The American Thinker on What Ails Airbus

Tom Lifson over at the American Thinker blog has an interesting and thought provoking piece this morning that's worth a look see,

He discusses the A380F program (you know, the freighter) that people, as Yogi Berra once said, are staying away in droves from. He suggests that the recent announcements concerning the UPS order are a sign that both parties may be ready to abandon the A380F. That's bad, because it is an important part of the project. Tom thinks that a cancellation could set a precedent for cancelling the entire A380 program.

I'm not so sure about that myself. I think that it was an afterthought to scoop up a few orders from cash rich package haulers. The aircraft never really made sense as a cargo hauler to begin with.

However, what Tom does point to is an increasing sense of crisis and confrontation at all levels: Germany v. France, France v. the unions,and Germany throwing the U.K. off the sled (although he doesn't mention it here) and possible capital realignment if Russia and/or middle eastern financial interests get involved in Airbus in a substantial way.

It's well worth a peek.