019 through 31 December 2019.
(In € million)

Balance at 31 December 2018, as reported
Restatements

9,719

(1)

(122)

Balance at 1 January 2019, restated(1)9,597Loss for the period(1,325)

Other comprehensive income(3,021)

thereof foreign currency translation adjustments

50

Capital increase

621

Cash distribution to shareholders / Dividends paid to non-controlling interests(1,280)Equity transactions (IAS 27)

1,353

Share-based payment (IFRS 2)

76

Change in treasury shares(31)

Balance at 31 December 2019

5,990

(1) Opening balance figures are restated due to the application of IFRIC 23.

The number of shares issued as of 31 December 2019 was 783,173,115. Please refer to the “Airbus SE IFRS Consolidated Financial
Statements — IFRS Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity for the years ended 31 December 2019 and 2018” and to the“Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements – Note 34: Total Equity”.

2.1.5.1 Cash Flow Hedge Related Impact
on AOCImeasurement of the fair values of ﬁnancial instruments, pleaserefer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements– Note 37: Information about Financial Instruments”.

As of 31 December 2019, the notional amount of the Company’s
portfolio of outstanding cash fl ow hedges amounted to
US$ 97.1 billion, hedged against the euro and the pound sterling.
The year-end mark to market valuation of this portfolio required
under IFRS 9 (2017 under IAS 39) resulted in a negative pre-tax
accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) valuation
change of € -1.4 billion as of 31 December 2019 compared to
31 December 2018, based on a closing rate of €/US$ 1.12 ascompared to a pre-tax AOCI valuation change of € -3.0 billion asof 31 December 2018 compared to 31 December 2017, basedon a closing rate of €/US$ 1.15. For further information on the

Positive pre-tax mark to market values of cash ﬂow hedges
are included in other ﬁnancial assets, while negative pre-tax
mark to market values of cash ﬂow hedges are included inother ﬁnancial liabilities. Year-to-year changes in the mark tomarket value of effective cash ﬂow hedges are recognised as
adjustments to AOCI. These adjustments to AOCI are net ofcorresponding changes to deferred tax assets (for cash ﬂow
hedges with negative mark to market valuations) and deferred
tax liabilities (for cash ﬂow hedges with positive mark to market
valuations).

Airbus / Registration Document 201993

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

The following graphic presents the cash ﬂow hedge related movements in AOCI over the past three years. The mark to market ofthe backlog is not reﬂected in the accounts whereas the mark to market of the hedge book is reﬂected in AOCI.
CASH FLOW HEDGE RELATED MOVEMENTS IN AOCI IN € MILLION (BASED ON YEAR-END EXCHANGE RATES) (1)836
OCI Net Asset-1,932-3,360-238
Net Deferred Taxes

445
830

598
Net Equity OCI-1,487-2,53031 December 2017: US$ 1.20

31 December 2018: US$ 1.15

31 December 2019: US$ 1.12

(1) Cash ﬂow hedge in AOCI in total equity (including non-controlling interests).

As a result of the negative change in the fair market valuation of the cash ﬂow hedge portfolio in 2019, AOCI amounted to a net
liability of € -3.4 billion for 2019, as compared to a net liability of € -1.9 billion for 2018. The corresponding € +0.4 billion tax effectled to a net deferred tax asset of € 0.8 billion as of 31 December 2019 as compared to a net deferred tax asset of € 0.4 billion asof 31 December 2018.
For further information, please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements — Note 37.5: Information about
Financial Instruments — Derivative Financial Instruments and Hedge Accounting Disclosure”.

2.1.5.2 Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment Impact on AOCIThe € 50 million currency translation adjustment related impact on AOCI in 2019 mainly reﬂects the effect of the variations of the
US dollar and the pound sterling.

2.1.6 Liquidity and Capital Resources
The Company’s objective is to generate sufﬁcient operating
cash ﬂow in order to invest in its growth and future expansion,
honour the Company’s dividend policy and maintain ﬁnancial
ﬂexibility while retaining its credit rating and competitive accessto capital markets.
The Company deﬁnes its consolidated net cash position as thesum of (i) cash and cash equivalents and (ii) securities, minus(iii) ﬁ nancing liabilities (all as recorded in the Consolidated
Statements of Financial Position). Net cash position is analternative performance measure and an indicator that allows
the Company to measure its ability to generate sufﬁcient liquidity
to invest in its growth and future expansion, honour its dividend
policy and maintain ﬁnancial ﬂexibility. The net cash position
as of 31 December 2019 was € 12.5 billion (€ 13.3 billion asof 31 December 2018 before the initial application impact of
IFRS 16).

94

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

The liquidity is further supported by a € 3.0 billion syndicatedback-up facility, undrawn as of 31 December 2019 with noﬁnancial covenants, as well as a € 5.0 billion Euro Medium Term
Note programme, a € 3.0 billion Negotiable Euro Commercial
Paper programme and a $ 3.0 billion US commercial paper
programme. See “— 2.1.6.3 Consolidated Financing Liabilities”
and please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated
Financial Statements — Note 37.1: Information about Financial
Instruments — Financing Risk Management”. The factors
affecting the Company’s cash position, and consequently its
liquidity risk, are discussed below.
For information on Airbus SE’s credit ratings, please refer to the“Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements – Note 35:
Capital Management”.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

2.1.6.1 Cash Flows
The Company generally ﬁnances its manufacturing activities and product development programmes, and in particular the developmentof new commercial aircraft, through a combination of ﬂows generated by operating activities, customer advances, risk-sharing
partnerships with subcontractors and European governments’ refundable advances. In addition, the Company’s military activities
beneﬁt from government-ﬁnanced research and development contracts. If necessary, the Company may raise funds in the capital
markets.

2

The following table sets forth the variation of the Company’s consolidated net cash position over the periods indicated.
2019

2018

2017

Net Cash position at 1 January

13,281

13,391

11,113

Initial application impact of IFRS 16(1,352)

0

0

(1)

3,391

5,515

4,451

Changes in other operating assets and liabilities (working capital)(2)

2,176

(633)

266

58

79

(100)

(In € million)

Gross cash flow from operations

thereof customer financing
Cash used for investing activities(3)thereof industrial capital expenditures
Free Cash Flow(4)thereof M&A transactions(5)

Free Cash Flow before M&A

Cash flow from customer financing (net)(2,092)(1,377)(982)(2,340)(2,285)(2,558)

3,475

3,505

3,735

(92)

514

886

3,567

2,991

2,849

58

79

(100)

Free Cash Flow before customer financing

3,417

3,426

3,835

Free Cash Flow before M&A and customer financing

3,509

2,912

2,949

Cash distribution to shareholders / non-controlling interests(1,280)(1,161)(1,046)

Contribution to plan assets of pension schemes(1,752)(2,519)(458)

Changes in capital and non-controlling interests

194

117

83

Change in treasury shares / share buyback

(31)

(49)

0

OthersNet Cash position at 31 December

(1)

(3)

(36)

12,534

13,281

13,391(1) Represents cash provided by operating activities, excluding (i) changes in other operating assets and liabilities (working capital), (ii) contribution to plan assets of pension
schemes and (iii) realised foreign exchange results on treasury swaps (€ 102 million in 2019, € -45 million in 2018, € 185 million in 2017). It is an alternative performance measure
and an indicator used to measure its operating cash performance before changes in other operating assets and liabilities (working capital).
(2) Excluding reclassification of certain trade liabilities and some perimeter change impacts from changes in consolidation.
(3) Does not reflect change in securities (net investment of € -397 million in 2019, net investment of € -93 million in 2018, net investment of € -1,233 million in 2017), which areclassified as cash and not as investments solely for the purposes of this net cash presentation. Excluding bank activities.
(4) Does not reflect change of securities, change in cash from changes in consolidation, contribution to plan assets of pension schemes and realised foreign exchange results ontreasury swaps. Excluding bank activities. Free Cash Flow is an alternative performance measure and indicator that reflects the amount of cash flow generated from operations
after cash used in investing activities.
(5) Free Cash Flow before M&A refers to Free Cash Flow adjusted for net proceeds from disposals and acquisitions. It is an alternative performance measure and indicator thatreflects Free Cash Flow excluding those cash flows from the disposal and acquisition of businesses.

The net cash position as of 31 December 2019 was € 12.5 billion,
a 5.6% decrease from 31 December 2018. Please see further
details below.

Gross Cash Flow from Operations
Gross cash ﬂow from operations is an alternative performancemeasure and an indicator used by the Company to measure its
operating cash performance before changes in working capital.
Gross cash ﬂow from operations decreased to € 3.4 billion for
2019, which reﬂects the EBIT Adjusted, record deliveries andthe impact of the recognition of compliance related penalties
amounting to € -3.6 billion. The negative impact from recognisingthese penalties was neutralised by a corresponding increase incurrent liabilities included in changes in other operating assets
and liabilities (working capital).

Changes in Other Operating Assets
and Liabilities (Working Capital)
Changes in other operating assets and liabilities (working capital),
is comprised of inventories, trade receivables, contract assets
and contract liabilities (including customer advances), tradeliabilities, and other assets and other liabilities and others. They
resulted in a positive working capital variation of € 2.2 billion for
2019, versus a negative impact of € -0.6 billion for 2018.
In 2019, the positive working capital variation reﬂects the change
in other assets and liabilities and others (€ +3.1 billion), mainly
due to the positive impact of the recognition of penalties (see“Gross Cash Flow from Operations” above), the change incontract assets and contract liabilities (€ +2.0 billion), the change
in trade receivables (€ +0.9 billion), and the change in inventories(€ +0.8 billion). This was partially compensated by the decreasein trade liabilities (€ -3.9 billion).

Airbus / Registration Document 201995

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

European governments’ refundable advances. As of
31 December 2019, total European governments’ refundable
advances liabilities, recorded on the statement of ﬁ nancial
position in the line items “non-current other ﬁnancial liabilities”
and “current other ﬁnancial liabilities” due to their speciﬁc nature,amounted to € 4.3 billion, including accrued interest.
European governments’ refundable advances (net ofreimbursements) decreased in 2019, primarily related to thepayments made on the A380 programme. Please refer to the“Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements – Note 11:
Revenue and Gross Margin” and “– Note 25: Other Financial
Assets and Other Financial Liabilities”.

Cash Used for Investing Activities
Management categorises cash used for investing activities into
three components: (i) industrial capital expenditure, (ii) M&A
transactions and (iii) others. Cash used for investing activities
amounted to € -2.1 billion for 2019, € -1.4 billion for 2018 and€ -1.0 billion for 2017.
Capital expenditure. Capital expenditure (investments
in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets)
amounted to € -2.3 billion for 2019, € -2.3 billion for 2018 and€ -2.6 billion for 2017. This stabilisation of capital expenditure in2019 demonstrates the Company’s sound approach to capital
allocation and supports the current production rates. In 2018,
it related to Airbus programmes of € -1.6 billion (mainly for the
Beluga XL, and the ramp-up phase of the A320 Family andthe A350 XWB) and additional projects in the other businesssegments of € -0.7 billion. Capital expenditure includes productrelated development costs that are capitalised in accordancewith IAS 38. See “— 2.1.2.2 Capitalised development costs”.
M&A transactions. In 2019, the € -0.1 billion ﬁgure includes net
proceeds from the funding of OneWeb Communications and thedisposals of PFW Aerospace GmbH and Alestis Aerospace S.L.
Please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial
Statements – Note 7: Acquisitions and Disposals”.
In 2018, the € 0.5 billion ﬁgure includes net proceeds from thedisposal of Plant Holdings, Inc. and Compañía Española deSistemas Aeronáuticos, S.A. (“CESA”).

Free Cash Flow
The Company deﬁnes Free Cash Flow as the sum of (i) cash
provided by operating activities and (ii) cash used for investing
activities, minus (iii) change of securities, (iv) contribution toplan assets of pension schemes, (v) realised foreign exchange
results on treasury swaps and (vi) Airbus Bank activities. It isan alternative performance measure and key indicator that is
important in order to measure the amount of cash ﬂow generated
from operations after cash used in investing activities. As a resultof the factors discussed above, Free Cash Flow amounted to€ 3.5 billion for 2019 as compared to € 3.5 billion for 2018 and€ 3.7 billion for 2017.

Free Cash Flow before M&AFree Cash Flow before mergers and acquisitions refers toFree Cash Flow adjusted for net proceeds from disposals andacquisitions. It is an alternative performance measure and key
indicator that reﬂects Free Cash Flow excluding those cash ﬂows
resulting from acquisitions and disposals of businesses.

96

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Free Cash Flow before M&A and Customer
Financing
Free Cash Flow before M&A and customer ﬁnancing refers
to Free Cash Flow before mergers and acquisitions adjusted
for cash ﬂ ow related to aircraft ﬁ nancing activities. It is analternative performance measure and indicator that may be
used occasionally by the Company in its ﬁnancial guidance,
especially when there is higher uncertainty around customer
ﬁnancing activities.

Cash Distribution to Shareholders /Non-Controlling Interests
Cash distribution to shareholders / non-controlling interests
amounted to € -1.3 billion in 2019, € -1.2 billion in 2018, € -1.0 billion
in 2017.

Contribution to Plan Assets of Pension
Schemes
The cash outﬂows of € -1.8 billion, € -2.5 billion and € -0.5 billion
in 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively, primarily relate to acontribution to the Contractual Trust Arrangement (“CTA”) for
allocating and generating pension plan assets in accordancewith IAS 19, as well as to plan assets in the UK and to German
beneﬁt funds. Please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated
Financial Statements — Note 31.1: Post-employment Beneﬁts— Provisions for Retirement Plans” and “— Note 31.2 Provisions
for Deferred Compensation”.

Change in Treasury Shares
Change in treasury shares for 2019 amounted to € -31 million.
Change in treasury shares for 2018 amounted to € -49 million. In
2017 there was no change in treasury shares. As of 31 December
2019 and 2018, the Company held 862,610 and 636,924 treasury
shares, respectively.

2.1.6.2 Cash and Cash Equivalents
and Securities
The cash and cash equivalents and securities portfolio of
the Company is invested mainly in non-speculative ﬁnancial
instruments, mostly highly liquid, such as certiﬁcates of deposit,
overnight deposits, commercial papers, other money market
instruments and bonds. Please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS
Consolidated Financial Statements — Note 37.1: Information
about Financial Instruments — Financial Risk Management”.
The Company has a partially automated cross-border anddomestic cash pooling system in all countries with majorgroup presence and whenever country regulations allow suchpractice (among others, this includes mainly France, Germany,
Spain, the Netherlands, the UK and the US). The cash poolingsystem enhances management’s ability to assess reliably andinstantaneously the cash position of each subsidiary within
the Company and enables management to allocate cash
optimally within the Company depending upon shifting shortterm needs.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.1 Operating and Financial Review

2.1.6.3 Financing Liabilities
The outstanding balance of the Company’s consolidated ﬁnancing liabilities increased from € 8.9 billion as of 31 December 2018 to€ 10.1 billion as of 31 December 2019. The increase is mainly due to the application of IFRS 16, see “— 2.1.2 Signiﬁcant Accounting
Considerations, Policies and Estimates,” partly offset by the conversion of the convertible bond issued on 1 July 2015 for an amountof € 500 million. For further information, please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements — Note 36.3:
Net Cash — Financing Liabilities”.

2

2.1.6.4 Sales Financing
The Company favours cash sales and encourages independentﬁnancing by customers, in order to avoid retaining credit orasset risk in relation to delivered products. However, in orderto support product sales, primarily at Airbus and Airbus
Helicopters, the Company may agree to participate in theﬁnancing of customers, on a case-by-case basis, directly or
through guarantees provided to third parties.
The ﬁnancial markets remain unpredictable, which may cause
the Company to increase its future outlays in connection withcustomer ﬁ nancing of commercial aircraft and helicopters,

mostly through ﬁnance leases and secured loans and if deemednecessary through operating lease structures. Nevertheless,
the Company intends to keep the amount as low as possible.
Dedicated and experienced teams structure such ﬁnancing
transactions and closely monitor total ﬁnance and asset value
exposure of the Company and its evolution in terms of quality,
volume and intensity of cash requirements. The Company
aims to structure all ﬁnancing it provides to customers in linewith market-standard contractual terms so as to facilitate any
subsequent sale or reduction of such exposure.

Evolution of Airbus Gross Exposure during 2019 in US$ million

919

31 December 2018

237

Additions

Disposals

Amortisation

-204

-130

31 December 2019

Airbus gross customer ﬁnancing exposure as of 31 December
2019 is distributed over 30 aircraft, operated at any time byapproximately 8 airlines. In addition, the level of exposure may
include other aircraft-related assets, such as spa re parts.
More than 90% of Airbus gross customer ﬁnancing exposure
is distributed over 6 countries (this excludes backstop
commitments).
Over the last three years (2017 to 2019), the average number ofaircraft delivered in respect of which ﬁnancing support has been
provided by Airbus amounted to less than 1% of the average

822

number of deliveries over the same period, i.e. 1 aircraft ﬁnanced
per year out of 794 deliveries per year on average.
Airbus Helicopters’ gross customer financing exposureamounted to € 48 million as of 31 December 2019. This exposure
is distributed over 21 helicopters, operated by approximately
6 companies.
For further information, please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS
Consolidated Financial Statements – Note 27: Sales Financing
Transactions”.

Airbus / Registration Document 201997

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.2 Financial Statements

2.1.7 Hedging Activities
More than 75% of the Company’s revenues are denominatedin US dollars, with approximately 60% of such currency
exposure “naturally hedged” by US dollar-denominated costs.
The remainder of costs are incurred primarily in euros, and to alesser extent, in pounds sterling. Consequently, to the extent that
the Company does not use ﬁnancial instruments to hedge its net
current and future exchange rate exposure from the time of acustomer order to the time of delivery, its proﬁts will be affectedby market changes in the exchange rate of the US dollar against
these currencies, and to a lesser extent, by market changes inthe exchange rate of pound sterling against the euro.

As the Company intends to generate profits only from its
operations and not through speculation on foreign currency
exchange rate movements, the Company uses hedging strategies
solely to mitigate the impact of exchange rate ﬂuctuations on
its EBIT.
For further information on the Company’s hedging strategies in
response to its particular exposures as well as a description of
its current hedge portfolio, please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS
Consolidated Financial Statements — Note 37.1: Information
about Financial Instruments — Financial Risk Management” and“Note 37.4: Notional Amounts of Derivative Financial Instruments”.

2.2 Financial Statements
The IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements and theCompany Financial Statements of Airbus SE for the year
ended 31 December 2019, together with the related notes,
appendices and independent auditors’ report, shall be deemed
to be incorporated in and form part of this Registration Document.
In addition, the English version of the following document shallbe deemed to be incorporated by reference in and form part ofthis Registration Document:– The IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements and theCompany Financial Statements of Airbus Group SE for
the year ended 31 December 2018, together with the related
notes, appendices and Auditors’ reports, as incorporated
by reference in the Registration Document ﬁled in English
with, and approved by, the AFM on 29 July 2019 and ﬁled
in English with the Chamber of Commerce of The Hague.
Copies of the above-mentioned documents are available freeof charge upon request in English at the registered ofﬁce of
the Company and on www.airbus.com (Investors > Financial
Results & Annual Reports).
Copies of the above-mentioned Registration Documents are alsoavailable in English on the website of the AFM on www.afm.nl(Professionals > Registers > Approved prospectuses). The
above-mentioned ﬁ nancial statements are also available in
English for inspection at the Chamber of Commerce of The
Hague.
The Company confirms that the reports of the auditors
incorporated by reference herein have been accurately
reproduced and that as far as the Company is aware and isable to ascertain from the information provided by the auditors,
no facts have been omitted which would render such reports
inaccurate or misleading.

2.3 Statutory Auditor Fees
Please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements – Note 39: Auditor Fees”.

98

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations /2.4 Information Regarding the Statutory Auditors

2.4 Information Regarding the Statutory Auditors

Ernst & Young Accountants LLP
Boompjes 258 – 3011 XZ Rotterdam
Postbus 488 – 3000 AL Rotterdam
The Netherlands
Represented by A.A. van Eimeren

Date of first appointment

Expiration of current
term of office(1)28 April 201616 April 2020

2

(1) A resolution will be submitted to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders in 2020, in order to appoint Ernst & Young Accountants LLP as the Company’s auditors for the2020 financial year.

Ernst & Young Accountants LLP has a licence from the AFM to perform statutory audits for Public Interest Entities and its
representative is member of the NBA (Koninklijke Nederlandse Beroepsorganisatie van Accountants – the Royal Netherlands Instituteof Chartered Accountants). The NBA is the professional body for accountants in the Netherlands.

Airbus / Registration Document 201999

Chapter

3
100

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

3

General Descriptionof the Company
and its Share Capital
3.1
3.1.1

General Description of the Company
Commercial and Corporate Names, Seatand Registered Office3.1.2 Legal Form
3.1.3 Governing Laws and Disclosures
3.1.4 Date of Incorporation and Duration of the Company
3.1.5 Objects of the Company
3.1.6 Commercial and Companies Registry
3.1.7 Inspection of Corporate Documents
3.1.8 Financial Year3.1.9 Allocation and Distribution of Income
3.1.10 General Meetings
3.1.11 Disclosure of Holdings
3.1.12 Mandatory Disposal
3.1.13 Mandatory Offers

102

3.2
3.2.1
3.2.2
3.2.3

General Description of the Share Capital
Issued Share Capital
Authorised Share Capital
Modification of Share Capital or Rights
Attached to the Shares
3.2.4 Securities Granting Access to the Company’s
Share Capital
3.2.5 Changes in the Issued Share Capital

109
109
109

3.3
3.3.1
3.3.2
3.3.3
3.3.4
3.3.5
3.3.6
3.3.7

Shareholdings and Voting Rights
Shareholding Structure at the End of 2019
Relationships with Principal Shareholders
Form of Shares
Changes in the Shareholding of the Company
Persons Exercising Control over the Company
Simplified Group Structure Chart
Purchase by the Company of its Own Shares

112
112
113
115
116
116
116
118

3.4
3.4.1
3.4.2
3.4.3
3.4.4

Dividends
Dividends and Cash Distributions Paid
Dividend Policy of the Company
Unclaimed Dividends
Taxation

120
120
120
120
120

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

102
102
102
103
104
104
104
104
104
105
106
107
108

109
110
111

101

General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.1 General Description of the Company

3.1 General Description of the Company
3.1.1 Commercial and Corporate Names, Seat and Registered Ofﬁce
Commercial Name: Airbus

Seat (statutaire zetel): Amsterdam

Statutory Name: Airbus SE

Tel: +31 (0)71,5245,600

Registered Office: Mendelweg 30, 2333 CS Leiden,
The Netherlands

Fax: +31 (0)71,5232,807

3.1.2 Legal Form
The Company is a European public company (Societas Europaea),
with its corporate seat in Amsterdam, the Netherlands andregistered with the Dutch Commercial Register (Handelsregister)under number 24288945. The Company’s legal identiﬁer (LEI) is

MIN079WLOO247M1IL051. As a company operating worldwide,
the Company is subject to, and operates under, the laws of eachcountry in which it conducts business.

3.1.3 Governing Laws and Disclosures
The Company is governed by the laws of the Netherlands(in particular Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code and the Dutch
Corporate Governance Code) and by its Articles of Association(the “Articles of Association”).
The Company is subject to various legal provisions of the Dutch
Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht) (the“WFT”). In addition, given the fact that its shares are admitted for
trading on a regulated market in France, Germany and Spain, theCompany is subject to certain laws and regulations in these three
jurisdictions. A summary of the main regulations applicable to theCompany in relation to information to be made public in thesethree jurisdictions, as well as the Netherlands, is set out below.

3.1.3.1 Periodic Disclosure Obligations
Pursuant to Directive 2004/109/EC on the harmonisation oftransparency requirements in relation to information about
issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated
market (as amended, the “Transparency Directive”), theCompany is required to disclose certain periodic and ongoing
information (the “Regulated Information”).
Pursuant to the Transparency Directive, the Company must
disseminate such Regulated Information throughout theEuropean Community in a manner ensuring fast access to suchinformation on a non-discriminatory basis. For this purpose,
the Company may use a professional service provider (wire). In
addition, Regulated Information must be ﬁled at the same timewith the relevant competent market authority. The Company
must then ensure that Regulated Information remains publicly
available for at least 10 years.

102

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Finally, Regulated Information must be made available for central
storage by a mechanism that is ofﬁcially designated by theCompany’s home Member State.

Dutch Regulations
For the purpose of the Transparency Directive, supervision of theCompany is effected by the Member State in which it maintains
its corporate seat, which is the Netherlands. The competentmarket authority that assumes ﬁnal responsibility for supervisingcompliance by the Company in this respect is the AFM.
Under the Transparency Directive as implemented under Dutch
law, the Company is subject to a number of periodic disclosure
requirements, such as:– publishing an Annual Financial Report, together with an audit
report drawn up by the Statutory Auditors, within four months
after the end of each ﬁnancial year; and– publishing a semi-Annual Financial Report, within threemonths after the end of the ﬁrst six months of the ﬁnancial year.
In addition, the Company must ﬁle with the AFM, within ﬁve
days following their adoption by the Company’s shareholders, its
audited annual Financial Statements (including the consolidatedones), the management report, the Auditors’ report and otherinformation related to the Financial Statements.

French Regulations
In accordance with the requirement set forth in the Transparency
Directive to disseminate Regulated Information throughout theEuropean Community, the Company is required to provide
simultaneously in France the same information as that provided
abroad.

General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.1 General Description of the Company

German Regulations

Dutch Regulations

Due to the listing of the Company’s shares in the Prime Standard
sub-segment of the Regulated Market (regulierter Markt) of theFrankfurt Stock Exchange, the Company is subject to certain
post-listing obligations as described below. The Company isincluded inter alia in the selection index MDAX, the MidCap
index of Deutsche Börse AG.

Following the implementation of the Transparency Directive
into Dutch law, the Company must publicly disclose RegulatedInformation and also ﬁle Regulated Information with the AFM,
which will keep all relevant Regulated Information in a publicly
available register. The Company will, whenever it discloses inside
information pursuant to applicable mandatory law as part of theRegulated Information, disclose and disseminate throughout theEuropean Community any such information.

Pursuant to the Exchange Rules (Börsenordnung) of theFrankfurt Stock Exchange, the Company is required to publish
consolidated annual and semi-annual Financial Statements aswell as consolidated quarterly reports which may be preparedin English only. In addition, pursuant to the Exchange Rules,
the Company is required to publish a ﬁnancial calendar at the
beginning of each ﬁnancial year in German and English. The
Company is also required to hold an analysts’ meeting at least
once per year in addition to the press conference regarding theannual Financial Statements.

Spanish Regulations
In accordance with the requirement set forth in the Transparency
Directive to disseminate Regulated Information throughout theEuropean Community, the Company is required to provide
simultaneously in Spain the same information as that provided
abroad.

3.1.3.2 Ongoing Disclosure Obligations
Pursuant to the Transparency Directive, Regulated Information
includes in particular “inside information” as deﬁned pursuant
to Article 7 of EU Regulation No. 596 / 2014 on market abuse(the “Market Abuse Regulation” or “MAR”). Such informationmust be disseminated throughout the European Community(see introduction to section “— 3.1.3.1 Periodic Disclosure
Obligations”).
Inside information consists of information of a precise nature
which has not been made public, relating, directly or indirectly, toone or more issuers or to one or more ﬁnancial instruments andwhich, if it were made public, would be likely to have a signiﬁcanteffect on the prices of those ﬁnancial instruments or on the priceof related derivative ﬁnancial instruments.
Inside information must be disclosed to the markets as soon as
possible. However, an issuer may under its own responsibility
delay the public disclosure of inside information so as not toprejudice its legitimate interests provided that such delay would
not be likely to mislead the public and provided that the issuer isable to ensure the conﬁdentiality of that information.

Under Dutch law, the Company must also publish any change inthe rights attached to its shares, as well as any changes in therights attached to any rights issued by the Company to acquire
Airbus shares.

3

French Regulations
Any inside information as deﬁned above will be disclosed in
France by means of dissemination throughout the European
Community, as it is organised under Dutch law implementing
the Transparency Directive so as to provide simultaneously inFrance equivalent information to that provided abroad.

German Regulations
Any inside information as deﬁned above will be disclosed inGermany by means of dissemination throughout the European
Community, as it is organised under Dutch law implementing
the Transparency Directive so as to provide simultaneously inGermany equivalent information to that provided abroad.

Spanish Regulations
Any inside information as defined above will be disclosed
simultaneously in Spain by notifying it to the CNMV which shall,in turn, make it public through its webpage.
Any other information of a ﬁnancial or corporate nature which theCompany is required by law to make public in Spain or which
the Company deems necessary to disclose to investors shallbe also notiﬁed to the CNMV which shall also publish it throughits webpage.
Pursuant to the Spanish securities rules and regulations, theCompany is also required to make available to shareholders
and ﬁle with the CNMV a Corporate Governance Report in the
Spanish language or in a language customary in the sphere ofinternational ﬁnance on an annual basis.

3.1.4 Date of Incorporation and Duration of the Company
The Company was incorporated on 29 December 1998 for an unlimited duration.

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3.1.5 Objects of the Company
Pursuant to its Articles of Association, the objects of theCompany are to hold, co-ordinate and manage participations
or other interests and to ﬁnance and assume liabilities, provide
for security and/or guarantee debts of legal entities, partnerships,
business associations and undertakings that are involved in:– the aeronautic, defence, space and/or communicationindustry; or– activities that are complementary, supportive or ancillary
thereto.

3.1.6 Commercial and Companies Registry
The Company is registered with the Dutch Commercial Register (Handelsregister) under number 24288945.

3.1.7 Inspection of Corporate Documents
The Articles of Association are available for inspection in Dutchat the Chamber of Commerce.
In France, the Articles of Association are available at theoperational headquarters of the Company (2, rond-point Emile
Dewoitine, 31700 Blagnac, France, Tel.: +33 5 81 31 75 00).

In Spain, the Articles of Association are available at the CNMV
and at the Madrid ofﬁce of the Company (Avenida de Aragón
404, 28022 Madrid, Spain, Tel.: +34 91,585 70 00).
The documents incorporated by reference into this Registration
Document are available on www.airbus.com.

In Germany, the Articles of Association are available at theMunich ofﬁce of the Company (Willy-Messerschmitt-Strasse 1,
82024 Ottobrunn, Germany, Tel.: +49 89 60 70).

