AEROFLOTSAM:

Trans-Atlantic Trade War: Boeing Has Airbus on the Ropes (Dinah Deckstein, 6/06/05, Der Speigel)

After years of losing market share to its European rival, Boeing is now quickly making up ground. Its new Dreamliner looks to be a hit and Airbus seems to prefer squabbling to strategizing. Delays in manufacturing their super-jumbo A380 could turn the prestige project into the company's biggest-ever flop. [...]

Despite positive signals in May, [Gustav] Humbert still hasn't been named the first German ever to head Europe's largest aircraft manufacturer, and ongoing squabbles between German and French executives make it unclear when and if the announcement will eventually be made. And instead of chatting excitedly about the technical features of his company's various aircraft models with assembled industry experts, he'll likely be faced with a barrage of tough questions:

How is it possible that his appointment has turned into an embarrassing stalemate that's lasted for weeks?

How will the subsidy dispute with the US government -- which the two sides formally took before the World Trade Organization early last week -- affect Airbus's planned A350 long-distance jet and new projects in the future?

And whose fault is it that the planned delivery of the A380 mega-transporter has been delayed by months?

Humbert, who is considered level-headed and thoughtful by colleagues within the company, will probably respond evasively to these kinds of questions. Otherwise he would find himself in the uncomfortable position of assigning the blame to a man who was his boss for years and has been partly responsible for the problems Airbus is now facing: current Airbus CEO Noël Forgeard.

In the next few days Forgeard, a Frenchman, is expected to join former DaimlerChrysler executive Thomas Enders in taking the helm at Airbus's parent company, EADS. But even that isn't a slam dunk. The majority shareholders DaimlerChrysler, media conglomerate Lagardére and the French government haven't exactly seen eye-to-eye recently and a last-minute change of plan remains a possibility.

In other words, just as the intense power struggle between rivals Airbus and Boeing is coming to a dramatic head, the management of the European aviation group seems more concerned with internal rivalry than with international supremacy.