"Good old Europe has made this possible," German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told a packed hall in Airbus's headquarters in Toulouse, southwest France.
WOW!!!!!!!!!!! They managed to band together to fund a private industry on 3/4 of the $$$$$ we fit into budget pork in asingle FY.....rmfe.
As I said on another thread, this is an amazing plane. I think it looks nice, and it's huge. Assuming it tests well, it will likely be a success for long-haul hub travel. BUT, the way the thing was funded is criminal. The accomplishment is far less amazing when you look at the whole picture and history of the plane.