3.1.8 Financial YearThe ﬁnancial year of the Company starts on 1 January and ends on 31 December of each year.

3.1.9 Allocation and Distribution of Income
3.1.9.1 Dividends
The Board of Directors shall determine which part of the proﬁts
of the Company shall be attributed to reserves. The remaining
distributable proﬁt shall be at the disposal of the shareholders’meeting.
The shareholders’ meeting may resolve (if so proposed by the
Board of Directors) that all or part of a distribution on shares shallbe paid in Airbus shares or in the form of assets as opposed
to cash.
The declaration of a dividend, an interim dividend or another
distribution to the shareholders shall be made known to themwithin seven days after such declaration. Declared dividends,
interim dividends or other distributions shall be payable on suchdate(s) as determined by the Board of Directors.

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Dividends, interim dividends and other distributions on sharesshall be paid by bank transfer to the bank or giro accounts
designated in writing to the Company by, or on behalf of,shareholders at the latest 14 days after their announcement.
The persons entitled to a dividend, interim dividend or other
distribution shall be the shareholders as at a record date to be
determined by the Board of Directors for that purpose, whichdate may not be a date prior to the date on which such dividend,interim dividend or other distribution is declared.

3.1.9.2 Liquidation
In the event of the dissolution and liquidation of the Company,
the assets remaining after payment of all debts and liquidation
expenses shall be distributed amongst the holders of the sharesin proportion to their shareholdings.

General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.1 General Description of the Company

3.1.10 General Meetings
3.1.10.1 Calling of Meetings
Shareholders’ meetings are held as often as the Boardof Directors deems necessary, when required under the Dutch
Civil Code (as a result of a decrease of the Company’s equity toor below half of the Company’s paid up and called up capital)
or upon the request of shareholders holding, individually or
together, at least 10% of the total issued share capital of theCompany. The AGM of Shareholders of the Company is held
within six months of the end of the ﬁnancial year.
The Board of Directors must give notice of shareholders’ meetings
through publication of a notice on the Company’s website (www.
airbus.com), which will be directly and permanently accessible
until the shareholders’ meeting. The Company must comply withthe statutory rules providing for a minimum convening period,
which currently require at least 42 days of notice. The convening
notice must state the items required under Dutch law.
Shareholders’ meetings are held in Amsterdam, The Hague,
Rotterdam or Haarlemmermeer (Schiphol Airport). The Boardof Directors may decide that shareholders’ meetings may beattended by means of electronic or video communication devices
from the locations mentioned in the convening notice.
The Board of Directors must announce the date of the AGM of
Shareholders at least 10 weeks before the Meeting. A matter
which one or more shareholders or other parties with meetingrights collectively representing at least the statutory threshold(which is currently 3% of the issued share capital) have requested
in writing to be put on the agenda for a General Meeting of
Shareholders shall be included in the convening notice or shallbe announced in the same fashion, if the substantiated request
or a proposal for a resolution is received by the Company no later
than the 60th day before the general meeting. When exercising
the right to put a matter on the agenda for a General Meeting of
Shareholders, the respective shareholder or shareholders are
obliged to disclose their full economic interest to the Company.
The Company must publish such disclosure on its website.
A request as referred to in the preceding paragraph may only
be made in writing. The Board of Directors can decide that in“writing” is understood to include a request that is recorded
electronically.

3.1.10.2 Right to Attend Shareholders’Meetings
Each holder of one or more shares may attend shareholders’meetings, either in person or by written proxy, speak andvote according to the Articles of Association. See “— 3.1.10.4
Conditions of Exercise of Right to Vote”. However, under (andsubject to the terms of) the Articles of Association these rights
may be suspended under certain circumstances. A shareholder,or another person who has the right to attend a shareholders’meeting, can be represented by more than one proxy holder,provided that only one proxy holder can exercise the rights
attached to each share.

The persons who have the right to attend and vote at shareholders’meetings are those who are on record in a register designated forthat purpose by the Board of Directors on the registration datereferred to in the Dutch Civil Code which is currently the 28th dayprior to the day of the shareholders’ meeting (the “Registration
Date”), irrespective of who may be entitled to the shares at thetime of that meeting.
As a prerequisite to attending the shareholders’ meeting and to
casting votes, the Company, or alternatively an entity or person
so designated by the Company, should be notiﬁed in writingby each holder of one or more shares and those who derive
the aforementioned rights from these shares, not earlier thanthe Registration Date, of the intention to attend the meeting inaccordance with the relevant convening notice.

3

Shareholders holding their Company shares through Euroclear
France S.A. who wish to attend general meetings will have torequest from their ﬁnancial intermediary or accountholder anadmission card and be given a proxy to this effect from Euroclear
France S.A. in accordance with the relevant convening notice.
For this purpose, a shareholder will also be able to requestthat its shares be registered directly (and not through Euroclear
France S.A.) in the register of the Company. However, only sharesregistered in the name of Euroclear France S.A. may be tradedon stock exchanges.
In order to exercise their voting rights, the shareholders will also be
able, by contacting their ﬁnancial intermediary or accountholder,to give their voting instructions to Euroclear France S.A. or toany other person designated for this purpose, as speciﬁed in
the relevant convening notice.
Pursuant to its Articles of Association, the Company may provide
for electronic means of attendance, speaking and voting at theshareholders’ meetings in such circumstances and subject tosuch conditions as determined by the Board of Directors.

3.1.10.3 Majority and Quorum
All resolutions are adopted by means of a simple majority of thevotes cast except when a qualiﬁed majority is prescribed by the
Articles of Association or by Dutch law. No quorum is required
for any shareholders’ meeting to be held except as required
under applicable law for a very limited number of resolutions ofan extraordinary nature. Dutch law requires a special majority
for the passing of certain resolutions: inter alia, capital reduction,
exclusion of pre-emption rights in connection with share issues,
statutory mergers or statutory de-mergers; the passing of such
resolutions requires a majority of two-thirds of the votes castif 50% of the share capital with voting rights is not present at
the shareholders’ meeting (or otherwise a simple majority). In
addition, resolutions to amend the Articles of Association or todissolve the Company may only be adopted with a majority of atleast two-thirds of the valid votes cast at a shareholders’ meeting,whatever the quorum present at such meeting, and resolutions
to amend certain provisions of the Articles of Association may
only be adopted with a majority of at least 75% of the valid votes
cast at a shareholders’ meeting, whatever the quorum present
at such meeting.

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General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.1 General Description of the Company

3.1.10.4 Conditions of Exercise of Right
to VoteIn all shareholders’ meetings, each shareholder has one vote inrespect of each share it holds. The major shareholders of theCompany – as set forth in “— 3.3.2 Relationships with Principal
Shareholders” – do not enjoy different voting rights from thoseof the other shareholders.
A shareholder whose shares are subject to a pledge or usufruct
shall have the voting rights attaching to such shares unlessotherwise provided by law or by the Articles of Association orif, in the case of a usufruct, the shareholder has granted voting

rights to the usufructuary. Pursuant to the Articles of Associationand subject to the prior consent of the Board of Directors,
a pledgee of shares in the Company may be granted the rightto vote in respect of such pledged shares.
According to the Articles of Association, no vote may be castat the General Meeting on a share that is held by the Company
or a subsidiary, nor for a share in respect of which one of themholds the depository receipts. Usufructuaries and pledgees ofshares that are held by the Company or its subsidiaries are,however, not excluded from their voting rights, in case the rightof usufruct or pledge was vested before the share was held by
the Company or its subsidiary.

3.1.11 Disclosure of Holdings
Pursuant to the WFT, any person who, directly or indirectly,
acquires or disposes of an (actual or deemed) interest in thecapital, voting rights or gross short position of the Company
must immediately give written notice to the AFM by means of astandard form, if, as a result of such acquisition or disposal, thepercentage of capital interest or voting rights held by such person
meets, exceeds or falls below the following thresholds: 3%, 5%,10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 75% and 95%. Any
person whose interest in the capital, voting rights or gross shortposition in the Company meets, exceeds or falls below one orseveral of the above-mentioned thresholds due to a change in
the Company’s outstanding capital, or in voting rights attachedto the shares as notiﬁed to the AFM by the Company, should
notify the AFM no later than the fourth trading day after the AFM
has published the notiﬁcation by the Company. Among otherthings, the Company is required to notify the AFM immediately
if its outstanding share capital or voting rights have changed by
1% or more since the Company’s previous notiﬁcation. Additional
disclosure and/or publication obligations apply under European
regulations for net short positions in respect of the Company.
If at the end of a calendar year the composition of a shareholder’sholding differs from its previous disclosure as a result of theconversion of certain types of securities or following the exerciseof rights to acquire voting rights, this shareholder must thenprovide an update of its previous disclosure within four weeksof the end of each calendar year by giving written notice thereof
to the AFM. The disclosures are published by the AFM on its
website (www.afm.nl).
Pursuant to the Articles of Association, shareholders must notify
the Company when meeting or crossing the thresholds above.
The Articles of Association also contain disclosure obligations
for shareholders that apply when their interests in the Company
reach or cross certain thresholds.

Under the Articles of Association, the disclosure obligationsof shareholders are enhanced in several ways beyond what isrequired under the WFT, including by requiring the disclosureof additional information, tying the disclosure obligations to abroader range of interests in the capital or voting rights of theCompany and by requiring a shareholder to notify the Company if
his or her interest reaches, exceeds or falls below the Mandatory
Disposal Threshold (as deﬁned below) or if the interest of ashareholder (alone or a member of a concert) which is above
such Mandatory Disposal Threshold changes in its composition,
nature and/or size.
Failure to comply with the legal obligation to notify a change inshareholding under the WFT is a criminal offence punishable bycriminal and administrative penalties as well as civil law penalties,
including the suspension of voting rights. Failure to comply witha notiﬁcation under the Articles of Association can lead to asuspension of meeting and voting rights.

Disclosure Requirements for
Members of the Board of Directors
and the Executive Committee
Disclosure of Holdings
In addition to the requirements under the WFT regarding thedisclosure of holdings in case the speciﬁed thresholds are met
or exceeded or if holdings fall below these thresholds, Membersof the Board of Directors must report to the AFM the numberof shares in the Company and attached voting rights (1) held byhim or an entity controlled by him, within two weeks following
his appointment as Director, whether or not such shareholdings
meet or exceed any of the speciﬁed thresholds. Subsequently,
any Member of the Board of Directors is required to notify the
AFM of any changes in such number of shares in the Company
and attached voting rights.

(1) In this context, the term “shares” also includes for example depositary receipts for shares and rights resulting from an agreement to acquire shares or depositary
receipts for shares, speciﬁcally call options, warrants, and convertible bonds. Equally, the term “voting rights” also includes actual or contingent rights to voting
rights (e.g., embedded in call options, warrants or convertible bonds).

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General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.1 General Description of the Company

Disclosure of Transactions Carried Out
on Any Securities Issued by the Company
Based on the Market Abuse Regulation, certain persons
discharging managerial or supervisory responsibilities within
the Company as well as persons closely associated with them(together “Insiders”, as deﬁned below), are required to notify
the Company and the AFM within three trading days of alltransactions conducted for their own account involving sharesof the Company, or derivatives or other ﬁnancial instruments
related to such shares, unless the aggregate amount ofsuch transactions does not exceed € 5,000 in respect of alltransactions in a calendar year.
“Insiders” for the Company include (i) Members of the Boardof Directors and the Executive Committee of the Company as wellas certain other senior executives who are not members of thesebodies and who have regular access to inside information relating
directly or indirectly to the Company and power to take managerial
decisions affecting the future developments and businessprospects of the Company, (ii) persons closely associatedwith any person mentioned under category (i) (including theirspouses, life partners or any partner considered by nationallaw as equivalent to the spouse, dependent children and otherrelatives who have shared the same household), and (iii) legal
entities, trusts or partnerships whose managerial responsibilities

are discharged by any person referred to in categories (i) or (ii) or
which are directly or indirectly controlled by such a person, orthat have been set up for the beneﬁt of such a person, or whose
economic interests are substantially equivalent to those of sucha person.
The Company has adopted speciﬁc internal insider trading rules(the “Insider Trading Rules”) in order to ensure compliance withthe above requirements and with other share trading regulations
applicable in the Netherlands, France, Germany and Spain. The
Insider Trading Rules are available on the Company’s website,and provide in particular that: (i) all employees and Directors
are prohibited from conducting transactions in the Company’s
shares or stock options if they have inside information, and(ii) certain persons are only allowed to trade in the Company’s
shares or stock options within very limited periods and havespeciﬁc information obligations to the ITR Compliance Ofﬁcer of
the Company and the competent ﬁnancial market authorities withrespect to certain transactions. The ITR Compliance Ofﬁcer is
responsible for the implementation of the Insider Trading Rules.

3

Pursuant to the Market Abuse Regulation, the Company must
maintain a list of all persons working for it by virtue of a labour
relationship or otherwise, who may have access to inside
information.

3.1.12 Mandatory Disposal
3.1.12.1 Notification Requirements andMandatory Disposal Threshold
Restricting Ownership to 15%
Under the Articles of Association, each shareholder must notify
the Company when it (or another party in respect of its interest in
the Company) must make a notiﬁcation to the AFM of a substantial
interest or short position with respect to the Company, when its
interest (alone or with concert parties) reaches or crosses the
Mandatory Disposal Threshold (as deﬁned below) or, subject tocertain conditions and exemptions, when changes occur in thecomposition, nature and/or size of any interest held by it or by its
concert parties in excess of the Mandatory Disposal Threshold(as deﬁned below). Failure to comply with these obligations
may, subject to a prior notiﬁcation by the Company, result in thesuspension of voting and attendance rights until the shareholder
has complied with its obligations.
The Articles of Association prohibit any shareholder fromholding an interest of more than 15% of the share capital or
voting rights of the Company, acting alone or in concert withothers (the “Mandatory Disposal Threshold”). An interest(“Interest”) includes not only shares and voting rights, butalso other instruments that cause shares or voting rights to
be deemed to be at someone’s disposal pursuant to the WFT,
and must be notiﬁed to the Dutch regulator, the AFM, if certain
thresholds are reached or crossed. Any shareholder having aninterest of more than the Mandatory Disposal Threshold must
reduce its interest below the Mandatory Disposal Threshold, forinstance by disposing of its Excess Shares, within two weeks
after such notiﬁcation by the Company. Upon receipt of suchnotiﬁcation, the voting, attendance and dividend rights attachedto the Excess Shares shall be suspended. The same applies toconcerts of shareholders and other persons who together holdan interest exceeding the Mandatory Disposal Threshold. Shouldsuch shareholder or concert not comply with not exceeding
the 15% Mandatory Disposal Threshold by the end of such
two-week period, the voting, attendance and dividend rights
attached to all shares held by such shareholder or concert shallbe suspended, and their Excess Shares would be transferred toa Dutch law foundation (“Stichting”), which can, and eventuallymust, dispose of them. The suspension of shareholder rights
described above shall be lifted once a shareholder or concert
complies with its obligations under the Articles of Association.
The Dutch law foundation would issue depositary receipts to therelevant shareholder in return for the Excess Shares transferredto the foundation, which would entitle the relevant shareholder tothe economic rights, but not the voting rights, attached to such
Company shares. The foundation’s Articles of Association andthe terms of administration governing the relationship between
the foundation and the depositary receipt holders provide, interalia, that:– the Board Members of the foundation must be independent
from the Company, any grandfathered persons and their
afﬁliates (see “— 3.1.12.2 Exemptions from Mandatory Disposal
Threshold”) and any holder of depositary receipts and their
afﬁliates (there is an agreement under which the Company will,inter alia, cover the foundation’s expenses and indemnify the
Board Members against liability);– the Board Members are appointed (except for the initial Board
Members who were appointed at incorporation) and dismissedby the Management Board of the foundation (the Company
may however appoint one Board Member in a situation where
there are no foundation Board Members);

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General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.1 General Description of the Company– the foundation has no discretion as to the exercise of voting
rights attached to any of the Company shares held by it andwill in a mechanical manner vote to reﬂect the outcome of thevotes cast (or not cast) by the other shareholders, and thefoundation will distribute any dividends or other distributions
it receives from the Company to the holders of depositary
receipts; and– no transfer of a depositary receipt can be made without theprior written approval of the foundation’s Board.
For any shareholder or concert, the term “Excess Shares”,
as used above, refers to such number of shares comprisedin the interest of such shareholder or concert exceeding the
Mandatory Disposal Threshold which is the lesser of: (i) the
shares held by such shareholder or concert which represent a
percentage of the Company’s issued share capital that is equal
to the percentage with which the foregoing interest exceeds the
Mandatory Disposal Threshold; and (ii) all shares held by such
person or concert.
This restriction is included in the Articles of Association to reﬂect
the Company’s further normalised governance going forward,
aiming at a substantial increase of the free ﬂoat and to safeguard
the interests of the Company and its stakeholders (including all
its shareholders), by limiting the possibilities of inﬂuence above
the level of the Mandatory Disposal Threshold or takeovers otherthan a public takeover offer resulting in a minimum acceptanceof 80% of the share capital referred to below.

3.1.12.2 Exemptions from Mandatory
Disposal Threshold
The restrictions pursuant to the Mandatory Disposal Thresholdunder the Articles of Association do not apply to a person
who has made a public offer with at least an 80% acceptance(including any Airbus shares already held by such person).
These restrictions also have certain grandfathering exemptions
for the beneﬁt of shareholders and concerts holding interests
exceeding the Mandatory Disposal Threshold on 2 April 2013
(the “Exemption Date”), which is the date of ﬁrst implementationof the Mandatory Disposal Threshold.
Different grandfathering regimes apply to such shareholders andconcerts, depending on the interests and the nature thereof heldby each such shareholder or concert on the Exemption Date.
The Company has conﬁrmed that: (i) the speciﬁc exemption in
Article 16.1.b of the Articles of Association applies to Société deGestion de Participations Aéronautiques (“Sogepa”), as it held
more than 15% of the outstanding Company voting rights andshares including the legal and economic ownership thereof on the
Exemption Date; and (ii) the speciﬁc exemption in Article 16.1.cof the Articles of Association applies to the concert among
Sogepa, Gesellschaft zur Beteiligungsverwaltung GZBV mbH& Co. KG (“GZBV”) and Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones
Industriales (“SEPI”), as they held more than 15% of theoutstanding Company voting rights and shares including thelegal and economic ownership thereof on the Exemption Date.

3.1.13 Mandatory Offers
3.1.13.1 Takeover Directive
The Directive 2004 / 25 / EC on takeover bids (the “Takeover
Directive”) sets forth the principles governing the allocation oflaws applicable to the Company in the context of a takeover bid
for the shares of the Company. The Takeover Directive refers to
the rules of the Netherlands and the rules of the European Union
Member State of the competent authority that must be chosen
by the Company from among the various market authorities
supervising the markets where its shares are listed.
For the Company, matters relating to, inter alia, the consideration
offered in the case of a bid, in particular the price, and mattersrelating to the bid procedure, in particular the information on
the offeror’s decision to make a bid, the contents of the offer
document and the disclosure of the bid, shall be determinedby the laws of the European Union Member State having thecompetent authority, which will be selected by the Company
at a future date.
Matters relating to the information to be provided to theemployees of the Company and matters relating to company law,in particular the percentage of voting rights which confers control

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and any derogation from the obligation to launch a bid, theconditions under which the Board of Directors of the Company
may undertake any action which might result in the frustrationof the bid, the applicable rules and the competent authority will
be governed by Dutch law (see “— 3.1.13.2 Dutch Law”).

3.1.13.2 Dutch Law
In accordance with the Dutch act implementing the Takeover
Directive (the “Takeover Act”), shareholders are required tomake a public offer for all issued and outstanding shares in the
Company’s share capital if they — individually or acting in concert(as such term is deﬁned in the Takeover Act), directly or indirectly— have 30% or more of the voting rights (signiﬁcant control) in
the Company. In addition to the other available exemptions thatare provided under Dutch law, the requirement to make a public
offer does not apply to persons, who at the time the Takeover Act
came into force, already held – individually or acting in concert –30% or more of the voting rights in the Company. In the case ofsuch a concert, a new Member of the concert can be exempted
if it satisﬁes certain conditions.

General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.2 General Description of the Share Capital

3.2 General Description of the Share Capital
3.2.1 Issued Share Capital
As of 31 December 2019, the Company’s issued share capital amounted to € 783,173,115, consisting of 783,173,115 fully paid-up
shares of a nominal value of € 1 each.

3

3.2.2 Authorised Share Capital
As of 31 December 2019, the Company’s authorised share capital amounted to € 3 billion, consisting of 3 billion shares of € 1 each.

3.2.3 Modiﬁcation of Share Capital or Rights Attached to the Shares
The shareholders’ meeting has the power to authorise theissuance of shares. The shareholders’ meeting may also
authorise the Board of Directors, for a period of no more thanﬁ ve years, to issue shares and to determine the terms andconditions of share issuances.

Pursuant to the shareholders’ resolutions adopted at theAGM held on 10 April 2019, the powers to issue shares andto grant rights to subscribe for shares and to limit or exclude
preferential subscription rights for existing shareholders havebeen delegated to the Board of Directors for the purpose of:

Holders of shares have a pre-emptive right to subscribe for any
newly issued shares in proportion to the aggregate nominal
value of shares held by them, except for (i) shares issued forconsideration other than cash, (ii) shares issued to employeesof Airbus and (iii) shares issued pursuant to a previously granted
right to subscribe for those shares. For the contractual position
as to pre-emption rights, see “— 3.3.2 Relationships with
Principal Shareholders”.

1. Employee Share Ownership Plans and share-related LongTerm Incentive Plans, provided that such powers shall belimited to 0.14% of the Company’s authorised share capital;andThe shareholders’ meeting also has the power to limit or to
exclude pre-emption rights in connection with new issuancesof shares, and may authorise the Board of Directors for a periodof no more than ﬁve years, to limit or to exclude pre-emption
rights. All resolutions in this context must be approved by a
two-thirds majority of the votes cast during the shareholders’meeting in the case where less than half of the capital issued
is present or represented at said meeting.

Such powers have been granted for a period expiring at the AGM
to be held in 2020, and shall not extend to issuing shares or
granting rights to subscribe for shares if (i) there is no preferential
subscription right (by virtue of Dutch law, or because it has been
excluded by means of a resolution of the competent corporatebody) and (ii) it concerns an aggregate issue price in excess of€ 500 million per share issuance.

However, the Articles of Association provide that theshareholders’ meeting is not authorised to pass any
shareholders’ resolution to issue shares or to grant rights to
subscribe for shares if the aggregate issue price is in excess of€ 500 million per share issuance, and no preferential subscription
rights exist in respect thereof (by virtue of Dutch law, or because
they have been excluded by the competent corporate body).
The same limitation applies if the shareholders’ meeting wishes
to designate the Board of Directors to have the authority toresolve on such share issuance or granting of rights. Theselimitations in the Articles of Association can only be changedby the shareholders’ meeting with a 75% voting majority.

2. funding the Company and any of its subsidiaries, provided
that such powers shall be limited to 0.3% of the Company’s
authorised share capital.

At the AGM held on 10 April 2019, the Board of Directors was
authorised, for a period of 18 months from the date of such AGM,
to repurchase shares of the Company, by any means, including
derivative products, on any stock exchange or otherwise, aslong as, upon such repurchase, the Company would not holdmore than 10% of the Company’s issued share capital, and at
a price per share not less than the nominal value and not morethan the higher of the price of the last independent trade andthe highest current independent bid on the trading venues of
the regulated market of the country in which the purchase iscarried out.
The shareholders’ meeting may reduce the issued share capitalby cancellation of shares, or by reducing the nominal value of theshares by means of an amendment to the Articles of Association.
The cancellation of shares requires the approval of a two-thirds
majority of the votes cast during the shareholders’ meeting in

Airbus / Registration Document 2019109

General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.2 General Description of the Share Capitalthe case where less than half of the capital issued is present or
represented at said meeting; the reduction of nominal value bymeans of an amendment to the Articles of Association requires
the approval of a two-thirds majority of the votes cast during theshareholders’ meeting (unless the amendment to the Articles
of Association also concerns an amendment which under the
Articles of Association requires a 75% voting majority).

At the AGM held on 10 April 2019, the Board of Directors andthe Chief Executive Ofﬁcer were authorised, with powers of
substitution, to implement a cancellation of shares held or
repurchased by the Company, including the authorisation
to establish the exact number of the relevant shares thus
repurchased to be cancelled.

3.2.4 Securities Granting Access to the Company’s Share Capital
The convertible bonds (See “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements — Note 36.3: Financing liabilities”) were redeemedby the Company on 30 December 2019, whereby certain bondholders exercised their conversion right connected to the convertible
bonds and consequently received newly issued shares in the Company in December 2019. There are no further securities that giveaccess, immediately or over time, to the share capital of the Company.
The table below shows the total dilution that occurred following the exercise by certain bond holders of their conversion right under
the convertible bonds as of 31 December 2019:

Total number of Company shares issued prior to exerciseof the convertible bonds
Total number of Company shares which were issued
following exercise of the convertible bonds

Total Company share capital as of 31 December 2019110

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Numberof shares

Percentage ofdiluted capital

Number of
voting rights

Percentage
of diluted
voting rights

778,152,173

99.359%777,452,713

99.358%5,020,942

0.641%

5,020,942

0.642%

783,173,115

100%

782,310,505100%General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.2 General Description of the Share Capital

3.2.5 Changes in the Issued Share Capital
Nominal
Numbervalue of sharesperissued /share cancelled

Date

Nature of Transaction

20 June 2013

Cancellation of shares upon authorisation
granted by the Extraordinary General Meeting
held on 27 March 2013

€ 1 47,648,691

29 July 2013

Issue of shares for the purposeof an employee offering

Total number
of issued
shares after
Premium(1) transaction

Total issued
capital after
transaction-

779,719,254€ 779,719,254€1

2,113,245€ 57,580,650

781,832,499€ 781,832,499

Cancellation of shares upon authorisation
granted by the Extraordinary General
27 September 2013 Meeting held on 27 March 2013

€1

3,099,657-

778,732,842€ 778,732,842

Cancellation of shares upon authorisation
granted by the Annual Shareholders’
27 September 2013 Meeting held on 29 May 2013

€1

2,448,884-

776,283,958€ 776,283,958

In 2013

Issue of shares following exercise of options
granted to employees(2)€16,873,677€ 176,017,918

783,157,635€ 783,157,635

In 2014Issue of shares following exercise of options
granted to employees(2)€11,871,419€ 50,619,684

784,780,585€ 784,780,585

In 2015

Cancellation of shares upon authorisation
granted by the Annual Shareholders’Meeting held on 27 May 2015

€12,885,243-

785,333,784€ 785,333,784

In 2015

Issue of shares following exercise of options
granted to employees(2)€11,910,428-

785,344,784€ 785,344,784

In 2016

Cancellation of treasury shares€1

14,131,131-

771,213,653€ 771,213,653

In 2016

Issues of shares for the purposeof an employee offering€1

1,474,716-

772,688,369€ 772,688,369

In 2016

Issue of shares following exercise
of options granted to employees(2)€1

224,500-

772,912,869€ 772,912,869

In 2017

Issues of shares for the purposeof an employee offering€1

1,643,193-

774,556,062€ 774,556,062

In 2017

Issues of shares for the purposeof an employee offering€1

1,643,193-

774,556,062€ 774,556,062

In 2018

Issues of shares for the purposeof an employee offering€1

1,811,819-

776,367,881€ 776,367,881

In 2019

Issues of shares for the purposeof an employee offering€1

1,784,292-

778,152,173€ 778,152,173

In 2019

Issue of shares under the convertible bond€1

5,020,942-

783,173,115€ 783,173,115

3(1) The costs (net of taxes) related to the initial public offering of the shares of the Company in July 2000 have been offset against share premium for an amount of € 55,849,772.
(2) For information on Stock Option Plans under which these options were granted to the Company’s employees, see “— Corporate Governance — 4.3.3 Long-Term Incentive Plans”.

In the course of 2019, a total number of 6,805,234 new shares were issued, of which 1,784,292 were issued in the framework of
the Employee Share Ownership Plan (“ESOP”) and, as set forth above, 5,020,942 were issued in connection with the exercise bycertain bond holders of their conversion right.
During 2019, (i) the Company repurchased 266,000 shares and (ii) none of the treasury shares were cancelled. As a result, as at
31 December 2019, the Company held 862,610 treasury shares.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019111

General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.3 Shareholdings and Voting Rights

3.3 Shareholdings and Voting Rights
3.3.1 Shareholding Structure at the End of 2019
As of 31 December 2019, the French State held 10.96% of theoutstanding Company shares through Sogepa, the German
State held 10.94% through GZBV, a subsidiary of Kreditanstalt fürWiederaufbau (“KfW”), a public law institution serving domestic
and international policy objectives of the Government of theFederal Republic of Germany, and the Spanish State held 4.13%
through SEPI. The public (including the Company’s employees)

and the Company held, respectively, 73.86% and 0.11% of theCompany’s share capital.
The diagram below shows the ownership structure of theCompany as of 31 December 2019 (% of capital and of voting
rights (in parentheses)). See “— Corporate Governance — 4.3.3
Long-Term Incentive Plans”.

Ownership Structure of Airbus SE as of 31 December 2019

FRENCHSTATEGERMANSTATE

SPANISHSTATEOTHER GERMAN
PUBLIC ENTITIES

15.69%PUBLIC

KfW

84.31%

SOGEPASEPIGZBV(2)10.96%(10.97%)

4.13%(4.13%)

10.94%(10.96%)73.97%(1)(73.94%)

Share subject to Shareholders’ Agreement

AIRBUS SE(1) Including shares held by the Company itself (0.11%).
(2) KfW & other German public entities.

According to the AFM register on substantial holdings, the below
listed entities have notiﬁed the AFM of their substantial interestin the Company:– Capital Research and Management Company (9.90% of thevoting rights);– EuroPaciﬁc Growth Fund (3.02% of the capital interest);– BlackRock, Inc. (4.20% of the capital interest and 4.99% of
the voting rights).

112

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Actual interests may differ as the holder of a substantial interest
is only obliged to notify the AFM of any change in the percentageof share capital and/or voting rights if such holder, directly or
indirectly, reaches, exceeds or falls below any of the following
thresholds: 3%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 40%, 50%,
60%, 75% and 95%.

