Future Hopeful

For Airbus, the ultimate aim is to overcome Boeing and be declared the undisputed leader of global commercial aviation. But the company needs to cross many hurdles before it can reach that goal. Airbus will have to first discover how the A380 fares in the global aviation market. An employee dubbed it “the last dinosaur of the aluminium age,” while others call it the ‘Toulouse Goose.’ Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, under development, could also be a big competitor. Dubbed the first all-plastic plane with low fuel costs, the Dreamliner could give Airbus’ top management sleepless nights.

Analysts suggest a strict managerial division across countries could prove efficient and interest investors. Another option is outsourcing more work, an area which EADS, traditionally, has been reluctant to do. Boeing has outsourced 85 percent of work for the 787, while Airbus outsources only 15 percent of the work for the A380. Tom Enders, Airbus’ co-Chief Executive Officer, says: “We had big problems, as everyone knows. This company needs more innovation, more focused innovation.”

That then is the bottomline: innovation. Airbus has gambled – big – on the A380. Judging by early reports from the civil aviation industry, the new aircraft could be a winner. But Boeing is preparing to hit back hard with its 787 Dreamliner. Eventually, the Airbus-Boeing battle for supremacy will be decided for the one which is able to read changing consumer tastes more astutely. Do fliers want humungous 500-plus passenger planes? Or, do they want smaller, more intimate, quick-in and quick-out aircraft?

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