Airbus Incompetence (again)

More incompetence from EADS, the parent company of Airbus. They are threatening to scrap the A400M Military aircraft program. The A400 made its maiden flight last month, almost a year later than promised, but EADS wants an additional €5.3billion to complete the €20 billion project.

The Financial Times notes that "The programme is already more than three years late and will now cost an estimated €31bn ($44.5bn), more than €11bn over budget, according to Airbus estimates."

Seven buyers, among them, Britain, France, Spain, UK, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and Turkey, have ordered 180 of the aircraft. In the UK, the loss could be critical.

Up to 40,000 European jobs, mainly in the hi-tech sector, depend on the project going ahead. Of these, some 8,000 are based in the UK, both at Airbus itself and contractors such as Dowty, GKN and Rolls-Royce, whose plant at Patchway, Bristol, is building the plane’s engine. It will be the most powerful turbo propeller.

The A400M is a military transport plane designed to compete with Boeing’s C-17 Globemaster and the 50-year-old C130 Hercules built by Lockheed Martin. The plane is three years behind schedule. The biggest customer for the plane is Germany. They have ordered 60 of the aircraft but don't want to reimburse EADS for the cost overruns on what was to have been a fixed price contract. Even if they continue working on the plane, it would be two to three years before any deliveries.
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See previous blog posting on Airbus, an Investment in Political Corruption.