Airbus Maker EADS Changes its Name … to Airbus Group

EADS, the parent company of Airbus, says it is changing its name -- to Airbus Group.

The new name will apply to all of the company’s three divisions: defense and space; commercial aircraft; and helicopters.

The company said the move would "enhance integration and cohesion by renaming the group and its divisions using the globally recognized Airbus brand."

The renaming will come into effect in January and there should be full implementation by the second half of 2014.

EADS chief executive Tom Enders said: "The renaming simply gathers the entire company under the best brand we have, one that stands for internationalization, innovation and integration - and also for some two-thirds of our revenues.

"It reinforces the message that 'we make things fly'."

The announcement comes as EADS revealed that its second quarter net profits rose by 14 percent to $686million, the BBC reports.

Airbus, which is locked in a battle with Boeing for supremacy in the skies, said recorded 722 net aircraft orders in the first six months of 2013.

It had 230 net orders in the first half of 2012.

This year’s figure was boosted in part by a very successful Paris Air Show, where it managed to sell 241 aircraft.