Airbus Revisited

July 4, 2006
News out of Europe this week is that co-chief executive Noel Forgeard of EADS, parent of Airbus, and Gustav Humbert, CEO of the aircraft manufacturer, are being pushed out – more fallout from the recent news of delivery delays for the double-decker airliner, the A380. And, as reported in The Wall Street Journal (July 3), Foregeard and other EADS executives are under scrutiny for sales of the company’s stock in March, just prior to announcements in A380 delays.   During an interview this week with Steve Van Beek, executive vice president of policy for Airports Council International-North America (for an upcoming August feature in AIRPORT BUSINESS), the discussion turned to the A380 and the investments airports have either made or are contemplating to accommodate the aircraft. Van Beek remains optimistic that, over the long term, the current A380 delays and Airbus setbacks will prove only temporary setbacks. On the subject of infrastructure investment, he says that six-month delays in A380 deliveries should not significantly impact decisionmaking at those airports looking to keep their plans moving forward. In other words, by the time the “second tier†airports are ready for the A380, Van Beek projects, the A380 program should be pretty much on track.   Still, one would have to imagine that there are quite a few airport board members out there who will prefer a ‘wait and see’ approach.   Thanks for reading. jfi