Two-thirds of the way through his first 100 days - during which he vowed to get the A380 programme back on track - the first head has rolled under the new reign of Airbus boss Christian Streiff.
To many, Charles Champion is as innocent of a charge of blundering as Streiff's predecessor, Gustav Humbert, who resigned along with EADS co-chief executive Noel Forgeard shortly after the A380 delays came to light. Once seen as a rising star of the European airframer and a possible successor to Forgeard, Champion at least keeps a job of sorts, although the grand-sounding role "special adviser" to Streiff is little more than a sop for someone who steered one of Europe's most ambitious aerospace projects from concept to last week's first passenger flight and was recently promoted to joint number two at Airbus.
However, Streiff is keen to stamp his authority and prove to shareholders of EADS (soon to be sole owner of Airbus following BAE Systems' decision to sell its 20% share) that those ultimately responsible for what has gone wrong with the A380 are held accountable.
Streiff's problem is that he cannot get rid of too many of the old guard - those who a few years ago were lauded for designing better aircraft than Boeing and selling them with more panache.
Despite the departure of its veteran leader, Alan Mulally, last week, Boeing looks a more formidable competitor than it has for a long time. In the bruising battle to come, Streiff may be grateful for his flawed but experienced generals.
Source: Flight International