General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.3 Shareholdings and Voting Rights

Except as described above, the Company is not aware of any
other person or legal entity that, as of the date of this Registration
Document, has a capital or voting interest in the Company of
3% or more. For further details, please refer to the website of
the AFM at: www.afm.nl.
As of 31 December 2019, the Company held, directly or indirectly
through another company in which the Company holds directly
or indirectly more than 50% of the share capital, 862,610 of its

own shares, equal to 0.11% of issued share capital. The treasury
shares owned by the Company do not carry voting rights.
For the number of shares and voting rights held by Membersof the Board of Directors and Executive Committee, see“— Corporate Governance — 4.2.1 Remuneration Policy”.
Approximately 0.92% of the share capital (and voting rights) was
held by the Company’s employees as of 31 December 2019.

3.3.2 Relationships with Principal Shareholders
In 2013, GZBV, Sogepa and SEPI entered into a shareholders’agreement (the “Shareholders’ Agreement”). The Shareholders’
Agreement, further details of which are set out in more detailbelow, does not give the parties to it any rights to designate
Members of the Board of Directors or management team or toparticipate in the governance of the Company. The Company
has also entered into state security agreements with each of
the French State and German State, which are also describedin more detail below.

3.3.2.1 Corporate Governance
Arrangements
Corporate governance arrangements of the Company were
substantially changed in 2013, resulting in changes in thecomposition of the Board of Directors and its internal rules,
as well as amendments to the Articles of Association of theCompany. These changes were intended to further normalise
and simplify the Company’s corporate governance, reﬂecting
an emphasis on best corporate governance practices and theabsence of a controlling shareholder group. Changes to theCompany’s corporate governance arrangements in the Articles
of Association, included (i) disclosure obligations for shareholders
that apply when their interests in the Company reach or crosscertain thresholds and (ii) ownership restrictions prohibiting any
shareholder from holding an interest of more than 15% of theshare capital or voting rights of the Company, acting alone or inconcert with others. See sections 3.1.11 and 3.1.12 above andsection 4 below.

3.3.2.2 Shareholder Arrangements
Grandfathering Agreement
At the Consummation, the French State, Sogepa, the German
State, KfW and GZBV (all parties together the “Parties” andeach, individually, as a “Party”) entered into an agreement withrespect to certain grandfathering rights under the Articles of
Association. Below is a summary of such agreement.

Individual Grandfathering Rights
A Party that is individually grandfathered pursuant to Article 16.1.bof the Articles of Association (such Party holding “Individual
Grandfathering Rights”) shall remain individually grandfatheredin accordance with the Articles of Association if the new concert
with respect to the Company (the “Concert”) is subsequently
terminated (for instance by terminating the Shareholders’
Agreement) or if it exits the Concert.

3

Loss of Individual Grandfathering Rights
A Party holding Individual Grandfathering Rights as well as anyof its afﬁliates who are grandfathered pursuant to Article 16.1.b inconjunction with Article 16.3 of the Articles of Association (suchafﬁliates holding “Derived Grandfathering Rights”, and theIndividual Grandfathering Rights and the Derived Grandfathering
Rights, together, the “Grandfathering Rights”) shall all no longer
be entitled to exercise their Grandfathering Rights in the event:– the Concert is terminated as a result of it or any of its afﬁliates
having actually or constructively terminated such Concert; or– it or its relevant afﬁliate(s) exit(s) the Concert;– and such termination or exit is not for good cause andis not based on material and ongoing violations of theConcert arrangements, including, without limitation, of the
Shareholders’ Agreement, by the other principal Member of
the Concert.
In the event that in the future the voting rights in the Company of
the other principal Member of the Concert together with thoseof its afﬁliates would for an uninterrupted period of three months
represent less than 3% of the outstanding aggregate voting
rights of the Company, the Grandfathering Rights of the Party
including its afﬁliates which were no longer entitled to use their
Grandfathering Rights shall from then on revive and Sogepa and
GZBV shall jointly notify the Company to that effect.

Notification to the Company
The Company will not be required to take any of the actions
provided for in Article 15 of the Articles of Association pursuant
to the post-concert Grandfathering Agreement unless and until
it receives (i) a joint written instruction from Sogepa and GZBVwith respect to the taking of any of the actions provided for in
Article 15 of the Articles of Association pursuant to the postconcert Grandfathering Agreement, or (ii) a copy of a binding
advice rendered by three independent, impartial and neutral
Expert Adjudicators in order to settle any dispute between theParties arising out of or in connection with the post-concert
Grandfathering Agreement.
The Company will not incur any liability to any of the Parties bytaking such actions following receipt of any such joint instruction
or binding advice and the Company will not be required tointerpret the post-concert Grandfathering Agreement or any
such joint instruction or binding advice.
Notwithstanding the description under “Various provisions –Jurisdiction” below, the courts of the Netherlands will haveexclusive jurisdiction to resolve any dispute, controversy or claim
affecting the rights or obligations of the Company under the
post-concert Grandfathering Agreement.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019113

General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.3 Shareholdings and Voting Rights

Various Provisions
Termination. The post-concert Grandfathering Agreement
terminates only if either the French State and its afﬁliates or
the German State and its afﬁliates no longer hold shares in the
Company.
Governing law. Laws of the Netherlands.
Jurisdiction. The courts of the Netherlands shall have exclusive
jurisdiction. This is binding advice for any dispute, controversy
or claim arising out of or in connection with the post-concert
Grandfathering Agreement in accordance with the procedure set
forth in the post-concert Grandfathering Agreement; provided,
however, that application to the courts is permitted to resolve
any such dispute controversy or claim.

Shareholders’ Agreement
Below is a further description of the Shareholders’ Agreement,
based solely on a written summary of the main provisions of
the Shareholders’ Agreement that has been provided to theCompany by Sogepa, GZBV and SEPI (all parties together the“Shareholders”).

Governance of the Company
Appointment of the Directors. The shareholders shall votein favour of any draft resolution relating to the appointment of
Directors submitted to the shareholders’ meeting of the Company
in accordance with the terms and conditions of the German State
Security Agreement and the French State Security Agreement(as described below). If, for whatever reason, any person to beappointed as a Director pursuant to the German State Security
Agreement or the French State Security Agreement is notnominated, the shareholders shall use their best endeavours
so that such person is appointed as a Director.
Sogepa and GZBV shall support the appointment of one
Spanish national that SEPI may present to them as Member ofthe Board of Directors of the Company, provided such person
qualiﬁes as an Independent Director pursuant to the conditions
set forth in the Board Rules, and shall vote as shareholders inany shareholders’ meeting in favour of such appointment andagainst the appointment of any other person for such position.
If, for whatever reason, the French State Security Agreement
and/or the German State Security Agreement has / have been
terminated, KfW or Sogepa, as the case might be, shall propose
two persons, and the shareholders shall exercise their best
endeavours so that these persons are appointed as Directors.
Directors can be dismissed by the General Meeting at all times.
Modiﬁcation of the Articles of Association. Sogepa and
GZBV shall consult each other on any draft resolution intending
to modify the Board Rules and/or the Articles of Association.
Unless Sogepa and GZBV agree to vote in favour together ofsuch draft resolution, the shareholders shall vote against suchdraft resolution. If Sogepa and GZBV reach a mutual agreementon such draft resolution, the shareholders shall vote in favour ofsuch draft resolution.
Reserved Matters. With respect to the matters requiring theapproval of a Qualiﬁed Majority at the Board level (“Reserved
Matters”), all the Directors shall be free to express their own

114

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

views. If the implementation of a Reserved Matter would requirea decision of the shareholders’ meeting of the Company, Sogepa
and GZBV shall consult each other with a view to reaching acommon position. Should Sogepa and GZBV fail to reacha common position, Sogepa and GZBV shall remain free toexercise on a discretionary basis their votes.
Prior consultation. Sogepa and GZBV shall consult each otheron any draft resolution submitted to the shareholders’ meetingother than related to Reserved Matters and the Board Rules.

Balance of Interests
The shareholders agree their common objective to seek abalance between themselves of their respective interest in the
Company as follows:– to hold as closely as reasonably possible to 12% of the voting
rights for Sogepa, together with any voting rights attributable
to Sogepa and/or to the French State, pursuant to Dutch
takeover rules except for voting rights attributable due to acting
in concert with the other parties;– to hold as closely as reasonably possible to 12% of the voting
rights for GZBV, together with any voting rights attributable to
GZBV and/or to the German State, pursuant to Dutch takeoverrules except for voting rights attributable due to acting inconcert with the other parties;– to hold as closely as reasonably possible to 4% of the voting
rights for SEPI, together with any voting rights attributable
to SEPI and/or to the Spanish State, pursuant to Dutch
takeover rules except for voting rights attributable due to acting
in concert with the other parties.

Mandatory Takeover Threshold
The total aggregate voting rights of the shareholders shall always
represent less than 30% of the voting rights of the Company,or less than any other threshold the crossing of which would
trigger for any shareholder a mandatory takeover obligation(the “MTO Threshold”). In the event that the total aggregate
voting rights of the shareholders exceed the MTO Threshold,the shareholders shall take all appropriate actions as soon asreasonably practicable, but in any event within 30 days, to fall
below the MTO Threshold.

Transfer of Securities
Permitted transfer. Transfer of securities by any shareholder
to one of its afﬁliates.
Pre-emption right. Pro rata pre-emption rights of theshareholders in the event any shareholder intends to transfer
any of its securities to a third party directly or on the market.
Call-option right. Call option right for the benefit of theshareholders in the event that the share capital or the voting
rights of any shareholders cease to be majority owned directly or
indirectly by the French State, the German State or the Spanish
State as applicable.
Tag-along right. Tag-along right for the beneﬁt of SEPI in theevent that Sogepa, the French State or any of their afﬁliates andany French public entity and GZBV, the German State or any of
their afﬁliates and any public entity propose together to transfer
all of their entire voting rights interests.

General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.3 Shareholdings and Voting Rights

Various Provisions
Termination. The Shareholders’ Agreement may cease to
apply in respect of one or more Shareholders and/or their
afﬁliates, subject to the occurrence of certain changes in its
or their shareholding interest in the Company or in its or theirshareholders.
Governing law. Laws of the Netherlands.
Jurisdiction. Arbitration in accordance with the Rules ofArbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, with theseat of arbitration in The Hague (the Netherlands).

3.3.2.3 Undertakings with Respect
to Certain Interests of Certain
Stakeholders
The Company has made certain undertakings and entered into
certain agreements in connection with certain interests of its
former core shareholders and the German State.

State Security Agreements and Related
Undertakings and Negotiations
The Company and the French State have entered into anamendment to the existing convention between the French Stateand the Company relating to the ballistic missiles business of
the Company (as so amended, the “French State Security
Agreement”). Under the French State Security Agreement,
certain sensitive French military assets will be held by a Company
subsidiary (the “French Defence Holding Company”). At theConsummation, the Company contributed certain sensitive
French military assets to the French Defence Holding Company.
The French State has the right to approve or disapprove of —but not to propose or appoint — three outside Directors to theBoard of Directors of the French Defence Holding Company (the“French Defence Outside Directors”), at least two of whommust qualify as Independent Directors under the Board Rules ifthey were Members of the Board of Directors. Two of the French
Defence Outside Directors are required to also be Members of
the Board of Directors. French Defence Outside Directors mayneither (i) be employees, managers or corporate ofﬁcers of acompany belonging to the Company (although they may be
Members of the Board of Directors) nor (ii) have material ongoingprofessional relationships with Airbus.
The Company and the German State have entered into anagreement relating to the protection of essential interests to
the German State’s security (the “German State Security
Agreement”). Under the German State Security Agreement,

certain sensitive German military assets are held by a Company
subsidiary (the “German Defence Holding Company”). The
German State has the right to approve or disapprove of — but
not to propose or appoint — three outside Directors to theSupervisory Board of the German Defence Holding Company(the “German Defence Outside Directors”), at least two ofwhom must qualify as Independent Directors under the Board
Rules if they were Members of the Board of Directors. Two of
the German Defence Outside Directors are required to also be
Members of the Board of Directors. The qualiﬁcations to serve asa German Defence Outside Director are comparable to those toserve as a French Defence Outside Director, with the additional
requirement that a German Defence Outside Director may not
be a civil servant.

3

Dassault Aviation
The Company entered into an agreement with the French State
pursuant to which the Company:– grants the French State a right of ﬁrst offer in case of the saleof all or part of its shareholding in Dassault Aviation; and– commits to consult with the French State prior to making any
decision at any shareholders’ meeting of Dassault Aviation.
For more information about Dassault Aviation, see “— Informationon the Company’s Activities — 1.1.5 Investments”.

Stock Exchange Listings
The Company has undertaken to the parties to the Shareholders’
Agreement that for the duration of the Shareholders’ Agreement
the Company’s shares will remain listed exclusively in France,
Germany and Spain.

Specific Rights of the French State
Pursuant to an agreement entered into between the Company
and the French State (the “Ballistic Missiles Agreement”),
the Company has granted to the French State (a) a veto rightand subsequently a call option on shares of the Company
performing the ballistic missiles activity exercisable undercertain circumstances, including if (i) a third party acquires,directly or indirectly, either alone or in concert, more than 15%
or any multiple thereof of the share capital or voting rights of
the Company or (ii) the sale of the shares of such companies
carrying out such activity is considered and (b) a right to oppose
the transfer of any such shares. The Company, the French Stateand the Company performing the ballistic missiles activity areparties to a similar convention regarding the assets comprising
the French nuclear airborne systems under which the French
State has similar rights.

3.3.3 Form of Shares
The shares of the Company are in registered form. The Boardof Directors may decide with respect to all or certain shares, onshares in bearer form.
Shares shall be registered in the shareholders’ register without
the issue of a share certiﬁcate or, should the Board of Directors

so decide, with respect to all or certain shares, with the issue ofa certiﬁcate. Share certiﬁcates shall be issued in such form as
the Board of Directors may determine. Registered shares shallbe numbered in the manner to be determined by the Boardof Directors.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019115

General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.3 Shareholdings and Voting Rights

3.3.4 Changes in the Shareholding of the Company
The evolution in ownership of the share capital and voting rights of the Company over the past three years is set forth in the tablebelow:
Position as of
31 December 2019

Position as of
31 December 2018

Position as of
31 December 2017

Shareholders% ofcapital% ofvotingrightsNumberof shares% ofcapital% ofvotingrightsNumberof shares% ofcapital% ofvotingrightsNumberof shares

SOGEPA

10.96%

10.97%

85,835,477

11.06%

11.06%

85,835,477

11.08%

11.08%

85,835,477

GZBV

10.94%

10.96%

85,709,822

11.04%

11.04%

85,709,822

11.07%

11.07%

85,709,822

SEPI

4.13%

4.13%

32,330,381

4.16%

4.16%

32,330,381

4.17%

4.17%

32,330,381

26.03%

26.06%

203,875,680

26.26%

26.28%

203,875,680

26.32%

26.33%

203,875,680

0.00%

0.00%

0

0.00%

0.00%

0

0.00%

0.00%

0

(1)

Sub-total New
Shareholder Agt.
Foundation “SOGEPA”(2)

73.86%

73.94%

578,434,825

73.66%

73.72%

571,855,277

73.66%

73.67%

570,550,857

Own share buyback(3)

0.11%

-

862,610

0.08%-

636,9240.02%-

129,525

Total

100%

100%

783,173,115

100%

100% 776,367,881

100%

Public100% 774,556,062(1) KfW & other German public entities.
(2) Including Company employees. As of 31 December 2019, the Company’s employees held approximately 0.92% of the share capital (and voting rights).
(3) The shares owned by the Company do not carry voting rights.

To the knowledge of the Company, there are no pledges overthe shares of the Company.
The Company requested disclosure of the identity of the beneﬁcial
holders of its shares held by identiﬁable holders (“Titres au porteur
identifiables”) holding 2,000 or more shares each. The study,
which was completed on 31 December 2019, resulted in theidentiﬁcation of 2,256 shareholders holding a total of 558,452,889

Company shares (including 1,712,037 shares held by Iberclear
on behalf of the Spanish markets and 24,597,254 shares heldby GZBV on behalf of the German market).
The shareholding structure of the Company as of 31 December
2019 is as shown in the diagram in “— 3.3.1 Shareholding
Structure at the end of 2019”.

3.3.5 Persons Exercising Control over the Company
See “— 3.3.1 Shareholding Structure at the end of 2019” and “— 3.3.2 Relationships with Principal Shareholders”.

3.3.6 Simpliﬁed Group Structure Chart
The following chart illustrates the simpliﬁed organisational structure of Airbus as of 31 December 2019, comprising the Divisions
and the main Business Units. See “— Information on the Company’s Activities — 1.1.1 Overview — Organisation of the Company’s
Businesses”. For ease of presentation, certain intermediate holding companies have been omitted.

116

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

95.96%99.99%

50%*

Airbus Helicopters

11.29%ATR GIE(France)50%*

Computadoras,Redese Ingenieria, S.A.
(Spain)Airbus Defence
and Space, S.A.
(Spain)Subsidiaries held with no indication of ownership percentage are 100% owned.
* Indirectly
Legal forms are indicated for information purposes and are not always part of the legal name.

MBDA(France)

37.5%*

Airbus Defence
and Space SAS(France)

Airbus DS Holding
SAS
4.04%
(France)

ArianeGroup

MBDA Group

45%

Elbe
FlugzeugwerkeGmbH(Germany)

Airbus Defence
and Space Holding
France SAS(France)

Ariane Group

88.71%

Airbus Defence
and Space GmbH
(Germany)

Airbus Defence and Space

Airbus Defence
and Space
Litmited(UK)

Airbus Operations
GmbH(Germany)

Airbus Operations
Limited(UK)

AirbusOperations, S.L.
(Spain)Airbus Operations
SAS(France)(The Netherlands)

50.01%*

4.22%*

Airbus Canada
LimitedPartnership(Canada)AIRBUS SE

Stelia Aerospace(France)

Airbus SAS(France)95.78%

Airbus Helicopters
DeutschlandGmbH(Germany)
Airbus Group
Inc.
(USA)

Airbus Helicopters
España, S.A.
(Spain)Airbus Helicopters
UK Limited(UK)

Airbus Helicopters(France)

Airbus Americas
Inc.
(USA)

Premium Aerotec
GmbH(Germany)

General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.3 Shareholdings and Voting Rights

3

Airbus / Registration Document 2019117

General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.3 Shareholdings and Voting Rights

3.3.7 Purchase by the Company of its Own Shares
3.3.7.1 Dutch Law and Information on
Share Repurchase Programmes
Under Dutch civil law, the Company may acquire its own shares,
subject to certain provisions of the law of the Netherlands andthe Articles of Association, if (i) the shareholders’ equity less thepayment required to make the acquisition does not fall below
the sum of paid-up and called portion of the share capital andany reserves required by the law of the Netherlands and (ii) the
Company and its subsidiaries would not thereafter hold or holdin pledge shares with an aggregate nominal value exceeding
one-half (50%) of the Company’s issued share capital. Shareacquisitions may be effected by the Board of Directors only if
the shareholders’ meeting has authorised the Board of Directors
to effect such repurchases. Such authorisation may apply for a
maximum period of 18 months.
For the authorisations granted to the Board of Directors at
the AGM of Shareholders held on 10 April 2019, see “— 3.2.3
Modiﬁcation of Share Capital or Rights Attached to the Shares”.

3.3.7.2 European Regulation
Pursuant to the Market Abuse Regulation and EU DelegatedRegulation no. 2016/1052, the Company is subject to conditions
for share repurchase programmes and disclosure relating
thereto. In particular, prior to implementing the share repurchaseprogramme, the Company must ensure adequate disclosure of
the following information: the purpose of the programme, themaximum pecuniary amount allocated to the programme, themaximum number of shares to be acquired, and the durationof the programme.
In addition, the Company must report to the competent authorityof each trading venue on which the shares are admitted to tradingor are traded no later than by the end of the seventh daily market
session following the date of execution of the transaction, all thetransactions relating to the buy-back programme and ensure
adequate disclosure of that certain information relating thereto
within the same time frame. These transactions must be postedon the Company’s website and be made available to the public
for at least a 5-year period from the date of adequate public
disclosure.

3.3.7.3 French Regulations
As a result of its listing on a regulated market in France, theCompany is subject to the European regulations summarised
above in 3.3.7.2 (European Regulation).
In addition, the Autorité des marchés financiers (“AMF”)
General Regulations and AMF guidelines n°2017-04 deﬁne theconditions for a company’s trading in its own shares to be valid inaccordance with the Market Abuse Regulation and EU DelegatedRegulation no. 2016 / 1052.
Moreover, the Company must report to the AMF, on at least
a monthly basis, all the speciﬁed information regarding such
purchases previously published on its website and information
concerning the cancellation of such repurchased shares.

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Airbus / Registration Document 2019

3.3.7.4 German Regulations
As a foreign issuer, the Company is subject to German rules
on repurchasing its own shares only to a limited extent, sinceGerman rules refer to the law of the Member State in which theCompany is domiciled. In addition, general principles of German
law on equal treatment of shareholders are applicable.
The European regulations summarised above in 3.3.7.2(European Regulation) also applies to the Company in Germany.

3.3.7.5 Spanish Regulations
As a foreign issuer, the Company is not subject to Spanish
rules on trading in its own shares, which only apply to Spanish
issuers. The European regulations summarised above in 3.3.7.2(European Regulation) also applies to the Company in Spain.

3.3.7.6 Description of the Share
Repurchase Programme to Be
Authorised by the Annual General
Meeting of Shareholders to Be
Held on 16 April 2020
Pursuant to Articles 241-2-I and 241-3 of the AMF General
Regulations, below is a description of the share repurchaseprogramme (“descriptif du programme”) to be implemented by
the Company:– date of the shareholders’ meeting to authorise the share
repurchase programme: 16 April 2020;– intended use of the Airbus SE shares held by the Company
as of the date of this document: the owning of shares for the
performance of obligations related to employee share option
programmes or other allocations of shares to employees ofAirbus and Airbus’ companies;– purposes of the share repurchase programme to be
implemented by the Company (by order of decreasingpriority, without any effect on the actual order of use of
the repurchase authorisation, which will be determinedon a case-by-case basis by the Board of Directors basedon need):– the reduction of share capital by cancellation of all or partof the repurchased shares, it being understood that the
repurchased shares shall not carry any voting or dividend
rights,– the owning of shares for the performance of obligations
related to (i) debt ﬁ nancial instruments convertible into
Airbus SE shares, or (ii) employee share option programmes
or other allocations of shares to employees of Airbus andAirbus’ companies,– the purchase of shares for retention and subsequent use forexchange or payment in the framework of potential external
growth transactions, and– the liquidity or dynamism of the secondary market of the
Airbus SE shares carried out pursuant to a liquidity agreement
to be entered into with an independent investment services
provider in compliance with the decision of the AMF dated
1 October 2008 (as amended) related to approval of liquidity
agreements recognised as market practices by the AMF;

General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.3 Shareholdings and Voting Rights– procedure:– maximum portion of the issued share capital that may be
repurchased by the Company: 10%,– maximum number of shares that may be repurchased by
the Company: 78,317,311 shares, based on an issued sharecapital of 783,173,115 shares as of 12 February 2020,– the amounts to be paid in consideration for the purchase of
the treasury shares must be, in accordance with applicable
Dutch law, a price per share not less than the nominal
value and not more than the higher of the price of the last
independent trade and the highest current independent bid
on the trading venues of the regulated market of the country
in which the purchase is carried out.
The Company undertakes to maintain at any time a sufﬁcientnumber of shares in public hands to meet the thresholdsof Euronext,– shares may be bought or sold at any time (including during
a public offering) to the extent authorised by the stock
exchange regulations and by any means, including, without
limitation, by means of block trades and including the use of
options, combinations of derivative ﬁnancial instruments or
the issue of securities giving rights in any way to Airbus SE
shares within the limits set out in this document.
The portion of shares repurchased through the use of blocktrades may amount to all the shares to be repurchased in
the context of this programme,– in addition, in the event that derivative ﬁnancial instruments
are used, the Company will ensure that it does not use
mechanisms which would signiﬁcantly increase the volatilityof the shares in particular in the context of call options,– characteristics of the shares to be repurchased by theCompany: shares of Airbus SE, a company listed onEuronext Paris, on the regulierter Markt of the Frankfurt
Stock Exchange and on the Madrid, Bilbao, Barcelona andValencia Stock Exchanges,– maximum purchase price per share: € 100;
– term of the share repurchase programme and othercharacteristics: this share repurchase programme shall bevalid until 10 October 2020 inclusive, i.e. the date of expiry of
the authorisation requested from the AGM of Shareholders
to be held on 10 April 2019.

3

As of the date of this document, the Company has not entered into
any liquidity agreement with an independent investment services
provider in the context of the share repurchase programme.

Share Repurchase Programme 2019
In February 2020, the Company started implementing a sharebuyback programme that was conferred by Board of Directors on
12 February 2020 following the authorisation by the Company’s
Annual General Meeting of shareholders on 10 April 2019. This
share buyback programme is reported in accordance with theMarket Abuse Regulation.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019119General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.4 Dividends

3.4 Dividends
3.4.1 Dividends and Cash Distributions Paid
Cash distributions paid to the shareholders are set forth in the table below:
Date of the cash distribution payment

Gross amount per share(1)Adjusted amount per share(2)2015

3 May 2016

€ 1.30€ 1.3042016

20 April 2017

€ 1.35€ 1.332

2017

18 April 2018

€ 1.50€ 1.4832018

17 April 2019

€ 1.65€ 1.636

Financial year

(1) Note: figures take into account the number of shares outstanding at the date of payment.
(2) Note: amounts per share adjusted to the current number of shares outstanding as of 31 December 2019.

3.4.2 Dividend Policy of the Company
In December 2013, Airbus formalised a dividend policy demonstrating a strong commitment to shareholders returns. This policy
targets sustainable growth in the dividend within a pay-out ratio of 30%-40%.

3.4.3 Unclaimed Dividends
Pursuant to the Articles of Association, the claim for payment of
a dividend or other distribution approved by the shareholders’meeting shall lapse ﬁve years after the day on which such claim
becomes due and payable. The claim for payment of interim

dividends shall lapse ﬁve years after the day on which the claim
for payment of the dividend against which the interim dividend
could be distributed becomes due and payable.

3.4.4 Taxation
The statements below represent a broad analysis of the current
tax laws of the Netherlands. The description is limited to thematerial tax implications for a holder of the Company’s shares(the “Shares”) who is not and is not deemed to be resident in
the Netherlands for any Dutch tax purposes (a “Non-Resident
Holder”). Certain categories of holders of the Company’s shares
may be subject to special rules which are not addressed below

120

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

and which may be substantially different from the general rules
described below. Investors who are in doubt as to their tax
position in the Netherlands and in their state of residence should
consult their professional advisors. Where the summary refers
to “the Netherlands” or “Netherlands” or “Dutch”, it refers only
to the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

General Description of the Company and its Share Capital /3.4 Dividends

Withholding Tax on Dividends
In general, a dividend distributed by the Company in respect ofShares will be subject to Dutch withholding tax at a statutory
rate of 15%. Dividends include inter alia dividends in cash or in
kind, deemed and constructive dividends, (partial) repaymentsof paid-in capital not recognised as capital for Dutch dividend
withholding tax purposes, and liquidation proceeds in excessof the average paid-in capital recognised as capital for Dutch
dividend withholding tax purposes. Stock dividends paid out of
the Company’s paid-in-share premium, recognised as capitalfor Dutch dividend withholding tax purposes, will not be subject
to this withholding tax.
A Non-Resident Holder of Shares can be eligible for a partial orcomplete exemption or refund of all or a portion of the above
withholding tax pursuant to domestic rules or under a tax
convention that is in effect between the Netherlands and the
Non-Resident Holder’s country of residence for tax purposes.
The Netherlands has concluded such conventions with the US,
Canada, Switzerland, Japan, almost all European Union Member
States and other countries.

Withholding Tax on Sale or
Other Dispositions of Shares
Payments on the sale or other dispositions of Shares will not
be subject to Dutch withholding tax, unless the sale or otherdisposition is, or is deemed to be, made to the Company ora direct or indirect subsidiary of the Company. In principle,
a redemption or sale to the Company or a direct or indirect
subsidiary of the Company will be deemed to be a dividend
and will be subject to the rules set forth in “Withholding Tax on
Dividends” above.

Taxes on Income and Capital Gains
A Non-Resident Holder who receives dividends distributed by
the Company on Shares or who realises a capital gain derived
from Shares, will not be subject to Dutch taxation on income ora capital gain unless:– the income or capital gain is attributable to an enterpriseor part thereof which is either effectively managed in the
Netherlands or carried on through a permanent establishment(“vaste inrichting”) or permanent representative (“vaste
vertegenwoordiger”) taxable in the Netherlands and the holderof Shares derives proﬁts from such enterprise (other than by
way of the holding of securities); or– the Non-Resident Holder is an entity and has, directly or
indirectly, a substantial interest (“aanmerkelijk belang”) ora deemed substantial interest in the Company and suchinterest is held by the Non-Resident Holder with the main
purpose of or one of the main purposes of avoiding personal
income tax for another person; or– the Non-Resident Holder is an individual and such holder ora connected person to such holder (“verbonden persoon”)
has, directly or indirectly, a substantial interest (“aanmerkelijk
belang”) or a deemed substantial interest in the Company
which is not attributable to an enterprise; or– the income or capital gain qualifies as income frommiscellaneous activities (“belastbaar resultaat uit overigewerkzaamheden”) in the Netherlands as deﬁned in the Dutch
Income Tax Act 2001 (“Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001”),
including without limitation, activities that exceed normal, active
portfolio management (normaal actief vermogensbeheer).

3

Generally, a Non-Resident Holder of Shares will not have asubstantial interest in the Company’s share capital, unless the
Non-Resident Holder, alone or together with certain related
persons holds, jointly or severally directly or indirectly, Sharesin the Company, or a right to acquire Shares in the Company
representing 5% or more of the Company’s total issued andoutstanding share capital or any class thereof. Generally, a
deemed substantial interest exists if all or part of a substantial
interest has been or is deemed to have been disposed of withapplication of a roll-over relief.

Gift or Inheritance Taxes
Dutch gift or inheritance taxes will not be levied on the occasionof the transfer of Shares by way of gift by, or on the death of,a Non-Resident Holder, unless the transfer is construed as aninheritance or gift made by or on behalf of, a person who, at thetime of the gift or death, is or is deemed to be resident in the
Netherlands for the purpose of the relevant provisions.

Value Added Tax
There is no Dutch value added tax payable by a holder of Sharesin respect of dividends on the Shares or on the transfer of the
Shares.

