Airbus plunges into crisis

PARIS – Airbus, a beacon of European technology, is in crisis and a fog of uncertainty following admission of new delays to its A380 superjumbo airliner.

The price of shares in Airbus parent company EADS slumped in morning trading here to show a loss of 7,11 per cent to 21,04 euros. EADS announced a third-round of delivery delays, a doubling of expected losses, a total cash-flow reduction of 6,3 billion euros (N$61,74 billion), and a drastic plan to cut costs in a long-awaited statement late following a board meeting Tuesday.But it provided few specific details publicly to investors and customers who were first informed of problems in June 2005 and were then hit by a shock announcement of further delays in June 2006.Nampa-AFPEADS announced a third-round of delivery delays, a doubling of expected losses, a total cash-flow reduction of 6,3 billion euros (N$61,74 billion), and a drastic plan to cut costs in a long-awaited statement late following a board meeting Tuesday.But it provided few specific details publicly to investors and customers who were first informed of problems in June 2005 and were then hit by a shock announcement of further delays in June 2006.Nampa-AFP