I have been sitting here trying to figure out how to start this post, I cant even put into words my thoughts about the mess Airbus has got itself into this time.

Monday 6/12 we started to hear "chatter" that EK would take a one month delay on the A380. This in itself is not good but not all that bad either.
Tuesday came and the shit hit the fan! Reports started pouring in about a 6-7 month delay. Later these reports were confirmed by Airbus. So now we have SQ, who should have been operating 5 A380's since March, set to take delivery of their first A380 at the end of the year with the second following shortly thereafter, but not being able to put them into any kind of sustainable service because they wont have the rest of the fleet needed until 6 months later! The impact this delay will have on customers is going to cost billions of dollars. Airlines are going to have to keep aircraft that should have been retired, renew leases at terms that are less than desirable, and delay routes that have been set up for the A380. The impact on staffing and logistics will be so great that airlines will have set up teams just to sort it out. The other side of this problem is going to be the supply chain. Suppliers are going to have to either slow production or find a place to store the extra parts caused by the slow down in final assembly production. Engine manufactures are going to have the most problems as far as the supply chain is concerned. The logistics involved in storing these massive parts are going to be a nightmare! The paint shop, interior assembly, and even seat suppliers are all going to be dealing with major disruptions to their business.

EADS STOCK PLUMMETS
On the news of this delay so far 3 airlines have voiced their frustration in the form of press releases. EK has voiced their frustration and even hinted at the possibility of canceling their order altogether. This news caused EADS stock to plummet almost 40% and trading to be suspended at least 3 times.

Airbus A350 Changed AGAIN!!!!

To start lets go back to the launch of the 7E7. The response from Airbus was that the A330 would compete fine. They also disputed Boeing's claims that flying point to point was going to be the future of travel saying that their A380 flying hub to hub was where air travel was going. Shortly after that Airbus launched the A330-lite. That plan went down almost faster than it came up. Next came the A350, the A350 has so far been several different planes, up until a few days ago the latest A350 had sold reasonably well with 100 firm orders. Normally an aircraft in this stage of development with 100 firm orders would be doing pretty good. For Airbus it seems that the 100 firm orders were not enough, and that the only thing they care about is how they compare to rival Boeing. With 350 orders for Boeing's 787 Airbus wasn't looking too hot.

Leaks started pouring out early last week that Airbus would drop the A350 and launch an all new A370 after several large airlines went public saying that Boeing's 787 was the better of the two. The most reliable report that I have seen so far says that Airbus will re-launch the A350, yet again, and use it to leapfrog the 787 going after Boeing's 777 line. This decision will push EIS past 2012 and can't be good for the 100 orders already placed for the A350. You also have to wonder where all the money will come from to launch yet another new aircraft. After so many failed launches along with the costs from the delayed A380 and current WTO investigation on launch aid how can Airbus afford to take this chance? It seems to me that this is a very big gamble based on a knee jerk reaction that has not been clearly thought out. I think that we have to stop and ask ourselves the hard questions:

Can Boeing use composites and other technology developed for the 787 along with the new engines that will be used on the NEW A350 to make a warmed over 777 that will effectively compete with the NEW A350 without the investment Airbus will be requited to make?

Is Boeing able launch its Y3 project earlier than expected effectively leap frogging over the A350 with a clean sheet design?

Will Airbus be able to find the funding and a development team able to effectively compete with Boeing if they decide to launch the Y1 (737 replacement) program, or will they be playing catch up again?

If Boeing can just stretch the 787 line far enough to replace the 777 will the A350 be able to compete?

At this point the 777 line has paid for itself. Will the NEW A350 be able to compete with Boeing's 777 if it is offered at a highly discounted price?

I'm sure that there are more questions to be asked and I hope that you will share them in the comments. As you can see from my post I am just not convinced that Airbus is making the right decision. From my view Airbus should have stayed with the old A350. They already had 100 firm orders and after it proved itself more orders were sure to come. (that might have been the problem)

I really hope that Airbus knows what they are doing. It is great having two competitive manufactures bringing out new models for us to talk about on a constant basis. As long as we have good competition we will have interesting things to talk about for years to come.........

And That's How I See It!