Other Taxes and Duties
There is no Dutch registration tax, stamp duty or any other similar
tax or duty other than court fees payable in the Netherlands by aholder of Shares in respect of or in connection with the execution,delivery and/or enforcement by legal proceedings (including any
foreign judgement in the courts of the Netherlands) with respect
to the dividends on the Shares or on the transfer of the Shares.

Residence
A Non-Resident Holder will not become resident, or be deemed
to be resident, in the Netherlands solely as a result of holding
a Share or of the execution, performance, delivery and/or
enforcement of rights in respect of the Shares.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

121

Chapter

4
122

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

4

Corporate Governance
4.1
4.1.1
4.1.2
4.1.3
4.1.4

Management and Control
Corporate Governance Arrangements
Dutch Corporate Governance Code, “Comply or Explain”
Enterprise Risk Management System
Internal Audit

Interests of Directors
and Principal Executive Officers
4.2.1 Remuneration Policy
4.2.2 Long-Term Incentives Granted
to the Chief Executive Officer
4.2.3 Related Party Transactions

124
124
146
147
149

4.2

4.3
4.3.1
4.3.2
4.3.3

150
150
162
163

Employee Success Sharing and Incentive Plans
Employee Success Sharing and Incentive Agreements
Employee Share Ownership Plans
Long-Term Incentive Plans

163
163
163
165

Airbus / Registration Document 2019123

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

4.1 Management and Control
The corporate governance arrangements of the Company were
substantially changed pursuant to the Multiparty Agreement,
including changes in the composition of the Board of Directors
and the rules governing its internal affairs (the “Board Rules”).
These changes are intended to further normalise and simplify

the Company’s corporate governance, reﬂecting an emphasis
on best corporate governance practices and the absence of acontrolling shareholder group. Below is a summary descriptionof such changes.

4.1.1 Corporate Governance Arrangements
4.1.1.1 Board of Directorsa) Composition Rules and Principles
Under the Articles of Association, the Board of Directors consistsof at most 12 Directors. Under the Board Rules, each Board
Director shall retire at the close of the AGM held three years
following his or her appointment, unless the said mandate isrenewed. Under the Board Rules, at least a majority of theMembers of the Board of Directors (i.e. 7/12) must be European
Union (“EU”; any reference in the Board Rules to the EU includes
the UK, notwithstanding a withdrawal of the UK from the EU)
nationals (including the Chairman of the Board of Directors) anda majority of such majority (i.e. 4/7) must be both EU nationals
and residents. No Director may be an active civil servant. The
Board of Directors has one Executive Director and 11 NonExecutive Directors. While the Board of Directors appoints
the Chief Executive Ofﬁcer of the Company (the “CEO”), theCEO is required to be an Executive Director and must be an EU
national and resident; therefore it is anticipated that the Boardof Directors will appoint as CEO the person appointed by theshareholders as an Executive Director. At least nine of the NonExecutive Directors must be “Independent Directors” (including
the Chairman of the Board of Directors).
Under the Board Rules, an “Independent Director” is a nonExecutive Director who is independent within the meaning of
the Dutch Corporate Governance Code (the “Dutch Code”) andmeets additional independence standards. Speciﬁcally, where
the Dutch Code would determine non-independence, in part,by reference to a Director’s relationships with shareholders who
own at least 10% of the Company, the Board Rules determine
such Director’s non-independence, in relevant part, by reference
to such Director’s relationships with shareholders who own
at least 5% of the Company. According to the criteria of the
Dutch Code and the Board Rules, all non-Executive Directors(including the Chairman) presently qualify as an “Independent
Director”.
The Remuneration, Nomination and Governance Committee of theBoard of Directors (the “RNGC”) is charged with recommending
to the Board of Directors the names of candidates to succeed
active Board Members after consultation with the Chairman of
the Board of Directors and the CEO.
The Board of Directors, deciding by simple majority vote,proposes individuals to the shareholders’ meeting of theCompany for appointment as Directors by the shareholders’124

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

meeting. No shareholder or group of shareholders, or any otherentity, has the right to propose, nominate or appoint any Directors
other than the rights available to all shareholders under Dutchlaw.
In addition to the membership and composition rules describedabove, the RNGC, in recommending candidates for the Boardof Directors, and the Board of Directors in its resolutions
proposed to the shareholders’ meeting regarding the renewal
or appointment of Directors, are both required to apply thefollowing principles:– the preference for the best candidate for the position;– the preference for gender diversity between equal proﬁles;– the maintenance of appropriate skills mix and geographicalexperience;– the maintenance, in respect of the number of Members of
the Board of Directors, of the observed balance among thenationalities of the candidates in respect of the location of
the main industrial centres of Airbus (in particular among thenationals of France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom,
where these main industrial centres are located); and– at least a majority of the Members of the Board of Directors(i.e. 7/12) shall be EU nationals (including the Chairman), anda majority of such majority (i.e. 4/7) shall be both EU nationals
and residents (including the UK and its constituent countries,
notwithstanding a withdrawal of the UK from the EU).
In accordance with these principles the Board of Directors shallcontinue to seek greater diversity with respect to gender, age,geography, education, profession and background.
In 2019, one new Member, Mr. Faury, joined the Board of Directors
as new CEO replacing Mr. Enders. With his extensive operational
knowledge, his global outlook and strong personal values,
Mr. Faury has the right competencies, mind-set and personal
skills to fulﬁl this position in line with the Board’s expectations
and the evolution of the Company’s business.
At the end of 2019, the average age of the Members of the Boardof Directors was 59. The proportion of female representatives
is today at 25% compared to 0% seven years ago. The Board
composition shows a balanced mix of experience with, forexample, ﬁve Members having aerospace industry skills, seven
having geopolitical or economics skills, ﬁve having information
or data management skills and five having manufacturing
and production skills. More details about the diversity of theMembers of the Board of Directors are available in the tableentitled Airbus SE Board of Directors until AGM 2020.

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

The Board of Directors is required to take into account, in the
resolutions proposed in respect of the nomination of Directors
presented to the shareholders’ meeting, the undertakings of theCompany to the French State pursuant to the amendment to
the French State Security Agreement and to the German State
pursuant to the German State Security Agreement, in each caseas described more fully in “3.3.2.3 — Undertakings with Respect
to Certain Interests of Certain Stakeholders”. In practice, thismeans that at all times the Board of Directors needs to have(i) two Directors who should also be French Defence Outside
Directors (as deﬁned above) of the French Defence Holding
Company (as deﬁned above) who have been proposed by theCompany and consented to by the French State and (ii) two
Directors who should also be German Defence Outside Directors(as deﬁned above) of the German Defence Holding Company(as deﬁned above) who have been proposed by the Company
and consented to by the German State.
The RNGC endeavours to avoid a complete replacementof outgoing Directors by new candidates and draws up an
appointment and reappointment schedule for the Directors after
consultation with the Chairman and the CEO. In drawing up sucha schedule, the RNGC considers the continuity of companyspeciﬁc knowledge and experience within the Board of Directors,
also taking into account that a Director should at the time of his/her appointment or re-appointment not be older than 75 years
and ensuring that at least one third of Directors’ positions areeither renewed or replaced every year for a term of three years.
This is to avoid large block replacements of Directors at one
single AGM, with the corresponding loss of experience andintegration challenges, provided that exceptions to these rules
may be agreed by the Board of Directors if speciﬁc circumstances
provide an appropriate justiﬁcation for such exceptions.

b) Role of the Board of Directors
Most Board of Directors’ decisions can be made by a simple
majority of the votes cast by the Directors (a “Simple Majority”),
but certain decisions must be made by a two-thirds majority (i.e.
eight favourable votes) of votes cast by the Directors regardlessof whether they are present or represented in respect of thedecision (a “Qualified Majority”). In addition, amendments tocertain provisions of the Board Rules require the unanimous
approval of the Board of Directors, with no more than one
Director not being present or represented (including provisions
relating to nationality and residence requirements with respect toMembers of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee).
However, no individual Director or class of Directors has a vetoright with respect to any Board of Directors’ decisions.
The Board Rules specify that in addition to the Boardof Directors’ responsibilities under applicable law and the
Articles of Association, the Board of Directors is responsible forcertain enumerated categories of decisions. Under the Articles
of Association, the Board of Directors is responsible for the
management of the Company. Under the Board Rules, the Boardof Directors delegates the execution of the strategy as approvedby the Board of Directors and the day-to-day management of
the Company to the CEO, who, supported by the Executive
Committee and its executive leadership team, makes decisions
with respect to the management of the Company. However,
the CEO should not enter into transactions that form part of
the key responsibilities of the Board of Directors unless thesetransactions have been approved by the Board of Directors.

Matters that require Board of Directors’ approval include among
others, the following items (by Simple Majority unless otherwise
noted):– approving any change in the nature and scope of the businessof the Company and Airbus;– debating and approving the overall strategy and the strategicplan of Airbus;– approving the operational business plan of Airbus (the“Business Plan”) and the yearly budget of Airbus (“Yearly
Budget”), including the plans for Investment, R&D, Employment,
Finance and, as far as applicable, major programmes;– nominating, suspending or revoking the Chairman of the Boardof Directors and the CEO (Qualiﬁed Majority);– approving of all of the Members of the Executive Committee
as proposed by the CEO and their service contracts and othercontractual matters in relation to the Executive Committee anddeciding upon the appointment and removal of the Secretary
to the Board of Directors on the basis of the recommendationof the RNGC;– approving the relocation of the headquarters of the principal
companies of Airbus and of the operational headquarters of
the Company (Qualiﬁed Majority);– approving decisions in connection with the location of new
industrial sites material to Airbus as a whole or the change ofthe location of existing activities that are material to Airbus;– approving decisions to invest and initiate programmes ﬁnanced
by Airbus, acquisition, divestment or sale decisions, in eachcase for an amount in excess of € 300 million;– approving decisions to invest and initiate programmes
ﬁnanced by Airbus, acquisition, divestment or sale decisions,in each case for an amount in excess of € 800 million (Qualiﬁed
Majority);– approving decisions to enter into and terminate strategic
alliances at the level of the Company or at the level of one ofits principal subsidiaries (Qualiﬁed Majority);– approving matters of shareholder policy, major actions or
major announcements to the capital markets; and– approving decisions in respect of other measures and businessof fundamental signiﬁcance for Airbus or which involves anabnormal level of risk.

4

The Board of Directors must have a certain number of Directors
present or represented at a meeting to take action. This quorum
requirement depends on the action to be taken. For the Boardof Directors to make a decision on a Simple Majority matter,a majority of the Directors must be present or represented.
For the Board of Directors to make a decision on a Qualiﬁed
Majority matter, at least 10 of the Directors must be present or
represented. If the Board of Directors cannot act on a Qualiﬁed
Majority Matter because this quorum is not satisﬁed, the quorum
would decrease to eight of the Directors at a new duly calledmeeting.
In addition, the Board Rules detail the rights and duties of theMembers of the Board of Directors and sets out the core principles
which each and every Member of the Board of Directors shallcomply and shall be bound by, such as acting in the best interestof the Company and its stakeholders, devoting necessary timeand attention to the carrying out of his/her duties and avoiding
any and all conﬂicts of interest.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019125

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Controlc) The Board of Directors(i) Composition of the Board of Directors in 2019
Committee attendance
Board member
Age*, Gender, Nationality

Term Primary occupation
expires & Other mandates

Board
attendance

Status

Since

Denis
RANQUE68, M, French

Independent2013,
previous
re-election
in 2017

2020

Guillaume
FAURY
51, M, French

Executive

2019

2022

Chief Executive Officer
of Airbus SE

8/8
(from
AGM 2019)

VictorCHU
62, M, Chinese /BritishIndependent 2018

2021

Chairman and CEO
of First Eastern
Investment Group

11/11

Jean-Pierre
CLAMADIEU
61, M, French

Independent 2018

2021

Chairman of the Boardof Engie and memberof the Board of AXA SA

10/11

2013,
Ralph D.
CROSBY, Jr.** Independent previous
2020
re-election
72, M, Americanin 2017

Member of the Boardof Directors of American
Electric Power Corp.

11/11

Lord DRAYSON(Paul)**
Independent 201759, M, British

2020

Founder and CEO of
Sensyne Health plc
and Co-Founder andChairman of Drayson
Technologies Group

10/11

2022

Chairwoman and
CEO of RATP Groupand member ofthe Board of Systra

11/11

Member of theSupervisory Boardof ING Group N.V.

8/11

Member of the Board of
Directors of Solvay SA,
CaixaBank SA
and Vodafone PLC

11/11

8/11

Catherine
GUILLOUARD
55, F, French

Independent

2016,
previous
re-election
in 2019

2007,
Hermann-Josef
previous
LAMBERTI
Independent2020
re-election
64, M, Germanin 2017

Director expertise

Chairman of the Boardof Directors of Airbus SE

2016,
previous
re-election
in 2019

2022

Member of the Boardof Management of
Deutsche Telekom AG

2021

Managing Directorof Warburg Pincus
Deutschland GmbH

10/11

2022

Chairman of theManaging Boardof Peugeot SA
and member of theBoard of Directorsof Total SA

9/11

Claudia
NEMAT
51, F, German

Independent

René
OBERMANN56, M, German

Independent 2018

CarlosTAVARES61, M,
Portuguese

2016,
previous
Independent
re-election
in 2019

6/6

5/7

6/7

3/4
(from
AGM 2019)

6/7

5/6

6/7

5/6

6/7

4/6

6/6
7/7

5/7

3/3
(from
30 July2019)

6/7

Board and Committee meetings in 2019

11

7

7

6

Average attendance rate in 2019

91%

86%

89%

87%

* As of 12 February 2020.

Chair** To be re-elected in 2020.
The professional address of all Members of the Board of Directors for any matter relating to Airbus SE is Mendelweg 30, 2333 CS Leiden, The Netherlands.

GlobalBusiness

126

ECC

7/7

2021

Independent

RNGC

11/11

2015,
previous
re-election
in 2018

AmparoMORALEDA
55, F, Spanish

Audit

Engineering& Technology

Manufacturing& Production

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

AerospaceIndustry

Finance& Audit

Geopolitical
Economics

DefenceIndustry

Information & DataManagement

Asia

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

The Company has not appointed observers to the Board of Directors. Pursuant to applicable Dutch law, the employees are notentitled to elect a Director. There is no minimum number of shares that must be held by a Director.

(ii) Curriculum Vitae and Other Mandates and Duties Performed in any Company by the Membersof the Board of Directors in 2019
The Company has not appointed observers to the Board of Directors. Pursuant to applicable Dutch law, the employees are notentitled to elect a Director. There is no minimum number of shares that must be held by a Director.

Denis RANQUECURRICULUM VITAE

68 years old
Director since 2013,
re-elected in 2017
Independent

Denis Ranque began his career at the French Ministry for Industry, where he held various positions in
the energy sector, before joining the Thomson group in 1983 as Planning Director. The following year,
he moved to the electron tubes division, ﬁrst as Director of space business, then, from 1986, as Directorof the division’s microwave tubes department. Two years later, the electron tubes division became the
afﬁliate Thomson Tubes Electroniques, and Denis Ranque took over as Chief Executive of this subsidiaryin 1989. In April 1992, he was appointed Chairman and CEO of Thomson Sintra Activités Sous-marines.
Four years later, he became CEO of Thomson Marconi Sonar, the sonar systems joint venture set upby Thomson-CSF and GEC-Marconi. In January 1998, Denis Ranque was appointed Chairman andChief Executive Ofﬁcer of the Thomson-CSF group, now called Thales. He resigned from this positionin May 2009, as a consequence of a change in shareholding. From February 2010 to June 2012 hehas been Non-Executive Chairman of Technicolor. Since October 2001, he has also been Chairman of
the Board of the École des Mines ParisTech, and since September 2002, Chairman of the Cercle del’Industrie, an association which unites France’s biggest industrial companies; both mandates ended inJune 2012. He is member of the Boards of Directors of Saint-Gobain and CMA-CGM. From 2013 to 2017,
he chaired The Haut Comité de Gouvernement d’Entreprise, the independent body put in place by the
French Code of corporate governance for monitoring and encouraging progress in this ﬁeld. From 2014
to 2017, he has also been co-Chairman of La Fabrique de l’industrie, a think tank dedicated to industry.
Since 2014, he is the Chairman of the Fondation de l’École Polytechnique and a member of the French
Academy for Technologies (“Académie des Technologies”). Denis Ranque, born 1952, is a graduate ofFrance’s École Polytechnique and the Corps des Mines.

CURRENT MANDATES- Chairman of the Board of Directors of Airbus SE;- Member of the Board of Directors of Saint Gobain;- Member of the Board of Directors of CMA-CGM;- President of the Board of Fondation de l’École
Polytechnique.

4

FORMER MANDATESFOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS- President of the French Haut Comité deGouvernement d’Entreprise (until December 2017);- Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of
La Fabrique de l’industrie (until November 2017);- Member of the Board of Directors of ScilabEnterprise SAS (until February 2017).

Airbus / Registration Document 2019127

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

Guillaume FAURYCURRICULUM VITAE

51 years old
Director since 2019
Executive

Guillaume Faury was appointed Airbus Chief Executive Ofﬁcer (CEO) in April 2019 and leads the Company’s
Executive Committee. He was previously President of Airbus’ commercial aircraft business, a role hehad held since February 2018.
Prior to this, Guillaume was Chief Executive Ofﬁ cer of Airbus Helicopters (2013-2018), where hisachievements included restructuring its manufacturing system and introducing new technologies. Before
that, he enjoyed a four-year spell in the car industry at Peugeot (2009-2013), the French automotive
manufacturer, rising to become the Executive Vice-President for Research and Development and amember of the company’s management board. He presided over signiﬁcant advances in Peugeot’s
lower-emissions hybrid-engine technology and the overhaul of the company’s product range, among
other accomplishments.
Between 1998 and 2008, he held various leadership positions in engineering, programmes and ﬂight
testing in Airbus’ helicopter business, which at the time operated under the name of Eurocopter. He
became Executive-Vice President for Programmes and a member of the Eurocopter Executive Committee,
before being appointed as Executive Director for Research and Development.
Guillaume began his career in 1992 as a ﬂight-test engineer for the Eurocopter Tiger helicopter in the
Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), the French government agency responsible for the development
and purchase of defence systems for the French armed forces.
He graduated from the École polytechnique in Paris in 1990 and, subsequently, from the École nationalesupérieure de l’aéronautique et de l’espace in Toulouse.
Guillaume’s love of ﬂying and aviation dates back to his childhood. He is a qualiﬁed light-aircraft pilot
and helicopter ﬂight-test engineer with 1,300 hours of ﬂying experience.
He was born in 1968 in Cherbourg, Normandy, and is married with three children.

CURRENT MANDATES- Chief Executive Ofﬁcer of Airbus SE;- Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus SE;- Member of the Executive Committee ofAirbus SE;- President of Airbus SAS;
- Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Airbus
Operations GmbH;- Chairman of the Board of Directors of Airbus
Canada Managing GP Inc.;- Chairman of the Board of Directors of Airbus U.S.
A220, Inc.;- Member of the Advisory Board of AIRBUS
GROUP VENTURES FUND II, L.P.;- Chairman of the Board of Directors of Fondationd’Entreprises Airbus;- Member of the Board of Directors of AeroSpaceand Defence Industries Association of Europe;- Member and First Vice President of the Boardof Directors of Groupement des Industries
Françaises Aéronautiques et Spatiales;- Member of the Board of Directors of Tallano
Technologies (SAS).

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FORMER MANDATESFOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS- Chairman of the Board of Directors of Airbus(China) Enterprise Management and Services Co.
Limited (until November 2019);- Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus Africa
and Middle east FZE (until November 2019);- Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus
Americas, Inc. (until October 2019);- Chairman of the Board of Directors of Airbus
Helicopters España, SA (until July 2018);- Member of the Supervisory Board of Airbus
Helicopters Deutschland GmbH (until May 2018);- Managing Director (Directeur Général) of
Airbus SAS (until April 2018);- President of Airbus Helicopters (SAS) (until
April 2018);- President of Airbus Helicopters Holding (SAS)(until April 2018);- Chairman of the Board of Directors of Airbus
Helicopters, Inc. (until April 2018);- Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus
Defense and Space, Inc. (until February 2017);- Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus
Defense and Space, SA (until June 2015).

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

Victor CHU
CURRICULUM VITAE

62 years old
Director since 2018
Independent

Victor Chu graduated as a lawyer in London. He was admitted to practice law in England and Hong Kong.
After completing his training with Herbert Smith, the City law ﬁrm, Victor moved back to Hong Kongin 1982 with Herbert Smith. He has since handled a wide array of mandates in the ﬁeld of corporate,commercial and securities law, with special emphasis on China and regional investment transactions. Inlate 1985, he founded Victor Chu & Co., which has become one of the leading law ﬁrms in Hong Kong.
In 1988, Victor Chu created the First Eastern Investment Group, a Hong Kong based international
investment ﬁrm. First Eastern specialises in private equity investments, venture capital investments andinvestments in the expansion stage of business development. Victor Chu was part of the ﬁrst wave ofspecialists in the Chinese market. He penetrated China early and built a lot of relationships at the highest
level in the country.
Victor Chu has been instrumental in gaining the conﬁdence of major international investors and institutions
ready to co-invest with First Eastern Investment Group. Key projects have included toll roads, water
treatment operations, property and manufacturing industries and FinTech, as well as the launch ofJapanese budget airline Peach Aviation.
Victor Chu is an extremely respected business ﬁgure in Hong Kong and Asia. In addition to his businessactivities, he has been very active with several international institutions such as The World Economic
Forum and The Royal Institute of International Affairs. He is also a generous philanthropist in the ﬁeld ofenvironmental protection (Global Ocean Commission, WWF) and education.

CURRENT MANDATES- Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus SE;- Chairman and CEO of First Eastern Investment
Group;- Member of the Board of China Merchants China
Direct;- Member of the Board of Grand Harbour
Marina PLC;
- Member of the Board of Camper & Nicholsons
Marina Investments;- Member of the Board of FE Securities;- Member of the Board of Peach Aviation;- Member of the Board of Evolution Securities Asia;- Member of the Board of Sustainable
Development Capital;- Co-Chair of the International Business Council(by World Economic Forum);- Senior Partner of Victor Chu & Co.

4

FORMER MANDATESFOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS- Member of the Foundation Board of World
Economic Forum (until August 2015).

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Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

Jean-Pierre CLAMADIEUCURRICULUM VITAE

61 years old
Director since 2018
Independent

Jean-Pierre Clamadieu graduated from École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris before becoming
Chief Engineer of the Corps of Mines. Between 1981 and 1993, he worked mainly for the French Ministryof lndustry and as Technical Advisor to the Minister of Labor.
In 1993, Jean-Pierre Clamadieu joined RhônePoulenc to develop new activities in the ﬁeld of automobile
pollution control. ln the following years, he held several executive positions in the Rhodia group, as
President of Rhodia’s Chemicals in Latin America, President of Rhodia Eco Services, Senior Vice President
for Rhodia Corporate Purchasing, President of Rhodia Organic Fine Chemicals division and Presidentof Rhodia Pharmaceuticals & Agrochemicals division.
In October 2003, Mr Clamadieu was appointed CEO of Rhodia, and became its Chairman & CEO in
March 2008. Following a merger between Rhodia and the Belgian chemical group Solvay in 2011,
Mr Clamadieu was appointed Chairman of the Executive Committee and CEO of the new Solvay group.
Since his appointment, Jean-Pierre Clamadieu led the integration of the new group and its transformation
into a major player in the ﬁeld of specialty chemicals and advanced materials, which combines industrial
competitiveness with the quest for sustainable solutions for its clients. His mandate at Solvay SA endedon 1 March 2019.
Mr Clamadieu has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of ENGIE in May 2018.
Jean-Pierre Clamadieu also promotes an ambitious and coordinated European energy policy.

CURRENT MANDATES- Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus SE;- Chairman of the Board of ENGIE;- Member of the Board of Directors of AXA;
- Chairman of the Board of Opéra Nationalde Paris.

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FORMER MANDATESFOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS- Chairman of the Executive Committee and CEOof Solvay SA (until March 2019);- Member of the Board of Solvay Specialty
Chemicals Asia Paciﬁc Pte. Ltd (Singapore)(until March 2019);- Director of Cytec Industries Inc. (until March 2019);- Director Cytec UK Holding Inc. (until March 2019);- Member of the Board of Solvay Finances SA(Luxembourg) (until March 2018);- Member of the Board of Faurecia SA (France)(until February 2018);- Member of the Board of (Solvay Iberica S.L.
(Spain) (until September 2015);- Member of the Board of Directors of Solvay
Quimica S.L. (Spain) (until September 2015).

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

Ralph DOZIER CROSBY, JR.
CURRICULUM VITAE

72 years old
Director since 2013,
Re-elected in 2017
Independent

Ralph Crosby was Member of the Executive Committee of EADS from 2002-2012 and served as Chairman
and CEO of EADS North America from 2002-2009. He presently serves as an Independent Director of
American Electric Power headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, where he chairs the Human Resources
Committee and of Excelitas Holdings, LP, headquartered in Boston. Prior to joining EADS, Mr Crosby
was an Executive with Northrop Grumman Corporation, where he had served as a Member of the
Corporate Policy Council with positions including President of the Integrated Systems Sector, Corporate
Vice President and General Manager of the company’s Commercial Aircraft Division and Corporate Vice
President and General Manager of the B-2 Division. Prior to his industry career, Mr Crosby served as
an ofﬁcer in the U.S. Army, where his last military assignment was as military staff assistant to the Vice
President of the United States. Mr Crosby is a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, andholds Master’s degrees from Harvard University, and the University of Geneva, Switzerland. He is therecipient of the James Forrestal Award from the National Defense Industrial Association, and has been
awarded Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur of France.

CURRENT MANDATES- Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus SE;- Member of the Board of Directors (Supervisory
Board) of American Electric Power Corporation;- Member of the Board of Directors of Excelitas
Holdings, LP.

4

FORMER MANDATESFOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS- Member of the Board of Directors and of the
Executive Committee of the Atlantic Council of theUnited States (until August 2018);- Member of the Board of Directors (Supervisory
Board) of Serco Group plc (until June 2017).

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Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

Lord DRAYSON (PAUL)CURRICULUM VITAE

59 years old
Director since 2017
Independent

Lord Drayson graduated as an engineer and ﬁ nished his PhD in 1985 at Aston University. In 1987
he became Managing Director of The Lambourn Food Company Limited, a subsidiary of the Trebor Group
and, after a management buy-out of the Company in 1989, completed its sale to a third party in 1991.
The same year, he founded Genisys Development Limited, a consultancy company for new products
development and management. In 1993, he co-founded PowderJect Pharmaceuticals Plc and led its
business as Chairman and CEO until it was sold to Chiron Corporation, a US company, in 2003. He cofounded Drayson Racing Technologies LLP in 2007 and, in 2014 he set up Drayson Technologies Ltd,an Internet of Things platform company of which he currently is the co-founder and Chairman, andwhich subsequently led to the spin-out of Sensyne Health plc of which he is currently Founder and CEO.
Lord Drayson was also elected Chairman of the U.K. BioIndustry Association in 2001 and was appointed
to the House of Lords and a Member of the Science and Technology Committee of the House of Lords
in 2004. He was then appointed Parliamentary under Secretary of State for Defence Procurement in2005 and became Minister of State for Defence Equipment & Support in 2006 and Minister of State for
Science & Innovation in 2008.

CURRENT MANDATES- Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus SE;- Founder and CEO of Sensyne Health plc;
- Chairman of Drayson Holdco 2 Ltd;- Science Entrepreneur in Residence of Magdalen
College, Oxford;- Supernumerary Fellow of St. John’s College,
Oxford;- Member of Her Majesty’s Privy Council;- Member of House of Lords;- Co-founder and Trustee of the Drayson
Foundation;- Honorary Fellow of the Academy of Medical
Sciences.

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FORMER MANDATESFOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS- Member of Project of the “Oxfordshire Innovation
Engine” Project (until February 2018);- Trustee and External Member of Council at
University of Oxford (until December 2017);- Chairman of the Executive Committee at
OUC (Oxford University Clinic) Centres of
Excellence LLP (until December 2017);- Non-Executive Director and Board Memberof the Royal Navy (until November 2017);- President of the Motorsports Industry Association(until October 2015).

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

Catherine GUILLOUARDCURRICULUM VITAE

55 years old
Director since 2016
Independent

Catherine Guillouard began her career in 1993 at the Ministry of Economy in the French Treasury working
for the department in charge of the Africa – CFA zone and later in the Banking Affairs Department.
She joined Air France in 1997 as IPO Senior Project Manager. She was subsequently appointed Deputy
Vice-President Finance Controlling in 1999, Senior Vice-President of Flight Operations in 2001, Senior
Vice-President of Human Resources and Change Management in 2003 and Senior Vice-President of
Finance in 2005. In September 2007, she joined Eutelsat as Chief Financial Ofﬁcer and member of theGroup Executive Committee. Catherine joined Rexel in April 2013 as Chief Financial Ofﬁcer and Group
Senior Vice-President. Between May 2014 and February 2017 she has been Deputy Chief Executive
Ofﬁcer of Rexel. On 2 August 2017, Ms Guillouard was appointed Chairwoman and Chief Executive
Ofﬁcer of RATP Group, the ﬁfth largest urban transportation operator in the world with nearly 16 million
daily passengers in 14 countries and 4 continents, a workforce of nearly 63,000 employees worldwide
and a revenue of € 5.6bn in 2018. She is also Member of SYSTRA’s supervisory board, the RATP Groupand SNCF joint engineering subsidiary. Catherine Guillouard, born in 1965, is a graduate of the Instituteof Political Studies of Paris and the École Nationale d’Administration and she has a PhD of European
laws (Panthéon-Sorbonne).

CURRENT MANDATES- Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus SE;- Chairwoman and Chief Executive Ofﬁcer
of RATP Group;- Chairwoman of the Supervisory Boardof RATP DEV;
- Member of the Supervisory Board of SYSTRA.

4

FORMER MANDATESFOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS- Member of the Board of Directors of ENGIE(until May 2019);- Deputy Chief Executive Ofﬁcer of Rexel(until February 2017).

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Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

Hermann-Josef LAMBERTICURRICULUM VITAE

64 years old

Hermann-Josef Lamberti was Member of the Management Board of Deutsche Bank AG from 1999
until 2012 and operated as the bank’s Chief Operating Ofﬁcer. As COO he had global responsibility for
Human Resources, Information Technology, Operations and Process Management, Building and Facilities
Management as well as Purchasing. He joined Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt in 1998 as Executive Vice
President. From 1985, he held various management positions within IBM, working in Europe and theUnited States, in the ﬁelds of controlling, internal application development, sales, personal software,marketing and brand management. In 1997, he was appointed Chairman of the Management of IBM
Germany. Mr Lamberti started his career in 1982 with Touche Ross in Toronto, before joining the Chemical
Bank in Frankfurt. He studied Business Administration at the Universities of Cologne and Dublin, andgraduated with a Master’s degree.

