Boeing 2Q revenue falls nearly $5 Billion short of estimates

Eric Schulz, president of civil aerospace at Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC, discusses the market for the company's engines and technological improvements planned for their products.

The boss of Airbus, Guillaume Faury, has said the Covid-19 pandemic represents "the gravest crisis the aerospace industry has ever known", as the company reported a slump in revenues and losses of €481 million in the first three months of 2020. Air travel has almost completely stopped due to the coronavirus, and uncertainty over when it will restart means Airbus is unable to provide guidance on how its business will perform for the rest of the year. Also today, the French government is beefing up its supervision of non-EU companies buying stakes in French firms.

The CEO of French aerospace giant Safran has warned of major job cuts in the coming months, and the need for a bailout of the aerospace industry because of the plunge in travel during the coronavirus crisis. Some 45 percent of the company's revenue is earned directly from airlines. Philippe Petitcolin told FRANCE 24: "This business… has totally disappeared over the last two months." He warned of significant job cuts to come at the company, which employs around 95,000 people globally.

The United States and the European Union held intensive talks aimed at resolving a trade dispute over subsidies to aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing, which dates back to 2004. The top trade representatives from both sides met on Monday, ahead of US President Joe Biden's summit with the leaders of EU institutions on Tuesday. Also today, the UK and Australia reached agreement on a new trade deal, a milestone for post-Brexit Britain.