Airbus whetted the collective appetite of the industry as the A380 swooped and soared gracefully above the showground during its verification flight yesterday.
Yet, while the super-jumbo is the mother of all debutants at recent air shows, behind the scenes there is also feverish interest in two other key questions.
The launch status of Airbus' long-range twin, the A350, remains unclear. Its industrial launch, which was expected at Paris, has been put back until September, it is thought because the British government would not be rushed over launch aid for the wings.
Meanwhile, Airbus's principal shareholder EADS remains mired in acrimony. A damaging split between France and Germany over executive succession, which impacts Airbus, has marred what should have been unalloyed celebration over the A380's air show debut. The wrangling forced the cancellation of a press conference planned for today, together with the traditional pre-show get-together with the media.
For the first time in several years, Airbus is on the back foot. Having established a lead in both deliveries and orders two years ago, this year has seen Boeing hit back with a vengeance, winning several major campaigns.
A possible order for 50 A350s, from Emirates, will not happen at Paris, according to the airline, but insiders expect an announcement at the Dubai Air Show in November. The question being asked was: will Airbus be able to announce the "triple digit" orders for the A350 it promised a month ago?
Yes, say insiders, who believe that Airbus has more than a fighting chance of getting into triple figures with its challenger to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which has already notched up 266 orders and commitments. Potential customers to add to the commitment for ten A350s from Air Europa include Qatar Airways and US Airways.
However, the competition between Boeing and Airbus over long-range twins is but a battle in what has come dangerously close to a trade war between the United States and the European Union.
The issue centres on claims that each other's new programmes benefit from unfair subsidies. Each side has taken the other to the World Trade Organisation. Boeing and the US government want European government launch aid to Airbus to be stopped. The European Union and Airbus have tacitly accepted this but want an end to the tax breaks that Boeing has received from some states and to the Japanese government aid to its firms working on the 787.
Behind the decision to delay industrial launch of the A350 is thought to be a tough stance by the UK government over its part of launch aid for the new wing, which would be made in Britain.
The British Treasury refused to meet an Airbus deadline for a commitment of hundreds of millions of dollars to enable a launch at Paris. The UK government is thought to be seeking assurances that all of the wing work will come to Britain, as on other Airbus programmes.
Source: Flight Daily News