Director since 2007,
last re-elected in 2017
Independent134

CURRENT MANDATES- Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus SE;- Member of the Board of Trustees of Institutefor Law and Finance Frankfurt;- Member of the Advisory Board ofWirtschaftsinitiative FrankfurtRheinMain e.V.;- Member of the Board of Trustees of Johann
Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Fachbereich
Wirtschaftswissenschaften;- Member of the Board of Trustees of Frankfurt
Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS)
of Goethe-Universität;- Member of the Supervisory Boardof ING Group N.V.;- Senior Business Advisor of Advent
International GmbH;- Owner / Managing Director of Frankfurt
Technology Management GmbH;- Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Addiko
Bank AG.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

FORMER MANDATESFOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS- Member of the Board of LDM – Lefdal Data Mine,
AS, Maloy, Norway (until December 2017);- Member of the Board of Stonebranch INC.,
Alpharetta, Georgia, USA (until June 2017);- Member of the Supervisory Board OpenXchange AG (until June 2016).

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

María AMPARO MORALEDA MARTÍNEZCURRICULUM VITAE

55 years old
Director since 2015,
last re-election in 2018
Independent

Amparo Moraleda graduated as an industrial engineer from the ICAI (Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería
Industrial) Madrid and holds a PDG from IESE Business School in Madrid. Between January 2009 andFebruary 2012, she was Chief Operating Ofﬁcer of Iberdrola SA’s International Division with responsibility
for the United Kingdom and the United States. She also headed Iberdrola Engineering and Construction
from January 2009 to January 2011. Previously, she served as General Manager of IBM Spain andPortugal (2001-2009). In 2005 her area of responsibility was extended to encompass Greece, Israel
and Turkey as well. Between 2000 and 2001, she was executive assistant to the Chairman and CEOof IBM Corporation. From 1998 to 2000, Ms Moraleda was General Manager of INSA (a subsidiary of
IBM Global Services). From 1995 to 1997, she was HR Director for EMEA at IBM Global Services andfrom 1988 to 1995 held various professional and management positions at IBM España. Ms Moraleda
is also a member of various boards and trusts of different institutions and bodies. She is member of
the academy of “Ciencias Sociales y del Medio Ambiente” of Andalucía (Spain), member of the boardof trustees of MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Madrid, CurArte Foundation in Madrid, member of theInternational Advisory Board of Instituto de Empresa Business School and member of the Board of the
global alumni association of IESE Business School. In May 2017 she was inducted as a member of the
Spanish Royal Academy of Economic and Financial Sciences.

CURRENT MANDATES- Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus SE;- Member of the Board of Directors of Vodafone plc;
- Member of the Board of Directors of Solvay SA;- Member of the Board of Directors of
Caixabank SA;- Member of the Supervisory Board of CSIC(Consejo Superior d’Investigaciones Cientiﬁcas);- Member of the Advisory Board of SAP Spain;- Member of the Advisory Board of Spencer Stuart
Spain; and- Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus
Foundation.

4

FORMER MANDATESFOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS- Member of the Board of Directors of Faurecia SA(until October 2017);- Member of the Advisory Board of KPMG Spain(until June 2017);- Member of the Board of Directors of Meliá Hotels
International SA (until June 2015);- Member of the Board of Directors of Alstom SA(until June 2015);- Member of the Board of Corporación Financiera
Alba SA (until May 2015).

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Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

Claudia NEMATCURRICULUM VITAE

51 years old
Director since 2016
Independent

Born in 1968, Claudia Nemat has been a member of the Board of Management of Deutsche Telekom AG
since October 2011. Mrs. Nemat led the European business of DT until the end of 2016. Since January 2017she has led the new Board area Technology & Innovation.
Before joining Deutsche Telekom AG, Claudia Nemat spent 17 years working for McKinsey & Company
where she was elected Partner in 2000, and Senior Partner in 2006. Among other responsibilities, she
was co-leader of the global Technology Sector and managed it in the EMEA economic region.
She focuses on digital transformation, the impact of new technologies such as artiﬁcial intelligence on
business models, our work and lives, complex stakeholder management, and leading global teams. She
has worked in numerous European countries as well as North and South America, was a member of theLanxess Supervisory Board for several years and has been a member of the Airbus Board of Directors
since 2016.
Claudia Nemat studied physics at University of Cologne and taught at the Institute of Mathematics andTheoretical Physics.

CURRENT MANDATES- Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus SE;- Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus
Defence and Space GmbH;- Member of the Management Board of Deutsche
Telekom AG;- Chairperson of the Supervisory Boardof Deutsche Telekom IT GmbH;- Member of the University Council of Universityof Cologne;- Member of the Executive Committee of Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik e.V.

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FORMER MANDATESFOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS- Chairperson and Member of the Board of Buyln(related to Deutsche Telekom) (until January 2017);- Member of the Board of OTE (related to Deutsche
Telekom) (until January 2017);- Member of the Supervisory Board of Lanxess AG(until May 2016).

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

René OBERMANNCURRICULUM VITAE

56 years old
Director since 2018
Independent

In February 2015 René Obermann joined Warburg Pincus, a leading private equity ﬁrm, as a Partnerand Managing Director. Subsequent to investments made by Warburg Pincus, he assumed roles as
Chairman of the Board at 1&1 IONOS Holding SE and as Director at Inmarsat. Furthermore, he serveson the board of Allianz Deutschland AG.
René worked as CEO of Ziggo B.V. in the Netherlands in 2014 until the merger with LibertyGlobal’s
UPC. Prior to Ziggo, René worked at Deutsche Telekom Group (DT) from 1998 until 2013. After running
DT’s mobile division (T-Mobile International), he was appointed as CEO of Deutsche Telekom AG in
November 2006, where he remained until December 2013.
René began his career with a business traineeship at BMW AG in Munich. Next, he founded his own
business in 1986: ABC Telekom, a company distributing telecommunication equipment and providing
technical services. After the acquisition of ABC Telekom by Hutchison Whampoa in 1991, René became
Managing Partner of the resulting company: Hutchison Mobilfunk GmbH. Between 1993 and 1998, he
was CEO of that company.
From 2007 to 2013, René also served as Vice President of the German Association for Information
Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM).

CURRENT MANDATES- Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus SE;- Managing Director of Warburg Pincus
Deutschland GmbH;- Member of the Supervisory Board of Allianz
Deutschland AG;- Chairman of the Supervisory Board of 1&1
IONOS Holding SE;- Non-Executive Director of Inmarsat.

4

FORMER MANDATESFOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS- Member of the Supervisory Board of Inexio
Informationstechnologie und Telekommunikation
KGaA (until September 2019);- Member of the Board of Directors of Telenor ASA(until August 2019);- Member of the Board of Directors ofThyssenKrupp AG (until August 2018);- Member of the Supervisory Board of Compu
Group Medical SE (until December 2017);- Member of the Supervisory Board of Spotify
Technology SA (until July 2016);- Member of the Supervisory Board of E.ON SE(until June 2016).

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Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

Carlos TAVARESCURRICULUM VITAE
Carlos Tavares is a graduate of École Centrale Paris. He held a number of different positions with the
Renault Group from 1981 to 2004 before joining Nissan. In 2009, he was appointed Executive Vice
President, Chairman of the Management Committee Americas and President of Nissan North America.
He was named Group Chief Operating Ofﬁcer of Renault in 2011. Since 1 January 2014, he has joined
the Managing Board of PSA Peugeot Citroën. He was named Chairman of the Managing Board since
31 March 2014.

61 years old

CURRENT MANDATES

Director since 2016

- Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus SE;- Chairman of the Managing Board of Peugeot SA;- Member of the Board of Directors of Total SA.

Independent

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FORMER MANDATESFOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS- Director of Faurecia SA (until October 2018);- Manager of Bed&Breakfast in Lisbon (until
March 2015).

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

Replacements of Board Members in the course of 2019
Until AGM 2019

From AGM 2019*

Name

Age

StatusName

Age

StatusMr. Thomas ENDERS

60

Executive

Mr. Guillaume FAURY

51

Executive* Further information on the Board members can be found in the above table “Airbus SE Board of Directors until AGM 2020”.

Changes in the composition of the Board Committees in the course of 2019
Until 2019 AGM*
Committee

Name

StatusMr. Hermann-Josef
LAMBERTI

Audit

Ms. Catherine
GUILLOUARD**

Ethics andCompliance

From 2019 AGM
Name

StatusFrom July Board
Name

StatusMs. Catherine
GUILLOUARDMemberMr. Hermann-Josef
LAMBERTI

MemberMr. Jean-Pierre
CLAMADIEU

Member4
Mr. René
OBERMANN

Member* Further information on the Committee members can be found in the above tables “Airbus SE Board of Directors until AGM 2020” and “Replacements of Board
Members in the course of 2019”.
** Ms. Guillouard replaced Mr. Lamberti as Chair of the Audit Committee in 2019.
Chair

Independent Directors
The Independent Directors appointed pursuant to the criteria of
independence set out above are Denis Ranque, Ralph Crosby,
Catherine Guillouard, Victor Chu, René Obermann, HermannJosef Lamberti, Lord Paul Drayson, Maria Amparo Moraleda
Martinez, Claudia Nemat, Carlos Tavares and Jean-Pierre
Clamadieu.

Prior Offences and Family Ties
To the Company’s knowledge, none of the Directors (in either
their individual capacity or as Director or senior manager of
any of the entities listed above) has been convicted in relation
to fraudulent offences, been the subject of any bankruptcy,
receivership or liquidation, nor been the subject of any ofﬁcial
public incrimination and/or sanction by a statutory or regulatory
authority, nor been disqualiﬁed by a court from acting as a
Member of the administrative, management or supervisory
bodies of any issuer or conduct of affairs of any company, during
at least the last ﬁve years. As of the date of this document, there
are no family ties among any of the Directors.

(iii) Operation of the Board of Directors in 2019
Board of Directors Meetings
The Board of Directors met 11 times during 2019 and wasregularly informed of developments through business reports
from the CEO, including progress on the strategic and operational
activities. The average attendance rate at these meetings was91%.

Throughout 2019, the Board of Directors reviewed and discussed
the technical and commercial progress of signiﬁcant new andrunning programmes. For the Commercial Aircraft, this comprisedinter alia the ramp-up in production of the A320 Family aircraft(including the A220) and the transition to the more efﬁcient neo
version, the ramp-up of the A350 aircraft and the mitigation
measures taken in relation to the engine issues hampering the
production at Airbus and the operations with the customers. It
also concerned the launch of the new A321 XLR aircraft and thedecision to cease A380 manufacturing in 2021 with the deliveryof the last aircraft. For Defence and Space, it concerned notably
the progress on the A400M programme military capabilities
and on the retroﬁt and delivery plan in line with the agreement
reached with OCCAR and the states, the development of theEurodrone and of the Future Combat Air System. In addition, thiscovered the evolution of the overall space competitive landscape.
For the Helicopter business, the Board focused its review on
the overall market situation, the development of the services
activities and the preparation of the H160 programme for serial
production.
The Board dedicated two full sessions in 2019 to the review of
the Divisions and product strategies, as well as of the overall
strategy of Airbus. During the off-site Board meeting held in
September in Montreal (Canada), the Board continued to visit
industrial sites, staying close to the products and businesses.
It met management and employees at the A220 ﬁnal assemblyline at Mirabel, near Montreal.

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Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

In 2019, the Board of Directors continued to support theCompany’s digital journey and to enhance Airbus’ ability toidentify and capitalise on innovative technologies and businessmodels. But it also asked management to remain vigilant
about data and product safety and to shield the Company andproducts from any cyber-attack.
Moreover, the Board of Directors reviewed Airbus’ ﬁnancial
results and forecasts and maintained an emphasis on bothEnterprise Risk Management (“ERM”) and internal control. A
particular focus was also made on product safety and Airbus’
responsibility, sustainability and environmental initiatives. The
Board discussed in particular Airbus’ ambition and future
agenda with respect to the Company’s position in society.
A substantial share of the Board activities was dedicated tocompliance matters. The Board continued to closely monitor
the Serious Fraud Office / Parquet National Financier /US Department of Justice / US Department of State investigations
in relation to which settlements were reached with the French,
UK and US authorities in January 2020. The commitment fromthe Board and its Ethics and Compliance Committee to provide
full support to the investigations and the implementation of
globally recognised compliance standards paved the way tothese agreements. In addition, the “Independent Compliance
Review Panel”, which is composed of renowned international
experts, carried on its advising role to the Board with respect toits compliance activities in order to build an Ethics & Complianceprogramme and organisation meeting internationally recognised
standards.
The Board also reviewed and discussed other topics ofsigniﬁcant importance to Airbus such as the measures taken
to mitigate a no-deal Brexit situation, the application of tariffs
on commercial aircraft being imported to the US by the USTR
and crisis management /data security matters.
The year has been marked by major changes in Airbus’ top
Management, including the Company’s CEO and a number
of Executive Committee Members, including the nominationof Julie Kitcher as Executive Vice-President Communications& Corporate Affairs, second female Member of the Executive
Committee. The Board has been involved in the selection
process. It also played a key role in the succession planningof both the Chairman and Board members in preparation forthe 2020 changes.
In 2019, in addition to the formal general meeting, the Chairman
with the Airbus’ team, sought regular engagements with major
shareholders in order to understand their views on governance,
remuneration and performance against the strategy for theCompany.

Board Evaluation 2019As a matter of principle, the Board of Directors implements acontinuous evaluation process based on a three-year cycle. Aspart of this process, every three years, a formal evaluation of
the functioning of the Board of Directors and its Committees
is conducted with the assistance of a third-party expert. In
the year succeeding such an outside evaluation, the Boardof Directors performs a self-evaluation and focuses on theimplementation of the improvement action plan resulting fromthe third party assessment. In the intervening second year,
the General Counsel, being also the Secretary of the Board,

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Airbus / Registration Document 2019

issues a questionnaire and consults with Board Members toestablish an internal evaluation which is then discussed with
Board Members.
The year 2019 was the third year of the three-year cycle started
in 2017. In November 2019, the Board of Directors therefore
carried out an internal evaluation based on a questionnaire
issued by the General Counsel and circulated to each Board
Member.
The questionnaire primarily covered governance and Board
topics, Board and Committees functioning, Board compositionand selection process, dynamic between Board andManagement and amongst Board members, Board decisionmaking process, Committees contributions, involvement of theRemuneration, Nomination and Governance Committee and
Board Secretary support.
In its 2019 internal evaluation, the Board conﬁ rmed overallsatisfaction with the progress made in the implementationof the “Improvement Action Plan” recommended by Heidrick& Struggles as its third-party expert, following the formal
evaluation conducted in 2017.
2019 was a pivotal year with an almost entirely new management
team in place making a remarkably encouraging start ininteractions with the Board as per the results of the internal
evaluation. In this transitioning context, the Company’s
governance, dynamic and performance is viewed as verysatisfactory, with excellent quality of debate and relationships
between the Management, the Chairman and the Board
members and efﬁ cient decision-making process given thecomplexity of the topics.
The Board Members notably valued good Board meetings
preparation, suitable time allocation to agenda items as well
as satisfactory contributions of the Board Committees, elements
which greatly contribute to Board’s efﬁ ciency. In addition,
the Board highlighted its collegial, cooperative and effectivefunctioning as a team.
Following the last Board evaluation, frequency of participation of
top management to Board meetings has signiﬁcantly increased.
The Board expects this trend to further improve.
The Board has spent additional time on strategy and succession
planning, as well as on other important matters for which
discussions would need to be further enhanced such as defence
strategy and business challenges, innovation, competition,
employee engagement, digitalisation and industrialisation,
environment & sustainability, programme management, risk
and crisis management.
The Directors underlined that the Board should as well spend
further dedicated time on cybersecurity and IT, impact ofgeopolitical developments and product safety. In addition,
executive succession planning is expected to be more
extensively discussed by the Remuneration, Nomination,
Governance Committee and Board.
Finally, the Board Members expressed their overall satisfaction
with regards to the Board composition, selection and nomination
process and highlighted the necessity to continue with theprocess of the staggered Board principle in order to further
develop the diversity of expertise and gender within the Board.

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

4.1.1.2 Board Committeesa) The Audit Committee
The Audit Committee has ﬁve (5) Members and is chaired by
an Independent Director who is not the Chair of the Boardof Directors or a current or former Executive Director of theCompany. The Chair of the Audit Committee shall be, andthe other members of the Audit Committee may be, ﬁnancial
experts with relevant knowledge and experience of ﬁnancial
administration and accounting for listed companies or otherlarge legal entities.
Pursuant to the Board Rules, the Audit Committee,
which is required to meet at least four times a year, makes
recommendations to the Board of Directors on the approvalof the annual Financial Statements and the interim accounts(Q1, H1, Q3), as well as the appointment of external auditors
and the determination of their remuneration. Moreover, theAudit Committee has responsibility for verifying and making
recommendations to the effect that the internal and external
audit activities are correctly directed, that internal controls are
duly exercised and that these matters are given due importanceat meetings of the Board of Directors. Thus, it discusses with theauditors their audit programme and the results of the audit of the
Financial Statements, and it monitors the adequacy of Airbus’
internal controls, accounting policies and ﬁnancial reporting. It
also oversees the operation of the Company’s ERM system andkeeps a strong link to the Ethics and Compliance Committee.
For further details in this regard, see “— 4.1.3 Enterprise Risk
Management System”. Please refer to Annex E of the Board Rules
for a complete list of responsibilities of the Audit Committee.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors and the CEO are invited
to attend meetings of the Audit Committee. The CFO and theHead Accounting Record to Report are requested to attend
meetings to present management proposals and to answer
questions. Furthermore, the Head of Corporate Audit & Forensic
and the Chief Ethics and Compliance Ofﬁcer are requested toreport to the Audit Committee on a regular basis.
In 2019, it met seven times with an average attendance rate of
86%. It fully performed all of the duties and discussed all of theitems described above. In particular, it performed reviews ofinternal controls, corporate audit (including major ﬁndings andaudit plan for 2019) and accounts (i.e. 2018 full year accounts,
2019 Q1, H1 and Q3 accounts, 2019 forecasts). Regular ERM
and Legal & Compliance updates were presented to the Audit
Committee and discussed in meetings (including in relation to
the compliance investigations).

b) The Ethics and Compliance Committee
To reinforce oversight of Ethics and Compliance matters at theBoard of Directors level, a dedicated Ethics and Compliance
Committee (“E&C Committee” or “ECC”) was established in2017 and the Board Rules have been amended accordingly.
Pursuant to the Board Rules the main mission of the E&C
Committee is to assist the Board in monitoring Airbus’
culture and commitment to ethical business and integrity.
This committee is empowered to oversee Airbus’ Ethics andCompliance programme, organisation and framework in orderto make sure that Airbus Ethics and Compliance governance iseffective (including all associated internal policies, procedures
and controls). This includes the areas of money laundering andterrorist ﬁnancing, fraud, bribery and corruption, trade sanctions
and export control, data privacy, procurement and supply chain
compliance and anti-competitive practices.
The E&C Committee has seven (7) Members and is chaired byany of its members. Each Member should be an Independent
Director. Both the Chairman of the Audit Committee and the chairof the RNGC is a Member of the E&C Committee.
The E&C Committee makes recommendations to the Boardof Directors and its Committees on all Ethics and Compliancerelated matters and is responsible for providing to the Audit
Committee any necessary disclosures on issues or alleged ethicaland compliance breaches that are ﬁnancial and accountingrelated. The E&C Committee maintains a reporting line with theChief Ethics and Compliance Ofﬁcer, who is requested to provide
periodic reports on its activities.
The Chairman of the Audit Committee and the Chair of the
RNGC are members of the E&C Committee. Unless otherwise
decided by the E&C Committee, the CEO is invited to attend
the meetings. From time to time, independent external experts
and the Independent Compliance Review Panel are also invited
to attend E&C Committee meetings.

4

The E&C Committee is required to meet at least four times ayear. In 2019, the E&C Committee met in total six times with anaverage attendance rate of 87%. All of the above described items
were discussed during the meetings and the E&C Committee
fully performed all the above-described duties.

c) The Remuneration, Nomination
and Governance Committee
The RNGC has four (4) Members, with geographic diversity.
Each Member of the RNGC is an Independent Director. One
Member of the RNGC is a Director who is appointed to theBoard of Directors on the basis of the French State Security
Agreement. One Member of the RNGC is a Director who isappointed to the Board of Directors on the basis of the German
State Security Agreement. The Board of Directors, by a Simple
Majority (deﬁned below), appoints the chair of the RNGC, who
may not be any of the following:– the Chairman of the Board of Directors;– a current or former Executive Director of the Company;– a Non-Executive Director who is an Executive Director withanother listed company; or– a Director appointed to the Board of Directors on the basisof the French State Security Agreement or the German State
Security Agreement.
Pursuant to the Board Rules, besides its role described in
section 4.1.1 above, the RNGC consults with the CEO withrespect to proposals for the appointment of the members of
the Executive Committee, and makes recommendations to theBoard of Directors regarding the appointment of the Secretary to
the Board of Directors. The RNGC also makes recommendations
to the Board of Directors regarding succession planning (atBoard, Executive Committee and Senior Management levels),remuneration strategies and long-term remuneration plans.
Furthermore the Committee decides on the service contracts
and other contractual matters in relation to the Members of theBoard of Directors and the Executive Committee. The rules andresponsibilities of the RNGC have been set out in the Board
Rules.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019141

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

The Chair of the Board of Directors and the CEO are invited toattend meetings of the RNGC. The Chief Human Resources
Ofﬁcer (“CHRO”) is requested to attend meetings to present
management proposals and to answer questions.
In addition, the RNGC reviews the Company’s top talent,
discusses measures to improve engagement and to promote
diversity, reviews the remuneration of the Executive Committee
Members, the Long-Term Incentive Plans (“LTIP”), and thevariable pay for the previous year.
Finally, the RNGC performs regular evaluations of the Company’s
corporate governance and makes proposals for changes to theBoard Rules or the Articles of Association.
Pursuant to the Board Rules (as amended in December 2019),
the Chair of the RNGC automatically fulﬁls the function of “Lead
Independent Director”. In this role he / she is responsible for(i) replacing the Chairman in his / her absence at meetings ofthe Board, (ii) organising the annual appraisal of the Chairman’s
performance by the Board and (iii) acting as an intermediary forand between the other Directors when necessary (e.g. acting asa spokesperson for the other Directors towards the Chairman,
acting as a liaison for the Directors regarding the functioningof the Chairman and the Board).
The guiding principle governing management appointments
within Airbus is that the best candidate should be appointed tothe position (“best person for the job”), while at the same timeseeking to achieve a balanced composition with respect togender, experience, national origin, etc. The implementation ofthese principles should, however, not create any restrictions on
the diversity within the Company’s executive management team.
The RNGC is required to meet at least four times a year. In 2019,
it met seven times with an attendance rate of 89%, it discussed
all of the above described items during the meetings and it fully
performed all of the above described duties.

4.1.1.3 The Executive Committeea) Nomination and Composition
The Executive Committee of Airbus (the “Executive
Committee”) is chaired by the Chief Executive Ofﬁ cer andits members are appointed on the basis of their performanceof their individual responsibilities as well as their respective
contribution to the overall interest of Airbus.
The CEO proposes all of the Members of the Executive
Committee for approval by the Board of Directors, after
consultation with (i) the Chairman of the RNGC and (ii) the
Chairman of the Board of Directors, applying the following
principles:– the preference for the best candidate for the position;– the maintenance, in respect of the number of Members of
the Executive Committee, of the observed balance among
the nationalities of the candidates in respect of the location

142

Airbus / Registration Document 2019of the main industrial centres of Airbus (in particular among
the nationals of France, Germany, Spain and the United
Kingdom, where these main industrial centres are located);and– at least two-thirds of the Members of the Executive
Committee, including the CEO and the CFO, being EU
nationals and residents.
The Board of Directors determines, by simple majority vote,whether to approve all of the Members of the Executive
Committee as proposed by the CEO.

b) Role of the Executive Committee
The CEO is responsible for executing the strategy, as approvedby the Board of Directors, and for managing the day-today operations of Airbus’ business with the support of the
Executive Committee (“EC”) and its executive leadership teamthrough Executive Leadership Meetings (“ELM”) in which the
EC members participate. The CEO shall be accountable forthe proper execution of the day-to-day operations of Airbus’
business.
ELMs are held on a regular basis and aim at advising the CEOon his day-to-day role and ensuring that EC members reportback on business progress, updates and concerns, addressing
Airbus-wide topics including corporate matters, approving all
vacancies and promotions above certain levels.
The EC further supports the CEO in performing these tasks.
Under the leadership of the CEO, the EC is responsible forbusiness strategy as well as organisational matters andmanagement of the business, monitoring key projects/
products and major investments, overseeing performancetargets, whether it be ﬁ nancial, individual, programmes orsupport functions, outlining policies to motivate, recruitand retain employees. It is also accountable for regulatory
and statutor y obligations along with policy matters,
communications and market disclosures. It is also the forum
where the information or requests for approval destined to theBoard are discussed and approved. The EC members shalljointly contribute to the overall interests of the Company, in
addition to each Member’s individual operational or functional
responsibility within Airbus.

c) The Executive Committee in 2019
The EC comprises the heads of the Divisions and key functionsof the Company. The CEO is the only Executive Director within
the Board of Directors and represents the Company on the
Board. But, depending on the respective topic, he usuallyasks the responsible EC Member to join him in the Board forpresenting the ﬁ nancials (CFO), programme/product topics(Division head), HR matters (CHRO) or any other topic wherea specialist is needed. This approach allows Board Members
to get to know the EC members and equips them to makejudgements when it comes to decisions about key positions.

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

The Executive Committee met four times during 2019.
COMPOSITION OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AS OF 31 DECEMBER 2019
Name

Start of term

Principal Occupation

Guillaume Faury

2018

Chief Executive Officer Airbus

Dominik Asam

2019

Chief Financial Officer

Thierry Baril2012

Chief Human Resources Officer

Jean-Brice Dumont

2019

Executive Vice President Engineering

Bruno Even

2018

Chief Executive Officer Airbus Helicopters

John Harrison

2015

General Counsel

Dirk Hoke2016

Chief Executive Officer Airbus Defence and Space

Julie Kitcher

2019

Executive Vice President Communications and Corporate Affairs

Philippe Mhun

2019

Executive Vice President Programmes and Services

Christian Scherer

2019

Chief Commercial Officer

Michael Schöllhorn

2019

Chief Operating Officer

Grazia Vittadini

2018

Chief Technology Officer

4

Note: Status as per 31 December 2019. The professional address of all Members of the Executive Committee for any matter relating to Airbus is Mendelweg 30, 2333 CS Leiden,
The Netherlands.

Guillaume Faury – Chief Executive Officer Airbus(see above under “— 4.1.1.1 Board of Directors”)

Dominik Asam – Chief Financial Officer
Dominik Asam is Chief Financial Ofﬁcer (CFO) of Airbus and a
Member of the Executive Committee.
Dominik Asam joined Airbus in April 2019 from Munich-based
Inﬁneon Technologies AG, where he had been CFO since 2011.
During eight years he was responsible for functions includingGroup Controlling, IT, Treasury, Investor Relations, Compliance& Risk Management, Export Control and Sustainability andBusiness Continuity.
Previously, Dominik Asam was Head of Group Controlling at
RWE AG in 2010.
Between 2005 and 2010 he held various positions at Siemens AG
such as CEO of Siemens Financial Services and Corporate Vice
President and Treasurer.
From 2003 to 2005, Asam headed Investor Relations, Mergers &Acquisitions and Strategy at Inﬁneon Technologies.
Dominik Asam began his professional career in 1996 in theInvestment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs Inc. withpostings in Frankfurt, London and New York.
A graduate in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical
University of Munich and the École Centrale Paris, Dominik
Asam holds a Master’s in Business Administration from INSEAD(European Institute of Business Administration).

Thierry Baril – Chief Human Resources Officer
Thierry Baril was appointed Chief Human Resources Ofﬁcer of
Airbus on 1 June 2012. In addition, Baril continues to serve as
Airbus Commercial Aircraft Chief Human Resources Ofﬁcer.

Thierry Baril joined Airbus Commercial Aircraft in 2007 as
Executive Vice President, Human Resources, and Memberof the Airbus Commercial Aircraft Executive Committee, withresponsibility for deﬁning and implementing a company-wide
Human Resources strategy, enhancing integration and employee
engagement. He oversaw the development of key skills andcompetences to support business growth and greater internal
mobility. One of his main achievements was the transformationof the Company in the areas of leadership culture and diversity,
having played a key role in the implementation of “Power8” andAirbus’ internationalisation strategy.
Prior to this, Thierry Baril was Executive Vice President Human
Resources at Eurocopter – now Airbus Helicopters – and memberof the Eurocopter Executive Committee from January 2003. In
this position, Baril managed the Company’s Human Resources
activities globally, including the implementation of Human
Resources policies across Eurocopter’s European sites andits 15 subsidiaries worldwide. He was instrumental in theimplementation of “Vital”, a programme which transformed
Eurocopter as a business.
Thierry Baril started his career in 1988 as Deputy Human
Resources Director at Boccard SA, and transferred to Laborde& Kupfer-Repelec, a subsidiary of GEC ALSTHOM, as Human
Resources Manager in 1991.
From 1995, Thierry Baril held roles as Human Resources Directorof the Alstom Energy Belfort site and Vice President of Human
Resources of the Alstom Energy Group.
Following on from his experience at Alstom Energy, in 1998
Thierry Baril became Managing Director of Human Resources
for Europe for GE (General Electric) at their Belfort Headquarters,
followed by Vice President of Human Resources at Alcatel
Space’s Headquarters in Toulouse from 2000.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019143

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

Jean-Brice Dumont – Executive Vice President
Engineering
Jean-Brice Dumont was appointed Executive Vice President
Engineering at Airbus in April 2019 and is a Member of theCompany’s Executive Committee.
With over two decades of industry experience, he joined
Airbus Commercial Aircraft in this role in January 2018 after
six successful years as Executive Vice President, Engineeringand Chief Technical Ofﬁcer at Airbus Helicopters. Beyond his
Engineering leadership, Jean-Brice strongly promotes diversity,
teamwork and core human values such as humility and respect.
Jean-Brice Dumont joined Eurocopter, the predecessor company
to Airbus Helicopters, in February 2004. There, he worked as
an Engineer and Development Project Manager for the NH90
programme, prior to becoming the NH90 Chief Engineer and
NH Industries’ Technical Director from 2008 to 2012.
A licensed French Army Aviation pilot, Dumont started his
career with the country’s DGA military procurement agency in
1996, where he worked on the Tiger and Super Puma rotorcraft
programs before ultimately being appointed the organisation’s
Chief Test Director for the Tiger helicopter in 2002.
Jean-Brice Dumont is a graduate of France’s École Polytechniqueand of the ISAE Aerospace Institute. He was born in 1971,
is married with two sons and enjoys running marathons andswimming.

