THAR, SHE BLOWS! (via Qiao Yang):

The Airbus Fiasco (Thomas Lifson, 9/23/06, Real Clear Politics)

As a supreme symbol of Europe's prowess in aerospace, indeed in modern technology itself, the A 380 superjumbo jet, is melting down. No longer the embodiment of European cooperation and unity, its third announced delivery delay reveals internal chaos, bickering, finger-pointing and recrimination within Airbus and its parent EADS.

The whalejet, as it is known to some, has morphed from queen of the air into drama queen of the air. [...]

Airbus and its parent EADS are the product of mergers done in the name of European unity, intended to produce a giant that could compete with the likes of Boeing and Lockheed-Martin in both civil aviation and defense. State shareholders and "launch aid" funding make it beholden to political interests, not markets alone, in its decision-making. It is often cited as a "social enterprise" of the European model, not merely interested in profits, but in public service and the welfare of its employees.

Such muddled thinking has produced results that are currently serving nobody. Except maybe sales executives of rival Boeing, chalking up more and more orders for the 787 Dreamliner, a smaller, more efficient, longer range competitor, offering passengers the option of avoiding crowded hub airports and time consuming changes of plane, and flying nonstop to their destination.

The confusing, even contradictory reactions of A 380 customers to the third announcement of a delay, as reported in the world press, are a sign of the hardball negotiations underway. Billions of dollars are at stake, but in aviation, nobody wants to undermine passenger confidence, so direct expressions of dismay and votes of no confidence are as rare as French military triumphs in the last two centuries.

On the bright side, it's not like anyone will care if they quietly kill the project.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 24, 2006 10:14 AM