Addendum
Airbus’ Leahy names Rao as successor
July 1st 2017
Airbus Commercial Aircraft chief operating officer – customers, John Leahy, has been the European plane maker’s top salesman for decades, delivering billions in aircraft sales to the group. Read More »
But in Mexico last month, at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual general meeting, the 66-year-old made it clear his days in the high stress business of signing up aircraft orders and fighting off Boeing were drawing to a close. Retirement is on the horizon.
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At a briefing at the Cancun AGM, Leahy said: “For those of you who may not know, Kiran Rao [Dr. Kiran Rao (53), Airbus executive vice president for strategy and marketing] has been with Airbus for a long time. He’s my commercial deputy and the internal decision already has been made that when I retire, hopefully sooner rather than later, he’ll be replacing me.”
But Leahy is not quite ready to step away from the negotiating table yet nor is he revealing his career highs and lows. “You’re going to have to buy the book,” he laughed.
In the meantime, he said a slowdown in orders at Airbus is far from bad news. “We are going into a period where the airlines are slowing down with their ordering and a lot of people think that must mean production must slow down,” he said in Mexico.
“No, it doesn’t. We have a substantial number of orders on backlog. We have a record backlog. Will this year be a big year for orders? Absolutely not. It will be a very, very slow year for orders for Airbus and, I think, mostly for the industry. But that does not mean Airbus and Boeing will slow production.
“We are going up to rate 60 on the single aisle. We’ll be at rate 10 on the A350. We’re stabilizing at rate six on the A330 and we are looking at the A380 and how we break even at less than one airplane per month. That’s a unique situation. But all in all, Airbus production will be higher this year than last year. In 2018 it will be higher than 2017 and in 2019 it will be higher than 2018. It’s a ramp up in production that is disconnected from a real order cycle that goes up and down with airline fortunes and economic times.”
New Yorker Leahy, who has an MBA from Syracuse University and is a multi-licensed commercial pilot and former flying instructor, worked in marketing at Piper Aircraft from 1977 until he joined Airbus North America in January 1985. He was made head of sales for America in 1998 and then chief commercial officer in 1994. In July 2005, he moved up to chief operating officer – customers. Globally known as one of commercial aviation’s most successful salesman, he has outlasted five Airbus chief executives and seven Boeing sales chiefs. He has made a significant contribution to Airbus’ market share, which grew from 18% of global aircraft sales in 1993 to 57% a decade later. He has sold more than 10,000 aircraft, worth an estimated US$1 trillion for the company.
Boeing’s global sales chief, Isshane Mournir, told Reuters last month: “I have nothing but respect for John Leahy. He is an icon in the industry and has been instrumental in the success Airbus has had over the years.”
