Airbus deepens carmaker tack to drive output

Paris

AN industrial drumbeat is picking up in European aircraft factories as Airbus borrows a new range of carmaking strategies to keep pace with record demand.

Technologically, modern jetliners have more in common with a custom-built Formula 1 than a family saloon. But their construction - and, in particular, the way 3 million parts per plane pour into factories - is getting an extra boost from cars as the jet age heads closer towards mass production.