It’s difficult to get a feel for the factory floor and the attitudes that prevail there. I base my thoughts on what I read both in the press and between the lines. What I hear from other sources laces through that combination. As for Government employees… what matters to them is job retention, theirs and those of their political masters. Bring down heat on their heads and…

What is more important is the mindset in the executive washrooms. A number of them must be government ‘place men’ and their willingness to compromise and restructure has to be in doubt. Beyond that I just don’t know enough about the detail to comment further. We need an Airbus man here.

It is difficult to overstate the inter-nation rivalry and deep seated suspicions that exist across our borders. An example of this is of course Concorde. If you new of the machinations during Concorde’s final months in service you would blanche. Gallic ‘maneuvering’ of Shakespearian proportions worthy of a movie if the echoes around Heathrow are to be believed.

I still believe that Airbus has no option but to come back fighting, the government(s) no option but to support the project and invest; too much is at stake to do otherwise. When the cheque book comes out it will probably ignite a furious exchange between the US and Europe again. The US Government/Boeing might be looking at the situation believing that a coup-de-gras is but a sanction away. I think that would be a misreading of the wills of the Europeans, as much as we distrust each other, we collectively distrust the US and it’s motives even more. But don’t worry Rob, love has its part in that relationship too!

Fascinating isn’t it? I wonder if Ken has had any more thoughts?

It is no small task to restructure a company though, I think. But is that the challenge Airbus faces, or this more like restructuring a small government?

Having dealt with government on the airport level and at the FAA level here in the states, I can’t imagine worse people – OK, not all of them luckily – than government employees to run anything that sounds like a business.

But again, isn’t Airbus more like a government agency than a for-profit company? Since you know the players in Europe better than I, who do you have who might take on that task?

As for an EU work creation project in order to produce, almost from scratch, a company able to take on Boeing it was necessary to invest heavily. Airbus is subsidized, but only in the same way that massive companies vital to the national interest are subsidized elsewhere – with government contracts and research grants. Boeing is famous for receiving those in spades over the years. But hey, I don’t want to perpetuate a running argument over the trade war here!

Thanks for the input Ken.

Norman

Airbus is not being run as a business but rather a make work project for the EU, the much touted launch aid has provided billions of Euro to Airbus and they have spent it putting plants all over Europe. Now its crunch time and with Airbus drowning in red ink they must cut and cut deeply.

The problem now is a wall of distrust between France and Germany and to a lesser degree Britain, from reports I have heard the level of infighting in the boardroom is near fisticuffs, with no accord possible at all.

Airbus is in no-win situation, in fact its so bad that Airbus may have to be split up, get all the governments out of the sphere of influence and run it as a stand alone business.