John Harrison was born on 12 July 1967 in the United Kingdom.

Dirk Hoke – Chief Executive Officer –Airbus Defence and Space
Dirk Hoke is the designated Chief Executive Ofﬁcer (CEO) of
Airbus Defence and Space as of 1 April 2016. He started on
1 January 2016 as Deputy CEO. He is a Member of the Executive
Committee.
Dirk Hoke joined Airbus from Siemens, where he had been CEOof the Large Drives Business Unit since 2014. He has held various
executive-level positions at Siemens since becoming CEO of
the Cluster Western & Central Africa in 2008. His career spans
21 years and ﬁve continents.
In 1994, Dirk Hoke began his professional career as R&D Engineer
for process and software analysis in the automotive industry
at Renault in Paris. In 1996, he joined Siemens through aninternational trainee programme with assignments in Germany,
Argentina and Austria. He then held various management postsin the Transportation Systems Division based in Germany. He
relocated to Sacramento, USA, as Head of the Transportation
Systems restructuring team in 2001.

Bruno Even was appointed Chief Executive Ofﬁcer (CEO) of
Airbus Helicopters as of 1 April 2018. He is a Member of the
Airbus Executive Committee.

Dirk Hoke continued his professional career at Siemens as
General Manager for the Transrapid Propulsion and Power
Supply Subdivision from 2002 to 2005 including the Shanghai“Maglev” project. He was then promoted to President of Siemens
Transportation Systems China and made Siemens the largest
foreign railway supplier in the country.

He joined the Company from Safran, where he held various
management positions at the Helicopter Engines and Electronic& Defence businesses. Since 2015, he served as Chief Executive
Ofﬁcer of Safran Helicopter Engines (ex-Turbomeca). Prior to that
position, he was CEO of Safran Electronics & Defence (exSagem).

In 2008, Dirk Hoke moved to Morocco to lead Siemens’ Africa
activities. He returned to Germany in 2011 to become the Division
CEO of Industrial Solutions with the special task to build up theservices business for the Industry Sector. Afterwards, he wascalled upon to restructure the Large Drives Business Unit.

Bruno Even graduated from the École Polytechnique and began
his professional career in 1992 at the French Ministry of Defence,
where he was in charge of developing the space component for
the Helios II satellite.

Dirk Hoke holds a degree in mechanical engineering from theTechnical University of Brunswick, Germany. In 2010, Dirk Hokebecame a member of the Young Global Leader Class of theWorld Economic Forum and in 2013, member of the Baden
Baden Entrepreneur Talks.

Bruno Even – Chief Executive Officer –Airbus Helicopters

In 1997, he transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to
become technical advisor for the Director of Strategic Affairs,
Security and Disarmament. He moved to the private sector andjoined Safran in 1999.

John Harrison – General Counsel
John Harrison has been General Counsel since June 2015.
Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales, John
Harrison completed his academic studies at the University of
McGill, Montréal, Canada. He holds a Bachelor LLB (Hons) and
Masters LLM of Laws degree.
John Harrison began his career in 1991 at the international law
ﬁrm Clifford Chance, working consecutively in their London, NewYork and Paris ofﬁces.
He joined Airbus then Technip S.A. where he served as Group
General Counsel and Member of the Executive Committee from2007 to 2015.

144

Prior to joining Technip, Mr Harrison fulﬁlled various senior legal
positions in Airbus companies over a 10 year period culminating
his tenure from 2003 to 2007 as General Counsel of the EADSDefence Division.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Born on 2 April 1969, Dirk Hoke is married with two children.

Julie Kitcher – Executive Vice President
Communications and Corporate Affairs
Julie Kitcher is EVP Communications and Corporate Affairs of
Airbus and a Member of the Executive Committee.
Julie leads all external and internal communication activities.
The role also oversees and co-ordinates the transformation
agenda of Airbus. This includes Corporate Audit, Performance
Management, Responsibility and Sustainability and Environmental
Affairs. She is also Chief of Staff to the CEO.
Previously, from May 2015 to April 2019, she was Head of Investor
Relations and Financial Communication for Airbus. In this role,
Julie was responsible for the development, management,
consistency and communication of the Airbus Equity Story,
Vision and Strategy to the ﬁnancial markets. One of her coreCorporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

missions was to grow and strengthen the relationship and trustwith the ﬁnancial markets, contributing to the strong share priceperformance during these years.
Under Julie’s leadership, Airbus was awarded “Most Honoured
Company” status in the Institutional Investor All Europe Executive
Team survey four years in a row, from 2015 to 2018. As partof this recognition, Julie was named “Best Investor Relations
Professional” in the Aerospace & Defence sector for the same
period.
From 2008 to 2015, Julie led relations with UK, French andSouthern European institutional investors and sell-side analysts in
Airbus’ Investor Relations team. Alongside this, she coordinatedAirbus’ quarterly Financial Disclosures.
Julie began her Airbus career in December 2000 working at
Filton, UK. She went on to hold a number of roles in ﬁnanceincluding Financial Analyst, Corporate Planning and BusinessControlling. She also previously held a role in GE Capital
Equipment Finance in the UK.
She is a Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA) with an
MSc in Accounting, ESC Skema (Lille).
Julie was born in the United Kingdom. She is married with twochildren.

Philippe Mhun – Executive Vice President
Programmes and Services
Philippe Mhun was appointed as Chief Programmes & Services
Ofﬁcer for Airbus Commercial Aircraft, effective 1 January 2019,
and a Member of the Company’s Executive Committee.
In his previous role as Head of Customer Services since
October 2016, Philippe Mhun was responsible for all Airbus
support and services activities for airline customers, lessors,
MROs and operators, ranging from maintenance and engineering
to training, upgrades and ﬂight operations but also material
management and logistical support. This included the supervisionof the Services Business Unit and afﬁliated subsidiaries, such as
Satair, Navblue, Airbus Interiors Services and Sepang. For the
past two years, Philippe has initiated and implemented a majortransformation programme focusing on Customer Satisfaction,
Services development and digital enablers such as Skywise
applications.
Prior to this assignment, Philippe was Senior Vice President
Procurement for Equipment, Systems and support, a position
he held since 2013.
Philippe joined Airbus in November 2004 as Vice President A380
Programme within Customer Services to prepare and support
the A380 entry-into-service. He then became Vice President
Programmes in Airbus Customer Services leading Single Aisle,Long Range, Widebody, A380 and A350 Programmes together
with e-operations and supplier support activities.
Before joining Airbus, Philippe held various positions within UTA
and, following the merger in 1993, within Air France, starting
as a Structure Engineer for Boeing 747 at UTA all the way up
to becoming the Head of Long-Haul Fleet Engineering and
Maintenance in Air France. From 1986 to 2004, Philippe wasinvolved in new programmes’ entry-into-service, engineeringand maintenance at all levels of the company.

Christian Scherer – Chief Commercial Officer
Christian Scherer was appointed Airbus Chief Commercial
Ofﬁcer in September 2018 and is a Member of the Company’s
Executive Committee.
He was previously Chief Executive Ofﬁcer of ATR, a position heheld since November 2016.
Prior to this, Christian was Executive Vice-President and Headof Airbus Group International, responsible for driving the overall
Airbus Group internationalisation strategy.
Christian started his professional career in 1984 when he joined
Airbus Industrie as a Commercial Contracts Manager. He wasseconded to the US between 1987 and 1994 as Vice President
Contracts of Airbus North America, responsible for pricing,ﬁnancial performance, negotiation and implementation of all
sales transactions in North America.
On his return to headquarters, as Vice President Leasing
Markets, he developed and managed an integrated sales division
covering all commercial activities dealing with operating leasing
companies and other ﬁnancial institutions worldwide.

4

In 1999, he was appointed Vice President Contracts and Pricing
worldwide while retaining leadership of the Leasing Markets
Division and in 2003 he also became the Deputy Head ofCommercial.
Following his time in Commercial, he became Head of Strategy
and Future Programs at Airbus, responsible for deﬁning Airbus’
long term strategic objectives and for driving the genesis of
future aircraft product offerings and programmes, such as the
A320neo, as well as Airbus’ international development in termsof the US ﬁnal assembly lines.
In 2012, he was appointed Head of Sales & International
Operations at Cassidian in Munich, Germany, responsible
for Sales, Marketing, Strategy and Cassidian’s International
Subsidiaries including Brazil, India, KSA, UAE, UK and USA.
Upon integration of Airbus’ Defence, Space and Military aircraftbusinesses, he became the Head of Marketing & Sales of Airbus
Defence and Space and Managing Director of Airbus Defence
and Space GmbH. In that role, he held the overall responsibility
for all Sales & Marketing activities. He also chaired BDLI’s
defence and security forum whilst being a member of the BDLI
presidium.
Born in 1962 in Duisburg, Germany, and raised in Toulouse,
France, Christian Scherer holds an MBA from the University ofOttawa and graduated from the Paris Business School (ESCP)in 1984.

Michael Schöllhorn – Chief Operating Officer
Michael Schöllhorn is Chief Operating Ofﬁcer (COO) for Airbus
and a Member of the Airbus Executive Committee.
He joined Airbus in February 2019 from BSH Home
Appliances GmbH in Munich, where he was COO and a memberof the BSH Management Board from 2015.
Between 2012 and 2014, Michael Schöllhorn was Executive Vice
President Manufacturing and Quality, additionally heading the
Global Business unit for chassis and safety sensors.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019145

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

Prior to this, Michael Schöllhorn held several international
management positions within the Bosch Group. He was basedin the US, Czech Republic and Germany. During this time, hegained a broad expertise in digitalisation, end-to-end processoptimisation, manufacturing, engineering, quality and supply
chain management.
Michael Schöllhorn holds a degree in Mechanical Engineeringand a PhD in Control Engineering from the Helmut Schmidt
University in Hamburg. He served in the German Armed Forces
as a helicopter pilot and ofﬁcer from 1984 to 1994.

Grazia Vittadini – Chief Technology Officer
Grazia Vittadini has been appointed Chief Technology Ofﬁcer(CTO) of Airbus and a Member of the Airbus Executive Committee,
effective 1 May 2018.
Furthermore, she serves as Director of the Airbus Foundation
Board and as a member of the Inclusion and Diversity Steering
Committee.
Previously, Vittadini was Executive Vice President Head ofEngineering since January 2017 and member of Executive
Committee of Airbus Defence and Space.

Prior to this position, she had been Senior Vice President Headof Corporate Audit & Forensic, responsible for Airbus Groupaudit activities worldwide.
Since January 2013 and for one year and a half, Grazia was Vice
President Head of Airframe Design and Technical Authority for
all Airbus aircraft.
Always leading transnational teams in multiple locations, she also
served as Chief Engineer on the Wing High Lift Devices of the
A380 in Bremen from First Flight to In-Service (2005-2009) andthen contributed to securing First Flight and Type Certiﬁcationof the A350 XWB aircraft as Head of Major Structural Tests in
Hamburg. The Major Tests for A320 Extended Service Goal,
A380 and A400M were also in her scope.
Vittadini began her professional career on the Italian side of
the Euroﬁghter Consortium, before joining Airbus Operationsin Germany in 2002 and setting on her path towards senior
management positions.
Grazia Vittadini graduated in Aeronautical Engineering and she
specialised in Aerodynamics from the Politecnico di Milano.

4.1.2 Dutch Corporate Governance Code, “Comply or Explain”
In accordance with Dutch law and with the provisions of the
Dutch Code as amended in 2016, which includes a number of
non-mandatory recommendations, the Company either applies
the provisions of the Dutch Code or, if applicable, explainsand gives sound reasons for their non-application. While theCompany, in its continuous efforts to adhere to the highest
standards, applies most of the current recommendations of
the Dutch Code, it must, in accordance with the “comply or
explain” principle, provide the explanations below.
On 8 December 2016, the Dutch Code was revised; its updated
recommendations apply to ﬁnancial years starting on or after
1 January 2017.
Airbus welcomed the updates to the Dutch Code and continues
supporting the emphasis of the revised Dutch Code on topics
such as long-term value creation and the importance of culture.
For the full text of the Dutch Code as well as the New Code,please refer to www.commissiecorporategovernance.nl.
For the ﬁnancial year 2019 and in respect of compliance with
the Dutch Code, the Company states the following:

1. Vice-Chairmanship
Provision 2.3.6 (ii) of the Dutch Code recommends the election ofa vice-Chairman, to, among other things, deal with the situation
when vacancies occur.
In December 2019 and in line with this recommendation of the
Dutch Code, Airbus revised its Board Rules to provide that the
Chair of the RNGC automatically fulﬁls the position of “Lead
Independent Director”. In this role he / she is responsible for(i) replacing the Chairman of the Board in his / her absence atmeetings of the Board, (ii) organising the annual appraisal of
the Chairman’s performance by the Board and (iii) acting as an

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intermediary for and between the other Directors when necessary(e.g. acting as a spokesperson for the other Directors towards
the Chairman of the Board, acting as a liaison for the Directors
regarding the functioning of the Chairman of the Board and theBoard). Effectively, the Lead Independent Director carries out
tasks that are materially identical as those which a vice-Chairman
would have under the Dutch Code. With the introduction of theposition of Lead Independent Director in 2019, Airbus expects
to be (and remain) fully compliant with provision 2.3.6 (ii) of the
Dutch Code for subsequent ﬁnancial years.

2. Termination Indemnity
Provision 3.2.3 of the Dutch Code recommends that the
maximum remuneration in the event of dismissal of an Executive
Board Member be one year’s salary. Under this provision of the
Dutch Code, severance pay should not be awarded if the Board
membership is terminated early at the initiative of the Executive
Board Member, or in the event of seriously culpable or negligent
behaviour on the part of the Executive Board Member.
As per the amendment to the remuneration policy approved atthe 2019 AGM and in line with the recommendation of the Dutch
Code, the termination indemnity of the sole Executive Board
Member, the CEO, is equal to one year’s salary. Consequently,
the CEO is entitled to an indemnity equal to one times the last
Total Annual Remuneration (deﬁned as Base Salary and VR mostrecently paid), subject to applicable local legal requirements if
any. The termination indemnity would be paid only provided thatthe performance conditions assessed by the Board of Directors
had been fulﬁlled by the CEO. With this amendment to thetermination indemnity in 2019, Airbus expects to be (and remain)
compliant with provision 3.2.3 of the Dutch Code for subsequentﬁnancial years.

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

3. Securities in the Company as Long-Term
Investment
Provision 3.3.3 of the Dutch Code recommends that nonExecutive Directors who hold securities in the Company should
keep them as a long-term investment.
Although non-Executive Directors are welcome to own sharesin the share capital of the Company, the Company does not
require its non-Executive Directors who hold shares to keepsuch shares as a long-term investment. Airbus considers
it is altogether unclear whether share ownership by nonExecutive Directors constitutes a factor of virtuous alignment
with stakeholder interest or may be a source of bias against
objective decisions.

4. Dealings with Analysts
Provision 4.2.3 of the Dutch Code recommends meetings
with analysts, presentations to analysts, presentations toinvestors and institutional investors and press conferences
shall be announced in advance on the Company’s website
and by means of press releases. In addition, it recommends
that provisions shall be made for all shareholders to follow
these meetings and presentations in real time and that after the
meetings the presentations shall be posted on the Company’s
website.
The Company does not always allow shareholders to follow
meetings with analysts in real time. However, the Company
ensures that all shareholders and other parties in the ﬁnancial
markets are provided with equal and simultaneous information
about matters that may inﬂuence the share price.

5. Gender Diversity
The composition guidelines regarding gender diversity underDutch law pursuant to which the Board of Directors would be
regarded as being composed in a balanced way if it contained
at least 30% women and at least 30% men expired on 1 January
2020. Nevertheless, the Company will continue to promote
gender diversity within its Board of Directors in accordancewith the principles mentioned in section 4.1.1 above. In addition,
the Company will continue to give due consideration to any
applicable gender targets in its search to ﬁnd suitable candidates
and to actively seek female candidates. However, the Company
believes that candidates should not be recruited based on
gender alone; the capabilities and skills of potential candidates
are most important in this respect. The proportion of the female
representation on the Board of Directors is currently at 25%(compared to 0% seven years ago).
Furthermore, the Company is committed to supporting, valuing
and leveraging the value of diversity. That being said, theimportance of diversity, in and of itself, should not set aside theoverriding principle that someone should be recommended,nominated and appointed for being “the right person for the job”.
Although the Company has not set speciﬁc targets with respect
to particular elements of diversity, except for the principles
described in 4.1.1.1 above and those targets which apply bylaw, the Company is committed to seeking broad diversity inthe composition of the Board of Directors and its Executive
Committee and will consider attributes such as personal
background, age, gender, experience, capabilities and skills
when evaluating new candidates in the best interests of theCompany and its stakeholders.

4

The Company believes that the composition of its Boardof Directors and its Executive Committee is consistent with thesediversity objectives.

4.1.3 Enterprise Risk Management System
Airbus’ long-term development and production lifecycle makeERM a crucial mechanism for both mitigating the risks faced by
the Company and identifying future opportunities.
Applied across the Company and its main subsidiaries, ERM is apermanent top-down and bottom-up process, which is executed
across Divisions at each level of the organisation. It is designed
to identify and manage risks and opportunities. A strong focus
is put on the operational dimension due to the importance ofProgrammes and Operations for Airbus.
ERM is an operational process embedded into the day-today management activities of Programmes, Operations andFunctions. The top risks and their mitigations are reported to theBoard of Directors through a reporting synthesis, consolidated
on a quarterly basis.
The ERM system is articulated along five axes:– Anticipation: early risk reduction and attention to emerging
risks;– Speak-up and early warnings;– Robust risk mitigations;– Opportunities; and– Strong Governance.

4.1.3.1 ERM Process
The objectives and principles for the ERM system as endorsedby the Board of Directors are set forth in the Company’s
ERM Policy and communicated throughout the Company.
The Company’s ERM Policy is supplemented by directives,
manuals, guidelines, handbooks, etc. External standards which
contribute to the Company’s ERM system include the standards
as deﬁned by the International Organisation for Standardisation(“ISO”).
The ERM process consists of three elements:– a strong operational dimension, derived from ISO 31000 –to enhance operational risk and opportunity management,
looking in particular at identifying and mitigating Single Pointsof Failure (SPOF);– a reporting dimension (bottom up and top down), whichcontains procedures for the status reporting of the ERM
system and the risk/opportunity situation;– a ERM conﬁrmation dimension, which comprises proceduresto assess the effectiveness of the ERM system.

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Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

The ERM process applies to all relevant sources of risks andopportunities that potentially affect the Company’s activities,
its businesses and its organisation in the short-, mid- and longterm. The ERM process is part of the management process andinter-related with the other processes.
All the Company’s organisations, including Divisions, subsidiaries
and controlled participations, commit to and confirm theeffective implementation of the ERM system. The annual ERM
Conﬁrmation Letter issued by each organisation is the formal
acknowledgement about the effectiveness of the ERM system.
For a discussion of the main risks to which the Company is
exposed, see “— Risk Factors”.

4.1.3.2 ERM Governanceand Responsibility
The governance structure and related responsibilities for the
ERM system are as follows:– the Board of Directors supervises with support of the Audit
Committee the strategy and business risk and opportunities
as well as design and effectiveness of the ERM system;– the CEO, with the top management, is responsible for aneffective ERM system. He is supported by the CFO, who
supervises the Head of ERM, and the ERM system design
and process implementation;– the Head of ERM has primary responsibility for the ERM
strategy, priorities, system design, culture development andreporting tool. He supervises the operation of the ERM system
and is backed by a dedicated risk management organisationin the Company focusing on the operational dimension, early
warning and anticipation culture development while actively
seeking to reduce overall risk criticality by challenging thebusiness. The risk management organisation is structured asa cross-divisional Centre of Competence (“CoC”) and pushes
for a proactive risk management;– the management at executive levels has the responsibility
for the operation and monitoring of the ERM system in its
respective areas of responsibility and for the implementationof appropriate response activities to reduce risk and seize
opportunities, considering the recommendations of theinternal and external auditors.

4.1.3.3 ERM Effectiveness
The ERM effectiveness is analysed by ERM centre of competence(“CoC”), based on ERM reports, conﬁrmation letters, in situ
sessions (e.g., risk reviews) and participation to key controls (e.g.,major Programme Maturity Gate Reviews), Risk & Opportunity
Deep Dives performed the ERM CoC, and Corporate Audit,
based on internal corporate audit reports.

The combination of the following controls is designed to achieve reasonable assurance about ERM effectiveness:

148

Organisation

Explanations

Board of Directors /Audit Committee

Regular monitoring
The Board of Directors and the Audit Committee review, monitor and supervise the ERM system. Any material
failings in, material changes to, and/or material improvements of the ERM system which are observed, madeand/or planned are discussed with the Board and the Audit Committee.

Top Management

ERM as part of the regular divisional business reviews
Results of the operational risk and opportunity management process, self-assessments and confirmation
procedures are presented by the Divisions or other Airbus’ organisations to top management.

Management

ERM confirmation letter procedure
Entities and department heads that participate in the annual ERM compliance procedures must sign ERM
Confirmation Letters.

ERM CoC

ERM effectiveness measurement
Assess ERM effectiveness by consideration of ERM reports, ERM confirmations, in situ sessions(risk reviews etc.), participation to key controls (e.g., major Programme Maturity Gate Reviews).

Corporate Audit

Continuous monitoring and audits on ERM
Provide independent assurance to the Audit Committee on the effectiveness of the ERM system.

E&C

Alert System
Detect deficiencies regarding conformity to applicable laws and regulations as well as to ethical business principles.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Corporate Governance /4.1 Management and Control

4.1.3.4 Board Declaration
Based on the Company’s current state of affairs, the reports
made directly available to the Board of Directors, coming fromdifferent processes, audits and controls and the information it
received from management, the Board of Directors believes tothe best of its knowledge that:– the internal risk management and control systems provide
reasonable assurance that the ﬁnancial reporting does notcontain any material inaccuracies;– this report provides sufﬁcient insight into any material failings in
the effectiveness of the internal risk management and control
systems.

– it is justiﬁed that the Financial Statements have been preparedon a going concern basis; and– this report states the material risks and uncertainties that are
relevant to the expectation of the Company’s continuity forthe period of 12 months after the preparation of the report.
It should be noted that no matter how well designed, the internalrisk management and control system has inherent limitations,such as vulnerability to circumvention or overrides of thecontrols in place. Consequently, no assurance can be giventhat the Company’s internal risk management and system andprocedures are or will be, despite all care and effort, entirely
effective.

4.1.4 Internal Audit
In accordance with Principle 1.3 of the Dutch Code, Airbus
Corporate Audit & Forensic assesses and provides objective
assurance on the design and effectiveness of the Company’srisk management, internal controls and governance systems. Its
mandate is set out in the Airbus Corporate Audit and Forensic
Charter.
Corporate Audit & Forensic engages in the independent andobjective corporate assurance activities of internal auditing andforensic investigations. It supports the Company in improving
its operations and accomplishing its objectives by bringing asystematic and disciplined approach to evaluate and improve theeffectiveness of the organisation’s governance, risk management
and internal controls. The function includes a team of forensic
specialists who assist Airbus and the Legal and Compliancefunction by leading and supporting investigations of complianceallegations.

4

The department’s independence is established by direct reportingto the Audit Committee and by access to the CEO. Corporate
Audit & Forensic adheres to the Institute of Internal Auditor’s
Deﬁnition of Internal Auditing, Code of Ethics and International
Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing aswell as relevant policies and procedures of the Company. The
department was recertiﬁed by the Institut français de l’audit et
du contrôle internes (IFACI) in 2018.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019149

Corporate Governance /4.2 Interests of Directors and Principal Executive Ofﬁcers

4.2 Interests of Directors and Principal
Executive Ofﬁcers
4.2.1 Remuneration Policy
This Remuneration Policy covers all Members of the Boardof Directors: the CEO (who is the only Executive Director) andthe other Members of the Board (who are the Non-Executive
Directors).
Pursuant to a resolution to that effect, the General Meetingmay (re)adopt, amend or supplement the Remuneration Policyon the basis of a proposal by the Board of Directors at therecommendation of the RNGC.
The Board of Directors, at the recommendation of the RNGC,
may decide to deviate temporarily (and ultimately until the General
Meeting adopts an amended version of the Remuneration Policy
following the occurrence of such deviation) from any element of
the Remuneration Policy as outlined below, if this is necessary toserve the long-term interests and sustainability of the Company
or to assure its viability.
It is proposed to the AGM 2020 to adopt the Remuneration Policyin the form set out below in this paragraph 4.2.1 with effect asof 1 January 2020. The substantive terms of the Remuneration
Policy have not been revised since the most recent amendment
approved by the general meeting; the proposed revisions relate
to clariﬁcations and technical improvements throughout thepolicy in order to comply with the recently introduced provisionsof the Dutch Civil Code. Given the positive outcome of themost recent vote at the Company’s general meeting on the
Remuneration Policy, the Board of Directors does not believethat substantive amendments to the Remuneration Policy are
required (except for the proposed amendments as describedin paragraph 4.2.1.3).

4.2.1.1 Executive Remuneration –Applicable to the CEOa) Remuneration Philosophy
The Company’s remuneration philosophy aims to provide
remuneration that will attract, retain and motivate high-calibre
executives, whose contribution will ensure that the Company
achieves its strategic and operational objectives, thereby
delivering long-term sustainable returns for all shareholders andother stakeholders in a manner consistent with the Company’s
identity, mission and corporate values.

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The Board of Directors and the RNGC are committed to making
sure that the Executive remuneration structure (i) is transparent
and comprehensive for all stakeholders, (ii) is consistent andaligned with the interests of long-term shareholders, also taking
into consideration the employment conditions of the Company’s
employees and (iii) incentivises R&S and furthers the Company’s
corporate values by basing variable remuneration components
also on the achievement of non-ﬁnancial targets and metrics
using environmental, social or governance (“ESG”) criteria.
Before setting the targets to be proposed for adoption by the
Board of Directors, the RNGC considers the ﬁnancial outcome
scenarios of meeting performance targets, including achieving
maximum performance thresholds, and how these may affectthe level and structure of the Executive remuneration, as well as
potential risks for the Company’s business which may result fromvariable compensation. The Board of Directors shall also consider
these aspects, based on the RNGC’s recommendations.
Also, before making a recommendation relating to the
remuneration of the CEO, the RNGC and the Board of Directors
shall take note of the views of the CEO with regard to the amount,level and structure of his or her remuneration.

b) Total Direct Compensation and Peer GroupThe CEO’s total direct compensation (“Total Direct
Compensation”) comprises a base remuneration (“BaseSalary”), an annual variable short-term remuneration (“Annual
Variable Remuneration” or “VR”) and a Long-Term Incentive Plan(“LTIP”). The three elements of the Total Direct Compensation
are each intended to comprise one-third of the total, assuming
the achievement of performance conditions is 100% of theapplicable targets.
The level of the Total Direct Compensation for the CEO (BaseSalary, VR and LTIP) is set by reference to the median of an
extensive peer group (as described in paragraph 4.2.1.4.B itema) below) and takes into account the scope of the role of the
CEO and the level and structure of executive rewards within
Airbus. The benchmark is regularly reviewed by the RNGC withthe support of an independent consultant and is based on apeer group which comprises:– global companies in Airbus’ main markets (France, Germany,
UK and US), excluding ﬁnancial institutions; and– companies operating in the same industries as Airbus
worldwide.

Corporate Governance /4.2 Interests of Directors and Principal Executive Ofﬁcers

The elements of the Total Direct Compensation are described below:
Remuneration Element

Main Drivers

Performance Measures

Target and Maximum

Base Salary

Reflects market valueof position.

Not applicable

1/3 of Total Direct Compensation(when performance achievement
is 100% of target).

VR

Rewards annual
performance basedon achievement ofCompany performancemeasures and individual
objectives.

LTIP

Rewards long-term
commitment andCompany performance,and engagement
on financial targets
subject to cumulative
performance overa 3-year period.

Collective (50% of VR): divided
between EBIT (1) (40%);
Free Cash Flow (2) (40%)
and R&S (20%).

The VR is targeted at 100%of Base Salary for the CEO and,depending on the performance assessment,
ranges from 0% to 200% of target.
The VR is capped at 200% of Base Salary.

Individual (50% of VR): Achievementof annual individual objectives,
divided between Outcomes
and Behaviour.

The original allocation to the CEO is capped
at 100% of Base Salary at the time of grant.

Vesting ranges from 0% to 150%
of initial grant, subject toperformance over a three-year
period. In principle, no vesting if
cumulative negative EBIT.
If cumulative EBIT is positive,
vesting from 50% to 150%
of grant based on EPS (75%)
and Free Cash Flow (25%).

-

The following caps apply to
Performance Units:
overall pay-out is capped at a maximumof 250% of the original value at the dateof grant.
the value that could result from shareprice increases is capped at 200% of thereference share price at the date of grant.

4(1) The Company continues to use the term EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes). It is identical to Profit before finance cost and income taxes as defined by IFRS Rules.
(2) Airbus defines the alternative performance measure Free Cash Flow (“FCF”) as the sum of (i) cash provided by operating activities and (ii) cash used for investing activities,
less (iii) change of securities, (iv) contribution to plan assets for pension schemes, (v) realised treasury swaps and (vi) bank activities. It is a key indicator which allows the Company
to measure the amount of cash flow generated from operations after cash used in investing activities.

