Better safe than crached. While the Airbus A380 may be losing money because of the delays, that's nothing compared to what would happen if one of them crashed due to negligence. They should be careful. Here's a video of an A380 comin into land at Perpignan.
EADS top exec on the defensive
Questions about Airbus A380 delay, stock sale loom
By August Cole, MarketWatch
Last Update: 3:00 AM ET Jun 17, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Airbus's former chief executive, Noel Forgeard, already on the defensive after the botched delivery of its next-generation flagship jet, is under further assault from customers, investors and even his employer.
EADS, the largest aerospace company in Europe and parent of Airbus is reportedly probing Forgeard's knowledge of electrical system development delays with the Airbus A380. Forgeard, now co-chief executive of EADS, told a radio station Friday that he was apprised of the situation in April.
And French financial regulators also disclosed Friday they have been looking into the trading of EADS (FR:005730: news, chart, profile) shares for weeks, and will be looking at the latest revelations as part of their investigation.
Forgeard sold Airbus shares, as did other directors, in a trading window that opened in March, according to EADS. See full story.
The timing couldn't be worse for Airbus, which is the only rival to Boeing Co. in the revived commercial-jetliner market.
The aerospace industry is just one month away from gathering in Farnborough, England, for what is arguably its most significant trade show of the year. Instead of wowing attendees with the massive, A380, and a much anticipated design to challenge Boeing's composite-built 787 Dreamliner, the spotlight is likely to be on Forgeard's woes and impatient airlines waiting for their 555-seat jets.
And with the attention on the U.K. for the air show, British firm BAE Systems is planning to sell its 20% stake in Airbus -- effectively making Airbus a Franco-German operation.
That sale follows a similar move by French media firm Lagardere which announced they were reducing their Airbus holdings in April. See full story.
Airbus' shareholder structure is changing at a critical juncture for the aircraft maker, eager to outsell and outsell deliver Boeing for another year.
The global airline industry is in the midst of a rebound, and even some of the large U.S. airlines are expected to turn a profit.
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