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Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 949
Location: Carmel, IN

http://www.airportbusiness.com....jsp?siteSection=1&id=6972

This is what happens when the government gets involved in business. Sure, there are examples of government-business ties in this country. But the U.S. Congress doesn't own Boeing. Score: US 1, EU 0.

What a mess. Forget the fact that, while cool as hell, the A380 was never really justified by market economics. At most, experts said there was 20-year demand for 800-1000 of the A380s. This project was pushed as a way to re-establish national/regional pride. Much like the Concorde, which never made a profit, this project was pushed by the governments and egos involved to prove to the world that the EU was relevant in engineering and business. In the end, this will be the death of EADS and Airbus as we know it. They'll be a distant second to Boeing in 5-6 years. Boeing's chief competition will be Bombardier and Embraer. Too bad, really. The A380 is badass. But that doesn't mean it's going to be a success.