The following graphic depicts three relevant scenarios for the outcome of the Total Direct Compensation:

Below Threshold
TargetMaximum
0Base Salary

1

2

3

Variable Remuneration (VR)

4

5

6

LTI paid in cash

7

8

LTI paid in shares

Indications assume a Base Salary of € 1.35 million, but the Board of Directors may revise the Base Salary based on therecommendations of the RNGC.
“Below Threshold” includes annual Base Salary; VR at 0%; LTIP not vesting.
“Target” includes Base Salary, VR at target and LTIP grant face value in cash and in shares.
“Maximum” includes Base Salary; maximum VR value (200% of VR at target); maximum LTIP cash grant projected at vesting date (250%of grant value); maximum performance applicable to the number of shares granted (150%). The ﬁnal value of Performance Sharesdepends on the share price development which is not capped.

c) Base Salary
The CEO’s Base Salary is determined by the Board of Directors, taking into account the peer group analysis mentioned above.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019151

Corporate Governance /4.2 Interests of Directors and Principal Executive Ofﬁcersd) Annual Variable Remuneration
The Variable Remuneration is a cash payment that is paid following the end of each ﬁnancial year, depending on the achievementof speciﬁc and challenging performance targets as determined at the beginning of each ﬁnancial year. The level of the CEO’s
Variable Remuneration is targeted at 100% of the Base Salary; it is capped at a maximum level of 200% of the Base Salary. The
entire Variable Remuneration is at-risk, and therefore if performance targets are not achieved as per the deﬁned objectives agreed
by the Board of Directors, no Variable Remuneration is paid.
The performance measures that are considered when awarding the Variable Remuneration to the CEO are split equally between
common collective performance measures and individual performance measures.

Common Collective Component
The common collective component is based on EBIT (40%), Free Cash Flow (40%) and R&S (20%) objectives (the “Common
Collective Component”). At the beginning of each year, the Board of Directors sets the targets for these key value drivers at
Company and Division levels. The common collective targets relate closely to internal planning and to guidance given to the capital
markets (although there may be variations from these). The key value drivers that form the R&S component will be determined by
the Board of Directors and disclosed in the implementation section of the Company’s remuneration report for the relevant ﬁnancial
year. They can be related to matters such as health & safety, climate and/or people.
To calculate the common collective annual achievement levels, actual EBIT, Free Cash Flow and R&S performance is comparedagainst the targets that were set for the year. This comparison forms the basis for computing achievement levels, noting that theactual EBIT, Free Cash Flow levels are occasionally normalised for a limited number of factors which are outside management’s
control (such as certain foreign exchange impacts or unplanned merger and acquisition activities). The RNGC’s intention is to ensure
ambitious ﬁnancial and R&S targets and to incentivise the CEO’s commitment to meeting these targets.
The graphic below illustrates the Common Collective Component, how it is measured and what the key value drivers are:

FCF (Free Cash Flow)
Annual, M€ (40%)

EBIT (Earnings before Interest & Tax)
Annual, M€ (40%)
Measures operational proﬁtability
Driven by revenues and operating
expenses

Measures cash generation
Driven by cash provided by/used for operating
and investment activities

AirbusExecutives
commoncollective
ﬁnancialtargets

R&S
Annual, % (20%)
Criteria giving effect to the R&S component
could be related to health & safety, climate
and/or people

Individual Component
The individual element (“Individual Component”) focuses on Outcomes and Behaviour (as deﬁned below). Individual performanceis assessed in these two important dimensions, which both contribute to the Company’s remuneration philosophy. Among othermatters, corporate social responsibility and the Company’s corporate values are considered as part of this assessment.
– Outcomes encompass various aspects of what the CEO can do to contribute to the success of the business: speciﬁc businessresults he achieves, projects he drives and processes he helps improve. The individual targets of the CEO are comprehensive
and shared with all employees via the Top Company Objectives.
– Behaviour refers to the way results have been achieved, which is also critical for long-term success: how the CEO and theBoard of Directors work as a team, how the CEO leads the Executive Committee, quality of communication, encouragement ofinnovation, etc. A speciﬁc part of the behaviour assessment relates to ethics, R&S and quality issues.

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Corporate Governance /4.2 Interests of Directors and Principal Executive Ofﬁcers

The performance of the Individual Component is measured by the RNGC for the CEO and for all the other members of the
Executive Committee.
The RNGC discusses the level of achievement of every single target and derives a combined target achievement level for theoutcomes. The behavioural part of the Individual Component is also discussed by the RNGC and constitutes an adjustment
factor for the target achievement of the outcomes. Finally, the RNGC proposes to the Board of Directors the compound Individual
Component of the CEO target achievement made up from the outcomes and behavioural achievements.

e) Long-Term Incentive Plan
The CEO participates in the Company’s Long-Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”) in order to increase the alignment with shareholders’interests. The LTIP allows the award of Performance Units (“Performance Units” or “Units”) and/or Performance Shares(“Performance Shares” or “Shares”).
The value of the CEO’s LTIP allocation is capped at 100% of the Base Salary at the date of grant and subject to performance
conditions. The achievement of the performance criteria is assessed by the RNGC after a three-year period based on relevant
ﬁnancial criteria during this period of three years with stringent targets set in advance and agreed by the Board of Directors at therecommendation of the RNGC.
At the end of this three-year period, the grant is subject to a performance calculation to determine whether and to what extent
it should vest. Depending on this calculation (i) Performance Units will vest in two tranches, the payment of which takes placeapproximately 6 and 18 months following the end of the performance period and (ii) Performance Shares will vest in one tranche,
approximately 6 months following the end of the performance period. This is depicted in the graphic below:
Performance calculation
determines the number of Unitsand Shares that may vest

GRANT DATE
Face value at grant date
Allocation policy

Y

4

Y+1

Y+2

Y+4

Y+5

Vesting in CASH

X

X

Vesting in SHARES

X

Y+3

Performance period 3 years

The level of vesting of Performance Shares and Units is subject to the following performance measures:– 0-50% of the allocation: In principle, this element of the Performance Unit/Share award will not vest if the Company reports
negative cumulated EBIT results. Nonetheless, in case the Company’s EBIT results are impacted by exceptional and unpredictable
circumstances, the Board of Directors, upon recommendation of the RNGC, may decide that a maximum portion of 50% of theallocation will vest;– 50-150% of the allocation: This element of the Performance Unit/Shares vests based on the two following performance criteria:
average earnings per share (75%) (“Earnings per Share” or “EPS”) and cumulative Free Cash Flow (25%).

Earnings per Share
Average over 3 years, €Free Cash Flow
Cumulated over 3 years, M€

Measures proﬁtability
Driven by net income and number of shares

Measures cash generation
Driven by cash provided by/used for
operating, ﬁnancing, and investment activities

The vesting of Performance Units and Shares is subject to the following maximum cap:
– the maximum level of vesting is 150% of the number of Units/Shares granted.
The vesting of Performance Units is subject to the following maximum caps:– the value that could result from share price increases is capped at 200% of the reference share price at the date of grant; and– the overall pay-out is capped at 250% of the value at the date of grant.
Performance Units and Performance Shares that vest in accordance with the terms and conditions applicable to them are settled
without further action being required by the beneﬁciary.
For each payment in cash, one Unit is equal to the value of one Airbus share at the time of vesting. The Airbus share value is theaverage of the opening share price, on the Paris Stock Exchange, during the 20 trading days preceding and including the respective
vesting dates.
Airbus / Registration Document 2019153

Corporate Governance /4.2 Interests of Directors and Principal Executive Ofﬁcersf) Share Ownership Guideline
The Board of Directors has established a share ownershipguideline pursuant to which the CEO is expected to acquire
Airbus shares with a value equal to 200% of the Base Salaryand to hold them throughout his or her tenure.

g) Benefits
The beneﬁts offered to the CEO are similar to the beneﬁts granted
to other executives of the Company and comprise, among othermatters, medical, death and disability coverage (both througha social security system or a company plan, depending on thecontractual agreement with the CEO), a company car and usual
facilities.
Unless the law provides otherwise, the costs and expenses of
the CEO are covered, including reasonable costs of defending
claims, under the conditions set forth in the insurance policy
subscribed by the Company. Under circumstances excluded by
the insurance policy, such as an act or failure to act by the CEO
that can be characterised as intentional, intentionally reckless, orseriously culpable, there will be no entitlement to any coverage.

h) Retirement
The CEO is entitled to retirement beneﬁts through mandatory
applicable state and collective pension plans.
The CEO participates also in a Company pension contributions
based plan. This plan consists of an annual pension contributionof 20% of the annual pensionable remuneration (as describedin paragraph 4.2.1.4.B item h) below) subject to applicable local
practices (if any).

i) Clawback
In accordance with Dutch law, the Board of Directors may
adjust a “bonus” (as deﬁned under Dutch law, including shortterm remuneration and awards under the Long-Term Incentive
Plan subject to performance criteria) awarded to the CEO toa suitable level, if payment or satisfaction of that bonus would
be unacceptable under the standards of reasonableness andfairness. Also, the Company may reclaim a bonus already paid,
in whole or in part subject to applicable local legal requirements
if any, to the extent that such payment was made on the basis ofincorrect information regarding the achievement of the targets,
objectives and/or conditions underlying the bonus or regarding
the circumstances on which the bonus was dependent. The
Non-Executive Directors, or a special representative designatedby the General Meeting, may demand such repayment on the
Company’s behalf.
Any such adjustment or clawback will be reported in the notesof the relevant Financial Statements of the Company.

j) Loans
The Company does not provide loans or advances to the CEO.

k) Contracts and Severance
In case of termination of the CEO’s duties at the initiative of theBoard of Directors, the CEO shall be entitled to an indemnity
equal to one (1) time the last Total Annual Remuneration(deﬁned as Base Salary and VR most recently paid) subject
to applicable local legal requirements if any, and provided thatthe performance conditions (as described in paragraph 4.2.1.4

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Airbus / Registration Document 2019

item k) below) assessed by the Board of Directors have been
fulﬁlled. If the CEO’s appointment as Member of the Boardof Directors terminates within a period of 12 months or less prior
to his retirement date, the termination indemnity will be limited by
pro-rating its amount. This will not apply if the CEO’s mandate
is terminated for cause (misconduct), in case of resignation or
termination on or after his retirement date.
The CEO’s appointment terms and conditions include a noncompete clause, which applies for a maximum of one year. The
compensation under the non-compete clause is equal to 50%of the last Total Annual Remuneration (deﬁned as Base Salaryand VR most recently paid) subject to applicable local legal
requirements if any and paid in monthly instalments.
Past LTIP awards may be maintained, in such cases as in thecase of retirement or if a mandate is not renewed by the Company
for a reason other than cause (misconduct). The vesting ofpast LTIP awards follows the rules and regulations of the LTIP
including performance conditions and is not accelerated in any
case. LTIP awards are forfeited for executives who leave theCompany at their own initiative, but this is subject to review by
the Board of Directors.
The term of the CEO’s appointment is linked to his or her mandate
as Member of the Board of Directors. The termination of the
CEO’s appointment may be subject to a notice period of six
months, except if the CEO’s appointment is terminated for cause(misconduct), in which case the CEO’s appointment may beterminated immediately, or in case of non-renewal of the CEO’s
mandate by the General Meeting.

4.2.1.2 Non-Executive Remuneration –Applicable to Non-Executive
Directors
The Company’s Remuneration Policy with regard to NonExecutive Directors aims at ensuring fair compensation andprotecting the independence of the Board’s Members. Theirremuneration should be commensurate to the time spent andthe responsibilities of their role on the Board of Directors.

Fees and Entitlements
Non-Executive Directors are entitled to the following remuneration
components:– a base fee for membership or chair of the Board;– a Committee fee for membership or chair on each of theBoard’s Committees; and– an attendance fee for the attendance of Board meetings(subject to such conditions as may be imposed by the Boardof Directors at the recommendation of the RNGC); and– an attendance fee for the attendance of Committee meetings
if and when such Committees would have more than fourCommittee meetings per year (whether these meetings areheld physically or by phone).
Each of these fees is a ﬁxed amount that is determined by the
Board of Directors from time to time, at the recommendationof the RNGC.
Committee chairmanship and Committee membership fees are
cumulative if the concerned Non-Executive Director belongs to
two different Committees. Fees are paid twice a year at the endof each semester (as close as possible to the Board meeting
dates).

Corporate Governance /4.2 Interests of Directors and Principal Executive Ofﬁcers

Non-Executive Directors do not receive any performance orequity- related compensation, and do not accrue pension rights
with the Company in the frame of their mandate, except what theywould receive in the frame of a current or past executive mandate.
These measures are designed to ensure the independence ofBoard Members and strengthen the overall effectiveness of theCompany’s corporate governance.
The Company does not encourage Non-Executive Directors topurchase Company shares.
The Company does not provide loans or advances to the NonExecutive Directors.
Unless the law provides otherwise, the Non-Executive Directors
shall be reimbursed by the Company for various costs andexpenses, including reasonable costs of defending claims.
Under certain circumstances, such as an act or failure to act
by a Member of the Board of Directors that can be characterised
as intentional, intentionally reckless, or seriously culpable, there
will be no entitlement to this reimbursement.

4.2.1.3 Proposed Amendments
to the Remuneration Policy
The Company’s Remuneration Policy that will be proposed for
adoption at the AGM 2020, and as presented in paragraphs 4.2.1.1
and 4.2.1.2 above, contains the following amendments:

Proposal to Include an R&S Component
in the Variable Remuneration of the CEO
The current Common Collective Component of the Variable
Remuneration of the CEO is based only on ﬁnancial key value
drivers. In line with market practices and as announced in the
Company’s 2018 Report of the Board of Directors, in order toreinforce the alignment between the Company’s strategy, values
and remuneration structure, the Board proposes the introductionof an R&S component in the Common Collective Componentof the CEO’s Variable Remuneration. The R&S component will
replace the existing RoCE criterion and will represent 20% of theCommon Collective Component. Consequently, it is proposedthat the new partition of the components be as follows from
1 January 2020: EBIT (40%), FCF (40%) and R&S (20%). Amongother matters, criteria giving effect to the R&S component canbe related to health & safety, climate and/or people in line with
the Company’s Priorities. These principles will also apply to theother members of the Executive Committee, who do not serveon the Board of Directors, and to a large extent to all Executives
employed by Airbus. For information, the contemplated R&S
target for 2020 is a 15% reduction in our accident frequency rate(measured through the rate “FR1” equal to the number of losttime accident per million of hours worked) compared to 2019.

Proposal to Amend the CEO’s Pension Policy
In line with market practices, the Board also proposes toamend the CEO’s pension policy and to move from a deﬁned
beneﬁ t commitment to a contribution based pension plan.
From 1 January 2020, in addition to local applicable mandatory
collective and state pension plans, the annual accrued pension
rights of the CEO will be built through a contribution of 20% of
the annual pensionable remuneration, subject to applicable local
practices (if any). This change also applies to the majority of themembers of the Executive Committee and will apply to all future
members of the Executive Committee.

4.2.1.4 Implementation of theRemuneration Policy: CEOA – General
This paragraph 4.2.1.4 describes how the Remuneration Policy
was implemented in 2019 with respect to the CEO: Section B
relates to the current CEO (Mr Guillaume Faury) and section C
relates to the former CEO (Mr Thomas Enders).
In line with the Remuneration Policy and the expectation of
the RNGC and the Board of Directors, the implementation
thereof with regard to the CEOs results in a remuneration thatwill retain and motivate high-calibre executive. It will ensurethat the Company achieves its strategic and operational
objectives, thereby delivering long-term sustainable returns forall shareholders and other stakeholders in a manner consistent
with the Company’s identity, mission and corporate values.

4

B – Implementation of the Remuneration Policy
in 2019: Current CEO
As announced on 31 January 2020, Airbus has reached ﬁnal
agreements with the French Parquet National Financier (PNF),
the U.K. Serious Fraud Ofﬁce (SFO), and the U.S. Departmentof Justice (DoJ) resolving the authorities’ investigations into
allegations of bribery and corruption, as well as with the
U.S. Department of State (DoS) and the DoJ to resolve theirinvestigations into inaccurate and misleading ﬁlings made with the
DoS pursuant to the U.S. International Trafﬁc in Arms Regulations(ITAR). In this context, Airbus has agreed to pay penalties of€ 3,598 million plus interest and costs to the French, U.K. and
U.S. authorities. These agreements relate to legacy behaviour.
With the full support of the Company’s Board of Directors andits Ethics and Compliance Committee, considerable steps havebeen taken over the past years to design and implement aneffective Ethics and Compliance programme and organisation
across Airbus, meeting globally recognised standards. The factthat Airbus has reached agreements with multiple authorities
is clear recognition of the substantial progress made on the
Company’s compliance programme in recent years. The
Company’s executive team reported to the authorities anddemonstrated exemplary cooperation along the whole process.
For these reasons, the Committee has concluded that the impactof the penalties should not be considered in the assessment of
the 2019 Variable Remuneration and the ongoing and future
incentive plans.

a) Benchmarking
The latest benchmark performed in November 2018 was basedon the relevant peer group composed of 76 companies selectedfrom CAC40 in France, DAX 30 in Germany, FTSE 100 in the UK
and DJ 30 in the US as well as large European companies having
comparable economic indicators such as revenues, number of
employees and market capitalisation. Financial institutions were
excluded from the peer group.
Based on a review performed by the RNGC in 2018 with theassistance of an independent consultant, Willis Towers Watson, it
was concluded that the CEO’s Total Direct Compensation was at
the median level of the peer group as deﬁned in paragraph 4.2.1.1
item b) above.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019155

Corporate Governance /4.2 Interests of Directors and Principal Executive Ofﬁcersb) Base Salary
The CEO’s Base Salary level on a full year basis is € 1,350,000.
The prorated Base Salary paid to the CEO calculated from his appointment in April 2019 until and including 31 December 2019
amounts to € 971,591.

c) Annual Variable Remuneration
As stipulated in the Company’s Remuneration Policy, the CEO’s VR is targeted at 100% of the Base Salary and capped at 200%of the Base Salary. It is subject to the fulﬁlment of collective and individual performance targets.
For 2019, the VR prorated of the CEO amounts to an aggregate of € 1,136,761 composed of € 505,227 (104%) for the Common
Collective Component and € 631,534 (130%) for the Individual Component.

Variable
Remunerationof CEO in 2019:€ 1,136,761

Individual part:€ 631,534
Achievement:
130%

Common Collective
Component:€ 505,227
Achievement:
104%

Performance Achievement – Common Collective Component
According the policy applicable for the ﬁnancial year 2019, the Common Collective Component results from a composite 104%
achievement of EBIT (100%), Free Cash Flow (101%) and RoCE (134%) objectives.
EBIT

100%

FCF

101%

= 104%

134%

RoCE

MinimumAchievement0%

MinimumAchievement
200%

This achievement mainly reﬂects a solid EBIT and Free Cash Flow generation against the budgeted targets. The main drivers were
the strong underlying ﬁnancial performance with record deliveries, progress on A350 programme, healthy pre-delivery payments
inﬂows, disciplined inventory management on wide-body and sound CapEx spending, offsetting the industrial challenges. Finally,
RoCE was above the target.
Normalisations were made to exclude exceptional events such as currency exchange differences or those arising from phasing
mismatches.
Note for information on the collective component contemplated for 2020: Subject to approval by the AGM 2020 of the proposed
Remuneration Policy as described in paragraphs 4.2.1.1 and 4.2.1.2 (including the replacement of the RoCE (10%) criterion by an
R&S (20%) component), the Board of Directors decided to select a health & safety value driver for the 2020 R&S component in linewith its signiﬁcant impact in the materiality assessment of Airbus’ approach to R&S (see: “— Information on the Company’s Activities— 1.2 Non-Financial Information – Materiality Matrix”, and, in the 2019 Report of the Board of Directors, paragraph c- Health and
Safety in Chapter 6 – 6.1.4 – Responsible Employer). As one of the Company’s Priorities is to provide a safe and inclusive working
environment, it was decided that the R&S target for 2020 should be a 15% reduction in our accident frequency rate (measured
through the rate “FR1” equal to the number of lost time accident per million of hours worked as described in the 2019 Report ofthe Board of Directors, paragraph c- Health and Safety in Chapter 6 – 6.1.4 – Responsible Employer) compared to 2019. Safety isreviewed across the whole group on a daily basis and Airbus’ FR1 performance is reported on a monthly basis to the CEO who inturn reviews the improvement plans and adapts actions across the business.

156

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Corporate Governance /4.2 Interests of Directors and Principal Executive Ofﬁcers

Performance Achievement – Individual Component
The Individual Component in 2019 results from an achievement level of 130% out of 200%, assessed by the RNGC and approvedby the Board of Directors on the basis of the CEO’s performance and behaviour, mostly with respect to the Airbus priorities agreed
at the start of 2019. For each of these outcomes, leadership, personal performance and contributions were examined.
The factors determining the assessment were among other achievements:– strong underlying ﬁnancial performance of the Company; achievement of the 2019 FY guidance; increased consolidated revenuesby 11% and EBIT Adjusted by 19%;
– new Company and industry record of Commercial Aircraft deliveries with 863 aircraft delivered to 99 customers; almost 100
deliveries more than in 2018; breakeven target for the A350 achieved;– very successful launch of the 321XLR counting over 300 orders with more than 10 airlines;– successful Type Certiﬁcation of the Beluga XL by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA): paves the way to entry-into-service
in early 2020; key enabler for production ramp-up beyond 2019;– successful A220 post-merger integration: market development, ramp-up and cost reduction on track;– single Aisle industrial transformation launched and set as a Company Priority; ﬁrst results delivered in 2019;– solid sales performance in Airbus Helicopters with highest-ever bookings in value achieved in 2019 (more than € 7 billion);
notable evolution of services activities; unveiling of new version of the H145 light twin-engine helicopter with increase in overall
performance; delivery of the 1000th Super Puma helicopter and of the ﬁrst NH90 Sea Lion naval multi-role helicopter;– key successes on MRTT and on the Future Combat Air System with the delivery of a joint industrial proposal to the governmentsof France and Germany for the ﬁrst Demonstrator Phase of the programme and joint concept study tranche one completed;major milestones achievement in the A400M programme with new capabilities introduced; 18 new satellites in orbit and 11 newsatellites under contract;– good progress on UAV and green aircraft roadmaps;– solid progress on digital roadmap for DDMS and Skywise: number of airlines on Skywise more than doubled since the end of
2018 (>100 airlines);– effective Ethics and Compliance programme and organisation designed and implemented across Airbus: allowed ﬁnalisation ofagreements with the French, U.K. and U.S. authorities in January 2020;– key advancement in the Company’s transformation programme with successful management transition, including structuring
and empowerment of the new leadership organisation; reinforced efforts on diversity in all its forms, including the appointmentof a second woman at the Executive Committee; strong emphasis on responsibility & sustainability raised at the heart of theCompany’s Priorities, including the reorganisation of the responsibility & sustainability teams to ensure the development of astrong responsibility & sustainability culture across the Company.

4d) Long-Term Incentive Plan
Granting 2019
Under the Company’s Remuneration Policy, the CEO is eligible to receive a Performance Units and Performance Shares award
under the Company’s LTIP. The value of the Performance Unit and Share award is capped at 100% of the Base Salary at the date of
grant. During 2019, the CEO was granted an aggregate of 11,060 of Performance Units and Performance Shares. The LTIP awards
during 2019, in line with the Remuneration Policy (4.2.1.1 item b)), represent one third of the CEO’s target Total Direct Compensation.
The table below gives an overview of the Performance Units and Performance Shares granted to the CEO in 2019 pursuant to the LTIP:
UNIT PLAN: NUMBER OF PERFORMANCE UNITS
Granted in 2019

Vesting dates

5,530

Vesting schedule is made up of 2 tranches over 2 years:(i) 50% expected in May 2023(ii) 50% expected in May 2024

Guillaume Faury

SHARE PLAN: NUMBER OF PERFORMANCE SHARES

Guillaume Faury

Granted in 2019

Vesting dates

5,530

Vesting schedule is made up of 1 tranche:(i) 100% expected in May 2023

The grants in 2019 were performed in compliance with the performance measures (average EPS (75%) and cumulative FCF (25%))
described in paragraph 4.2.1.1 item e).

Airbus / Registration Document 2019157

Corporate Governance /4.2 Interests of Directors and Principal Executive Ofﬁcers

Vesting Values in 2019
In 2019, the CEO received both cash payments and vested shares in connection with the vesting of 2014 and 2015 LTIP awards:– Cash: the total cash payment to the CEO amounted to € 697,383 in 2019.
– Shares:– In connection with the 2014 LTIP award, the CEO had elected that 25% of his grant should be deferred into shares. Therefore,
the CEO received 2,528 vested shares on the second vesting date for LTIP 2014 (31 May 2019).
– In connection with the 2015 LTIP award, the CEO had elected that 25% of his grant should be deferred into shares. Therefore,
the vesting of 1,998 Performance Units for the LTIP 2015 will be released in the form of shares on the second vesting date forthe 2015 LTIP (which will take place in 2020).
LTIP OVERVIEW: GRANTING AND VESTING

Date ofgrants

Grant
Type Number

Shareprice at
grant
date

Value at(Un)
grant date conditional

Performanceachievement

Units withperformanceachievement

Dates ofvesting

Share value atvesting dates (1)1st vesting –3 May 2018:€ 94.40

2014

Units

12,640€ 47.45€ 599,768

Conditional

80%

10,1122 vestings in2018 - 2019

2015

Units

10,656€ 56.31€ 600,039

Conditional

75%

7,992

2 vestings in2019 - 2020

1st vesting31 May 2019:€ 112.62

2016

Units

5,696

€ 52.67€ 300,008

Conditional

75%

4,272

2 vestings in2020 - 2021

Not yet known2016

Shares5,696€ 52.67€ 300,008

Conditional

75%

4,272

1 vesting in
2020

Not yet known

2017

Units

4,404

€ 73.81€ 325,059

Conditional

Not yet known

Not yet known

2 vestings in
2021 - 2022

Not yet known2017

Shares4,404€ 73.81€ 325,059

Conditional

Not yet known

Not yet known

1 vesting in
2021

Not yet known

2018

Units

4,208 € 106.94€ 450,004

Conditional

Not yet known

Not yet known

2 vestings in
2022 - 2023

Not yet known2018

Shares4,208 € 106.94€ 450,004

Conditional

Not yet known

Not yet known

1 vesting in
2022

Not yet known

2019

Units

5,530 € 122.06€ 674,992

Conditional

Not yet known

Not yet known

2 vestings in
2023 - 2024

Not yet known

2019

Shares5,530 € 122.06€ 674,992

Conditional

Not yet known

Not yet known

1 vesting in
2023

Not yet known

2nd vesting –31 May 2019:€ 94.90

Calculations may involve rounding to the nearest unit.
(1) Vesting will occur according to the respective rules and regulations of each plan.
NOTE: 2014 to 2018 awards were granted to Mr Faury before his appointment as CEO and should vest during his mandate.

Performance Conditions of LTIP 2016:– The performance conditions for LTIP 2016 were determined as follows: if Airbus reports negative cumulated EBIT results, theBoard of Directors can decide at its sole discretion to review the vesting of the Performance Units, including the 50% portion
which is not subject to performance conditions.
– 50% to 150% of the allocation would be granted depending on the compounded achievement of the two following performance
criteria:– 75% of average EPS (“Ave EPS”): determined on a linear basis depending on three-year Ave EPS for the 2017, 2018 and 2019ﬁscal years, with the three-year Ave EPS target for an allocation of 100% equal to € 4.40; and– 25% of cumulative FCF (“Cum FCF”): determined on a linear basis depending on three-year Cum FCF for the 2017, 2018 and2019 ﬁscal years, with the three-year Cum FCF target for an allocation of 100% equal to € 5,774 million.

158

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Corporate Governance /4.2 Interests of Directors and Principal Executive Ofﬁcers

Review of Achievement of Performance Conditions:
The Board of Directors on 12 February 2020 noted theachievement of the performance conditions of the 2016 plan,i.e. for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 ﬁscal years. The three-year Ave

EPS was € 3.35 and the three-year Cum FCF was € 11,218 million,
after normalisation to align them with policies in force whensetting the target (notably IFRS 15 and A220 impacts).

LTIP 2016 performance achievement

50%
Ave EPS
Target for 100% allocation: € 4.40 Performance achievement: € 3.35

= 75%
150%
Cum FCF
Target for 100% allocation: € 5,774m Performance achievement: € 11,218m

MinimumAchievement0%

For reasons of conﬁdentiality, the precise targets set for the
average EPS and cumulative Free Cash Flow, even though they
have been properly established in a proper manner, cannot be
publicly disclosed as these objectives are in part linked to theDate ofgrants2014

KPI

Numberof units

Ave EPS

12,640Cum FCF2015
2016

Ave EPS
Cum FCF10,656

Ave EPS
Cum FCF11,392

Target for
a 100%
allocation

4

MinimumAchievement
150%

Achieved

Company’s strategy. Nonetheless, for the sake of transparency
and to ensure compliance with best practices, retrospective
information demonstrating the stringency of the targets set by
the Board of Directors is provide for the previous LTIP, as follows:

Performanceachievementin percentage€ 3.31€ 2.8156%€ 4,298m€ 9,741m

150%€ 4.02€ 2.9550%€ 8,281m€ 10,469m

150%€ 4.40€ 5,774m€ 3.35€ 11,218m

50%
150%

Compounded
performance Resulting
achievement
vestingin percentage in number

For comparison,
average EPS for thelast 3 reported years
at the date of grant80%

10,112€ 1.51 (1)

75%

7,992

€ 2.10 (2)

75%

8,544

€ 2.76 (3)(1) Average EPS of 2013, 2012 and 2011.
(2) Average EPS of 2014, 2013 and 2012.
(3) Average EPS of 2015, 2014 and 2013.

e) Share Ownership
The CEO owned 8,407 Company shares on 31 December 2019.
The CEO has engaged a personal investment plan in Airbus’
shares to reach the target of 200% of the Base Salary by 2021.
Please refer to the AFM website www.afm.nl for any further
information related to the transactions of the CEO.

f) Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP)In March 2019, the Company offered all eligible employees theopportunity to subscribe to a share matching plan, throughwhich the Company matches a certain number of directly
acquired shares with a grant of matching shares. This ratio varies
depending on the number of shares acquired at fair market value
by the employees, with a maximum discount of 44%. The totaloffering was up to 2.2 million shares of the Company, open to all
qualifying employees. Information about the plan can be foundon the Company’s website.

Under the umbrella of the ESOP 2019, a dedicated UK tax
advantageous Share Incentive Plan (“SIP”) was also deployedin March 2019.
Although the CEO was eligible for the plan, he did not participate in
the ESOP 2019 plan favouring the development of a shareholding
among other employees of the Company.

g) Benefits
Costs of beneﬁ ts provided through applicable mandatory
collective and social security plans are accounted foramong social charges (please refer to Note 34 to the IFRS
Consolidated Financial Statements for further details). The
monetary value of other beneﬁts provided to the CEO in 2019
amounts to € 33,802.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019159

Corporate Governance /4.2 Interests of Directors and Principal Executive Ofﬁcersh) Retirementj) Pay Ratio

Considering the seniority of the CEO, the new pension policy
proposed in paragraphs 4.2.1.1 item h) and 4.2.1.3 will coexist
with the former pension plan.

