Aircraft

EADS chief executive Tom Enders admits that the ongoing problems with the Airbus A380 programme are having knock-on effects on the international aerospace manufacturing industry as a whole, and has publicly apologised to European suppliers for the turmoil.

Speaking in Vienna on 13 October at the annual convention of the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe, Enders said the A380 crisis "is impacting not just on Airbus but a significant number of companies around the world. I want to assure you that...the leadership at EADS and Airbus will do everything we can to bring back stability to Airbus and the A380 programme."

Enders separately told media at the ASD conference that it is important that the A380 problems are not perceived as reflecting underlying problems within the European aerospace and defence industry structure: "These are management failures that were made years ago," he said, rather than symptoms of structural inefficiency within the sector.

Meanwhile, Airbus has suffered its worst beating by Boeing in recent years during the first nine-month period, with its rival taking 78% of the net orders placed so far in 2006.

As detailed in Flight International's analysis of the Q1-Q3 deliveries and orders performance, Airbus has sold few widebody aircraft so far this year, while its A320 family has been comprehensively outsold by the Boeing 737 family.

Airbus has won the full-year sales battles in recent years, but it has a huge gulf to make up if it is to be market leader in 2006.

Boeing has also edged ahead with its share of the order backlog to 52% from 43% three years ago.