What is Airbus?

Airbus traces its roots back to 1967, when ministers from France, Germany and Britain agreed to jointly establish a European programme of aircraft development and production to take on the dominance of America. ​In 1969 a small group of engineers, who became known as the fathers of Airbus, were charged with getting the A300 plane off the ground. It was the first aircraft produced by Airbus Industrie, and​ the first A300 plane flew in 1972, with Air France the first customer.

In 2012, when the company was called EADS, Angela Merkel vetoed an attempted merger with British defence firm BAE Systems. She was concerned about German jobs , but was also thought to be fundamentally opposed to the Franco-German firm merging with BAE. Less than a year later, EADS rebranded as Airbus with three divisions - commercial planes; defence and space; and military and civilian helicopters.

Where is it based?

The company’s main base is Toulouse, France, and its German chief executive Tom Enders has led the company since 2012. It employs about 130,000 people in 180 locations, primarily in France, Germany, the UK and Spain.

What does it do in the UK?

It directly employs 14,000 across 25 sites, and supports a further 110,000 jobs. Its biggest base in the UK is at Broughton in north Wales, where the wings are assembled for all Airbus commercial aircraft, employing 6,000 people.

What does Airbus make?

Its bestselling plane is the single-aisle A320 but it it also makes civil and military helicopters and ​operates in the space and defence sectors making ​military aircraft, such as the A400M and Eurofighter Typhoon. ​It is also involved in developing cyber security systems for governments and Earth observation systems . In the UK, customers range from easyJet to the Ministry of Defence. Other key customers include Emirates, which agreed in January to buy up to 36 more A380s – the double-decker superjumbos.

Plans for China

China has become a major target for growth for Airbus​ in more recent years, as rapid growth in the aviation sector in the world’s second largest economy continues​. It established a base there in 1994, ​and ​delivered its 1,000th commercial jetliner in 2013, aiming to reach its 2,000th by 2020, which will push its market share above 50%. Chinese deliveries now account for nearly a quarter of the company’s global commercial aircraft production.

Airbus could benefit from increasing trade tensions between China and the US, if Beijing decides to favour Airbus over its arch-rival - America’s Boeing.