The Dutch Corporate Governance Code recommends that theCompany provides a ratio comparing the compensation of the
CEO and that of a “representative reference group” determinedby the Company.

Until the end of 2019, the retirement beneﬁt of the CEO accrued
through a deﬁned beneﬁt commitment which consists of granting
a pension at retirement age equal to 50% of the Base Salaryfor ﬁve years of service in the Executive Committee, including
mandatory applicable collective and state pension plans. Sucha percentage of pension would accrue gradually to 60% of
the Base Salary after ten years of service within the Executive
Committee.
Following the Board decision to move from deﬁned beneﬁ t
commitment to contributions based plans and in line with a
new French regulation, the accrued pension rights under thiscommitment have been frozen based on the seniority of the
CEO as Executive Committee Member at the end of 2019. A
target replacement ratio has therefore been set at 52% of his
Base Salary (i.e. 26% of the sum of his Base Salary and histarget VR) and will no longer accrue. The pension rights under
this commitment remain unvested until the retirement date of
the CEO.
The pension rights arising from the Company’s defined
contribution plan (i.e. contribution of 20% of the pensionable
remuneration, which is the Base Salary and the most recently
paid VR) are deducted from the frozen pension rights describedabove.
The present value of the remaining CEO’s pension obligation
related to the frozen deﬁned beneﬁt commitment is estimatedannually by an independent actuarial ﬁrm according to theinternational accounting standard IAS19 as applied by theCompany for post-employment beneﬁts. As of 31 December
2019, the deﬁned beneﬁt obligation amounted to € 9,167,371. Thisobligation has been accrued in the 2019 Consolidated Financial
Statements and will be updated annually up to the retirement
date of the CEO considering future changes on economic
assumptions or other factors like salary increase.
For the ﬁscal year 2019, the cost related to the CEO’s pension
rights accrued under Company’s plans during the year
represented a net profit of € (2,814,868) composed by an
expense of € 812,005 and the effect of the freeze of the deﬁned
beneﬁt commitment of € (3,626,873).
The annual cost of pension rights accrued under applicablemandatory collective and state pension plans are accounted
for among social charges (please refer to Note 34 to the IFRS
Consolidated Financial Statements for further details).

i) Clawback
The Board has not applied any clawback in 2019.

160

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

The Airbus pay ratio is calculated by comparing the cash
compensation of the CEO with the average compensationof full-time equivalent permanent employees from France,
Germany, the U.K. and Spain for Airbus, excluding subsidiaries(encompassing around 94,000 employees).
The aggregate cash compensation over the 2019 ﬁscal year
was used as a reference amount (i.e., excluding the value ofequity incentive awards and other non-cash compensation
components). To calculate the ratio, the gross sum of the Base
Salary, annual bonus, proﬁt and success sharing, overtime,
premium for work conditions and other premiums was taken
into account.
Based on this methodology, the ratio between the cash
compensation of the CEO (i.e. the aggregated Base Salaryamount for the former and current CEO and VR related to 2018)
and the average compensation of full-time equivalent permanent
employees for the ﬁscal year to which this report relates is 49(for 2018: 50 as restated based on exact ﬁgures) (rounded to
the nearest integer).

k) Severance
No payment has been made to the CEO in 2019 related toseverance or other termination indemnity.
Under the current CEO’s appointment terms and conditions,the payment of an indemnity in case of termination would be
subject to performance conditions. These conditions would be
fulﬁlled if the collective and individual components of the VR
for the last 2 ﬁnancial years preceding the ﬁnancial year during
which the termination occurs have been assessed by the Boardof Directors at 100% or more.

C – Implementation of the Remuneration Policy
in 2019: Former CEO
On 10 April 2019, Thomas Enders left the Company as CEO and
Executive Member of the Board of Directors.
As disclosed in the 2018 Report of the Board of Directors,
Mr Enders received for the year 2019 € 420,455 as prorated
Base Salary and € 416,096 as prorated VR in 2019.
As already mentioned in the 2018 Report of the Board of Directors,
Mr Enders was entitled to a non-compete remuneration, whichlead to a payment of € 2,134,838 in 2019.
For further details please refer to chapter 4.4.4 of the 2018 Reportof the Board of Directors available on the Company’s website(www.airbus.com).

Corporate Governance /4.2 Interests of Directors and Principal Executive Ofﬁcers

D – Development of the compensation
The table below provides an overview of the development of thedirect cash compensation paid to the CEO during a ﬁnancial year
Financial year

composed by the Base Salary plus the VR (as deﬁned below)
and of the Employee Compensation (as deﬁned below).

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

1,392 (1)

1,500

1,500

1,500

1,400

I. CEO’s direct cash compensation
Annual Base Salary (in € thousand)VR (in € thousand)

(2)

Total
Annual Variation
II. Long Term Incentive Plan (in € thousand)

(3)

2,318

2,168

1,913

1,932

1,939

3,710

3,668

3,413

3,432

3,339

+1.1%

+7.5%

-0.6%

+2.8%

1,350

-

1,500

1,500

1,400

4,132

III. Company Performance
EBIT Adjusted (in € million) (4)

6,946

5,834

4,253

3,955

Annual Variation

+19%

+37%

+8%

-4%

FCF before M&A and customer financing (in € million) (4)

3,509

2,912

2,949

1,408

Annual variation

+21%

-1%

+109%

+20%

IV. Employee Compensation (in € thousands) (5)

75,1

73.6

71.0

71.01

+2.0%

+3.6%

0.0%

+0.6%

Annual Variation

4

1,175

70.6

(1) Base salary 2019 relates to the former CEO up to 10 April 2019 and to the current CEO from 10 April 2019.
(2) VR paid during the financial year at stake in relation to the previous financial year.
(3) Face value of LTIP granted in the financial year. No LTIP were granted in 2018 to the CEO due to his future departure.
(4) Before 2016, Airbus used the key indicators “EBIT before one-offs” and “FCF before M&A”.
(5) Average compensation of full-time equivalent permanent employees from France, Germany, the U.K. and Spain for Airbus, excluding subsidiaries, composed by gross sum of
the Base Salary, annual bonus, profit and success sharing, overtime, premium for work conditions and other premiums. For the 2019 financial year, the amount presented is still
an estimate and will be adjusted next year.

4.2.1.5 Implementation of the Remuneration Policy in 2019: Non-Executive Directors
This section describes how the Remuneration Policy was
implemented in 2019 in respect of the Non-Executive Directors.
In line with the Remuneration Policy, the implementation thereofwith regard to the Non-Executive Directors aims at ensuring faircompensation and protecting the independence of the Board’s
Members. Their remuneration should be commensurate to thetime spent and the responsibilities of their role on the Boardof Directors.
The last review of the Board remuneration was undertaken
in 2018 with the support of an independent consultant. The
Board remuneration is in line with market practice, incentivises
attendance and recognises the strategic role played by the
Board of Directors in Airbus’ developments. The CEO is the
only Member of the Board of Directors who is not entitled to
any Board membership fee.
In 2019, Non-Executive Members of the Board were entitled to
the following fees:a) Board fees:– ﬁxed fee for membership of the Board (EUR / year):– Chairman of the Board: 210,000,– Member of the Board: 80,000;– attendance fees (EUR / Board meeting):– Chairman: 15,000– Member: 10,000
Attendance fees shall decrease by 50% in case of an attendanceby phone or a Board meeting held by phone.

b) Committee fees:– ﬁxed fee for membership of a Committee (EUR / year):– Chairman: 30,000,– Member of a Committee: 20,000;– attendance fee for membership of a Committee applicable
to chair and members (EUR / additional meeting above four
meetings per Committee per year, whether these meetings
were held physically or by phone):– physical participation: 3,000 if the Chair or Member is basedin Europe and double attendance fee amount, i.e. 6,000 if
the Chair or Member is based outside Europe,– participation by phone (whether the meeting is held physicallyor by phone): 1,500.
For personal reasons, and with regards to the implementationof the Remuneration Policy approved at the Annual General
Meeting in 2016, Denis Ranque decided in 2016 and onwards
to waive the portion of his remuneration as Chairman of theBoard of Directors which exceeds € 240,000 (his total target
remuneration for 2015, based on six meetings per year andincluding chairmanship Board ﬁxum and attendance fees) until
further notice.
Taking into account the increased number of Board meetings in
2019, the remuneration of Denis Ranque for 2019 as Chairmanof the Board of Directors (Board chairmanship fixum andattendance fees) is € 275,000.
Therefore, the Board recommended that the remuneration
exceeding € 275,000 would be converted into an annual
contribution to the Airbus Foundation, as long as Denis Ranquewaived this part of his remuneration which corresponds to€ 77,500 based on the number of Board meetings in 2019.

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Corporate Governance /4.2 Interests of Directors and Principal Executive Ofﬁcers

The remuneration of the Non-Executive Members of the Board of Directors was as follows:
2019
Fixum (1)AttendanceFees (2)Denis Ranque

210,000

Victor Chu (3)100,000(In €)

2018
AttendanceFees (2)Total

210,000

75,000285,000

72,37650,000122,376

Total

Fixum (1)101,000

311,000

107,000

207,000

Non-Executive Board Members(4)114,176

105,000

219,176

72,37650,000122,376

Ralph D. Crosby Jr.

100,000

108,500

208,500

100,000

75,000175,000

Lord Drayson (5)120,000

105,000

225,000

114,475

55,000169,475

Catherine Guillouard (6)127,265

95,500222,765

120,000

75,000

195,000

Jean-Pierre Clamadieu

Hermann-Josef Lamberti

122,735

77,500200,235

130,000

65,000

195,000

María Amparo Moraleda Martínez

130,000

105,000

235,000

127,238

65,000192,238

Claudia Nemat

100,000

74,500174,500

100,000

75,000175,000

René Obermann (7)100,000

102,000

202,000

72,37655,000127,376

Carlos Tavares

80,00065,000145,000

80,00050,000130,000

Hans-Peter Keitel (8)

0

0

0

27,90010,00037,900Sir John Parker (8)

0

0

0

36,27010,00046,270Jean-Claude Trichet (8)

0

0

0

27,90010,00037,9001,304,176

1,046,000

2,350,176

1,290,910

720,000

2,010,910

Former Non-Executive Board Members

Total(1) Fixum includes a base fee for Board membership and Committee membership within the Audit Committee, the RNGC and/or the E&C Committee as the case may be.
The fixum for the year 2019 was paid 50% in July 2019 and 50% in January 2020. The fixum for the year 2018 was paid 50% in January 2018 and 50% in July 2018.
(2) 2019 attendance fees include the board attendance fees and the fees in relation to Audit Committee, RNGC and E&C Committee meetings. The Board attendance fees
related to the first semester 2019 were paid in July 2019, those related to the second semester 2019 were paid in January 2020. The Committee attendance fees related to fullyear 2019 were paid in January 2020.
(3) Member of the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee since 11 April 2018.
(4) Member of the Company Board of Directors and the RNGC since 11 April 2018. Member of the E&C Committee since 10 April 2019.
(5) Member of the E&C Committee since 11 April 2018.
(6) Chair of the Audit Committee since 10 April 2019.
(7) Member of the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee since 11 April 2018. Member of the E&C Committee since 30 July 2019.
(8) Member of the Company Board of Directors until 11 April 2018.

The total aggregated remuneration (i.e. ﬁxum and attendance fee) of the Non-Executive Members of the Board of Directors wererespectively € 2,080,403 in 2017, € 1,750,768 in 2016 and € 1,521,668 in 2015.

4.2.2 Long-Term Incentives Granted to the Chief Executive Ofﬁcer
See “— 4.3.3 Long-Term Incentive Plans”.

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Corporate Governance /4.3 Employee Success Sharing and Incentive Plans

4.2.3 Related Party Transactions
Reﬂecting Article 2:129(6) of the Dutch Civil Code, Article 18.5 of
the Articles of Association provides that “a Director shall not takepart in the deliberations or decision-making if he has a direct orindirect personal interest which conflicts with the interests of theCompany and of the enterprise connected with it. If as a result
thereof no resolution of the Board of Directors can be adopted,
the resolution is adopted by the General Meeting”.
During the years 2017, 2018 and 2019, no agreement wasentered into by the Company with one of its Directors or principal
ofﬁcers or a shareholder holding more than 5% of the voting
rights of the Company outside the ordinary course of businessand in conditions other than arm’s length conditions. For more
information, please refer to the “— Notes to the IFRS Consolidated

Financial Statements — Note 9: Related party transactions”
for the year-ended 31 December 2019 and “— Notes to the
IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements — Note 8: Related
party transactions” for the year-ended 31 December 2018, asincorporated by reference herein.
For a description of the relationships between the Company
and its principal shareholders, see “— General Description of
the Company and its Shareholders — 3.3.2 Relationships with
Principal Shareholders”. Other than the relationships between
the Company and its principal shareholders described therein,
there are no potential conﬂicts of interest between the duties
to the Company of the Directors and their respective privateinterests or other duties.

4
4.3 Employee Success Sharing and Incentive Plans
4.3.1 Employee Success Sharing and Incentive Agreements
The Company’s remuneration policy is strongly linked to theachievement of individual and Company objectives, both foreach Division and for the overall Company. Since 2012, an annual
Performance and Restricted Unit plan has been established
for the senior management of Airbus (see “— 4.3.3 Long-Term
Incentive Plans”), and employees are offered shares at favourable
conditions within the context of an Employee Share Ownership
Plan (see “— 4.3.2 Employee Share Ownership Plans”).

Success sharing schemes which are implemented in the
Company in more than 30 countries, including France, Germany,
Spain and the UK, follow one set of common rules, ensuring aconsistent application across the group.

4.3.2 Employee Share Ownership Plans
Enabling employees to participate in the results of the Company
is a key element in the Airbus beneﬁts policy. Since its creation,
the Company has developed a philosophy based on sharing
the added value created by the Company with all employees(including the CEO). Therefore, the Company has regularly
offered qualifying employees the opportunity to purchase shareson favourable terms through the ESOP.

According to shareholders’ resolutions adopted at the AGM, thepowers to issue shares and to set aside preferential subscription
rights of existing shareholders have been granted to the Boardof Directors at the 2019 AGM. Such powers include the approvalof ESOP.

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Corporate Governance /4.3 Employee Success Sharing and Incentive Plans

The following table summarises the main terms of the ESOPs conducted over the last three years:
Year

Price per share(1)

Nominal value per share

Number of shares issued

Date of issuance

(2)

2017

€ 64.44 / € 67.24 /€ 85.20(3)€1€11,554,611
88,582

3 May 201721 November 20172018

€ 88.65(1) / € 84.17(2) /€ 92.57(3)€1€11,739,390
72,4293 May 2018
20 November 20182019

€ 97.76(1) / € 104.38(2) /€ 134.40(3)€1€11,728,800
55,452

2 May 201919 November 2019(1) Shares purchased within context of French group employee savings plan.
(2) Shares purchased directly.
(3) Under the umbrella of the ESOP, a dedicated UK tax advantageous Share Incentive Plan, SIP, was also deployed in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

In 2019 and 2018, the Board of Directors approved a new ESOP
scheme. Eligible employees were able to purchase a ﬁ xed
number of previously unissued shares at fair market value (5,15, 30, 50 or 100 shares). Airbus matched each ﬁxed numberof shares with a number of the Company free shares based ona determined ratio (4, 7, 10, 13 and 25 free shares). During acustody period of at least one year, employees are restricted fromselling the shares, but have the right to receive all dividends paid.
Employees who directly purchased the Company shares have, in
addition, the ability to vote at the Annual Shareholder Meetings.
The subscription price was equal to the closing price at the Paris
stock exchange on 13 February 2019 (2018: 14 February 2018)
and amounted to € 104.38 (2017: € 84.17). Investing through amutual fund led to a price which corresponds to the average
price at the Paris stock exchange during the 20 trading days
immediately preceding 13 February 2019 (2018: 14 February

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Airbus / Registration Document 20192018), resulting in a price of € 97.76 (2018: € 88.65). In 2019, theCompany issued and sold 1,332,840 ordinary shares (2018:
1,365,760) with a nominal value of € 1.00 each. In 2019, theCompany issued and distributed 451,452 matching ordinary
shares (2018: 446,059) with a nominal value of € 1.00 each.
Compensation expense (excluding social security contributions)of € 47 million (2018: € 38 million) was recognised in connection
with ESOP. The Company intends to implement an ESOP in
2020, subject to approval by the Board of Directors, open to
all qualifying employees (including the CEO). With future ESOP,
the Company intends to offer shares to eligible employees
through the issuance of shares or free distribution of shares orother existing or new securities giving access to the capital asa matching contribution. This plan would saim at favouring thedevelopment of employee shareholding.

Corporate Governance /4.3 Employee Success Sharing and Incentive Plans

4.3.3 Long-Term Incentive Plans
In 2014 and 2015, based on the authorisation granted to it by the shareholders’ meetings (see dates below), the Board of Directors
approved the granting of LTIP Performance Units and Restricted Units in the Company. The grant of so-called “units” will not
physically be settled in shares but represents a cash-settled plan in accordance with IFRS 2. Since 2016, the Board of Directors
approved an LTIP Performance Units and Performance Shares Plan.
The principal characteristics of these Performance and Restricted Units and Performance Shares as of 31 December 2019 are set
out in the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements — Note 30: Share-based payment”. They are also summarisedin the tables below:
Sixteenth tranche
Date of Board of Directors meeting (grant date)

13 November 2014
Performance and Restricted Unit plan

Number of units granted(1)

Performance Units

Restricted Units

1,114,962

291,420--

12,640-

Number of units outstanding

4

Units granted to:- Mr. Guillaume Faury*- the 10 employees having being granted the highest
number of units during the year 2014
(sixteenth tranche)

176,460-

Total number of eligible beneficiaries

Vesting dates
Number of vested units

1,621
The Performance and Restricted Units will vest if the participant isstill employed by an Airbus company at the respective
vesting dates and, in the case of Performance Units,
upon achievement of mid-term business performance.
Vesting schedule is made up of 2 payments over 2 years:
50% expected in June 2018;
50% expected in June 2019.

-814,238

271,275(1) Based on 100% target performance achievement. A minimum of 50% of Performance Units will vest; 100% in case of on-target performance achievement; up to a maximum of
150% in case of overachievement of performance criteria. In case of absolute negative results (cumulative EBIT* of Airbus) during the performance period, the Board of Directors
can decide to review the vesting of the Performance Units including the 50% portion which is not subject to performance conditions (additional vesting condition).
* For more information in respect of units granted to the Chief Executive Officer, please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements — Note 31: Remuneration”.

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Corporate Governance /4.3 Employee Success Sharing and Incentive Plans

Seventeenth tranche
Date of Board of Directors meeting (grant date)

29 October 2015
Performance and Restricted Unit plan
Performance Units

Restricted Units

Number of units granted(1)926,398

240,972

Number of units outstanding

340,239

113,086

10,656-

156,446-

Units granted to:- Mr. Guillaume Faury*- the 10 employees having being granted the highest
number of units during the year 2015
(seventeenth tranche)

Total number of eligible beneficiaries

1,564
The Performance and Restricted Units will vest if the participant
is still employed by an Airbus company at the respective
vesting dates and, in the case of Performance Units,
upon achievement of mid-term business performance.
Vesting schedule is made up of 2 payments over 2 years:
50% expected in June 2019;50% expected in June 2020.

-

Vesting dates
Number of vested units

311,473

113,711(1) Based on 100% target performance achievement. A minimum of 50% of Performance Units will vest; 100% in case of on-target performance achievement; up to a maximum of
150% in case of overachievement of performance criteria. In case of absolute negative results (cumulative EBIT* of Airbus) during the performance period, the Board of Directors
can decide to review the vesting of the Performance Units including the 50% portion which is not subject to performance conditions (additional vesting condition).
* For more information in respect of units granted to the Chief Executive Officer, please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements — Note 31: Remuneration”.

Eighteenth tranche
Date of Board of Directors meeting (grant date)

25 October 2016
Performance Units and Performance Shares plan

Number of units/shares granted

Performance Units

Performance Shares

615,792

621,198

1,762

1,762

432,617436,694

5,696

5,696

79,50485,200(1)

Number of units/shares granted through Equity Pool(2)Number of units/shares outstanding
Units/shares granted to:- Mr. Guillaume Faury*- the 10 employees having being granted the highest
number of units/shares during the year 2016(eighteenth tranche)

Total number of eligible beneficiaries

Vesting dates
Number of vested units

1,671
The Performance Units and Shares will vest if the participant
is still employed by an Airbus company at the respective
vesting dates and, in the case of Performance Units and Shares,
upon achievement of mid-term business performance.
Vesting schedule is made up of 2 payments over 2 years:
Performance Units:
50% expected in May 2020;
50% expected in May 2021;
Performance Shares: 100% expected in May 2020

-

654

654

(1) Based on 100% target performance achievement. A minimum of 50% of Performance Units will vest; 100% in case of on-target performance achievement; up to a maximum of
150% in case of overachievement of performance criteria. In case of absolute negative results (cumulative EBIT* of Airbus) during the performance period, the Board of Directors
can decide to review the vesting of the Performance Units including the 50% portion which is not subject to performance conditions (additional vesting condition).
(2) Mirroring the respective plan rules and regulations, but granted at a different date based on specific Board of Directors’ resolutions.
* For more information in respect of units granted to the Chief Executive Officer, please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements — Note 31: Remuneration”.

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Corporate Governance /4.3 Employee Success Sharing and Incentive Plans

Nineteenth tranche
Date of Board of Directors meeting (grant date)

30 October 2017
Performance Units and Performance Shares plan
Performance Units

Performance Shares

421,638

425,702

Number of units/shares granted(1)Number of units/shares granted through Equity Pool

(2)

Number of units/shares outstanding

1,898

1,898

402,925

406,989

4,404

4,404

Units/shares granted to:- Mr. Guillaume Faury*- the 10 employees having being granted the highest
number of units/shares during the year 2017
(nineteenth tranche)

53,80857,872

Total number of eligible beneficiaries

1,601
The Performance Units and Shares will vest if the participant isstill employed by an Airbus company at the respective
vesting dates and, in the case of Performance Units and Shares,
upon achievement of mid-term business performance.
Vesting schedule is made up of 2 payments over 2 years:
Performance Units:
50% expected in May 2021;
50% expected in May 2022;
Performance Shares: 100% expected in May 2021

4-

Vesting dates
Number of vested units

9494(1) Based on 100% target performance achievement. A minimum of 50% of Performance Units will vest; 100% in case of on-target performance achievement; up to a maximum of
150% in case of overachievement of performance criteria. In case of absolute negative results (cumulative EBIT* of Airbus) during the performance period, the Board of Directors
can decide to review the vesting of the Performance Units including the 50% portion which is not subject to performance conditions (additional vesting condition).
(2) Mirroring the respective plan rules and regulations, but granted at a different date based on specific Board of Directors’ resolutions.
* For more information in respect of units granted to the Chief Executive Officer, please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements — Note 31: Remuneration”.

Twentieth tranche
Date of Board of Directors meeting (grant date)

30 October 2018
Performance Units and Performance Shares plan
Performance Units

Performance Shares

278,376

281,181

Number of units/shares granted(1)Number of units/shares granted through Equity Pool

(2)

Number of units/shares outstanding

6,664

6,664

281,306

284,111

4,208

4,208

23,57826,383

Units/shares granted to:- Mr. Guillaume Faury*- the 10 employees having being granted the highest
number of units/shares during the year 2018
(twentieth tranche)

Total number of eligible beneficiaries

Vesting dates
Number of vested units

1,626
The Performance Units and Shares will vest if the participant isstill employed by an Airbus company at the respective
vesting dates and, in the case of Performance Units and Shares,
upon achievement of mid-term business performance.
Vesting schedule is made up of 2 payments over 2 years:
Performance Units:
50% expected in May 2022;
50% expected in May 2023;
Performance Shares: 100% expected in May 2022

-

-

-

(1) Based on 100% target performance achievement. A minimum of 50% of Performance Units will vest; 100% in case of on-target performance achievement; up to a maximum of
150% in case of overachievement of performance criteria. In case of absolute negative results (cumulative EBIT* of Airbus) during the performance period, the Board of Directors
can decide to review the vesting of the Performance Units including the 50% portion which is not subject to performance conditions (additional vesting condition).
(2) Mirroring the respective plan rules and regulations, but granted at a different date based on specific Board of Directors’ resolutions.
* For more information in respect of units granted to the Chief Executive Officer, please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements — Note 31: Remuneration”.

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Corporate Governance /4.3 Employee Success Sharing and Incentive Plans

Twenty-first tranche
Date of Board of Directors meeting (grant date)

29 October 2019
Performance Units and Performance Shares plan
Performance Units

Performance Shares

Number of units/shares granted(1)247,508

247,508

Number of units/shares outstanding

247,508

247,508

5,530

5,530

28,05828,058

Units/shares granted to:- Mr. Guillaume Faury*- the 10 employees having being granted the highest
number of units/shares during the year 2019
(twenty-first tranche)

Total number of eligible beneficiaries

Vesting dates
Number of vested units

1,576
The Performance Units and Shares will vest if the participant isstill employed by an Airbus company at the respective
vesting dates and, in the case of Performance Units and Shares,
upon achievement of mid-term business performance.
Vesting schedule is made up of 2 payments over 2 years:
Performance Units:
50% expected in May 2023;
50% expected in May 2024;
Performance Shares: 100% expected in May 2023

-

-

-

(1) Based on 100% target performance achievement. A minimum of 50% of Performance Units will vest; 100% in case of on-target performance achievement; up to a maximum of
150% in case of overachievement of performance criteria. In case of absolute negative results (cumulative EBIT* of Airbus) during the performance period, the Board of Directors
can decide to review the vesting of the Performance Units including the 50% portion which is not subject to performance conditions (additional vesting condition).
* For more information in respect of units granted to the Chief Executive Officer, please refer to the “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements — Note 31: Remuneration”.

The information in respect of stock options and performance and restricted shares cancelled and exercised during the year are
set out in “Notes to the IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements — Note 30: Share-based payment”.
SHAREHOLDING IN THE COMPANY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AT THE END OF 2019
Member of the Board of Directors- Mr. Guillaume Faury- Mr. Denis Ranque- Ms. Catherine Guillouard- Mr. Ralph Dozier Crosby, Jr.
No other Member of the Board of Directors holds shares or other securities in the Company.

168

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

Shareholding
8,407 ordinary shares
2,000 ordinary shares
100 ordinary shares
10 ordinary sharesCorporate Governance /4.3 Employee Success Sharing and Incentive Plans

4

Airbus / Registration Document 2019169

Chapter

5
170

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

5

General Information
5.1

Entity Responsible for
the Universal Registration Document

172

Statement of the Entity Responsible for
the Universal Registration Document

172

5.3

Information Policy

172

5.4

Undertakings of the Company
regarding Information

173

5.5

Significant Changes

173

5.6

Statement on Approval

173

5.2

Airbus / Registration Document 2019171

General Information /5.1 Entity Responsible for the Universal Registration Document

5.1 Entity Responsible for
the Universal Registration Document
Airbus SE

5.2 Statement of the Entity Responsible for
the Universal Registration Document
The Company declares that, having taken all reasonable care to ensure that such is the case, the information contained in
the document is, to the best of the Company’s knowledge, in accordance with the facts and contains no omission likely to affectits import.
Airbus SE represented by:
Guillaume Faury
Chief Executive Ofﬁcer

5.3 Information Policy– Contact details for information:
Mr Thorsten Fischer
Head of Investor Relations and Financial Communication, Airbus SE
2 rond-point Émilie Dewoitine
BP 9011231703 Blagnac France
Telephone: +33 5 82 05 53 01
E-mail: ir@airbus.com– Special toll-free hotlines are available to shareholders in France (0 800 01 2001), Germany (00 800 00 02 2002) and Spain(00 800 00 02 2002). An international number is also available for the rest of the world (+33 800 01 2001).
– An e-mail box is dedicated to shareholders’ messages:
ir@airbus.com.
A website, www.airbus.com, provides a wide range of information on the Company, including the Board of Directors’ report.
Additionally, for the life of this Registration Document, copies of:– the Company’s Articles of Association;– the Registration Document filed in English with, and approved by, the AFM on 28 March 2018;– the Registration Document filed in English with, and approved by, the AFM on 29 July 2019; and– the Consolidated Financial Statements (IFRS) and the Company Financial Statements of Airbus SE for the years ended 31 December
2018 and 2019, together with the related Auditors’ reports, may be inspected at the Company’s registered ofﬁce at: Airbus SE,
Mendelweg 30, 2333 CS Leiden, the Netherlands, Seat (statutaire zetel) Amsterdam, Tel.: +31 (0)71 5245 600.
The information on the website of the Company does not form part of the Registration Document unless that information isincorporated by reference into the Registration Document.

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General Information /5.4 Undertakings of the Company regarding Information

5.4 Undertakings of the Company regarding
Information
Given the fact that the shares of the Company are listed on Euronext Paris, on the regulierter Markt (in the sub-segment Prime
Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the Madrid, Bilbao, Barcelona and Valencia Stock Exchanges, the Company
is subject to certain laws and regulations applicable in France, Germany and Spain in relation to information, the main ones ofwhich are summarised in “General Description of the Company and its Share Capital — 3.1.3 Governing Laws and Disclosures”.

5.5 Signiﬁcant Changes
As of the date of the Registration Document, there has been no signiﬁcant change in the Company’s ﬁnancial performance or
ﬁnancial position since 31 December 2019.

5
5.6 Statement on Approval
This Registration Document has been ﬁled with the AFM on 23 March 2020 in its capacity as competent authority under the
Prospectus Regulation without prior approval pursuant to Article 9 of the Prospectus Regulation. This Registration Document
may be used for the purposes of an offer to the public of securities or admission of securities to trading on a regulated market if
approved by the AFM together with any amendments, if applicable, and a securities note and summary approved in accordancewith the Prospectus Regulation.

Airbus / Registration Document 2019

173

174

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Produced by Labrador
www.labrador-company.com

Contact Airbus at:
2 rond-point Dewoitine
BP 9011231703 Blagnac Cedex
FranceAirbus SE
Mendelweg 302333 CS Leiden
The Netherlands