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The Airbus A380 has all the prerequisites for cargo conversions on paper. However, the aircraft is too heavy and too costly to operate compared to other cargo aircraft conversions. This points to a single destiny for the type; ending up in an aircraft graveyard. On paper, the A380 would make an excellent cargo aircraft. Alas, there are some flaws in the A380 design when it comes to cargo. The first is how heavy the A380 is. Because the A380 has a heavier empty weight than the competitive Boeing 747-8F cargo carrier, it actually costs more to get the aircraft in...

The skill of two pilots was captured on video as they landed the world's largest passenger plane sideways while battling heavy crosswinds at Heathrow Airport. The Etihad Airbus A380, which is flown by two pilots, can be seen hovering metres above the tarmac as it attempted to touchdown on Saturday during Storm Dennis.

French winemakers hit by US tariffs imposed in a transatlantic trade war over airplane subsidies on Tuesday demanded help from their government and European planemaker Airbus. French wine exports to the US have plunged since President Donald Trump in October imposed 25 percent tariffs on a range of European delicacies in retaliation for EU subsidies of Airbus, arch-rival of America’s Boeing. The French finance ministry last week announced that wine exports to the US — the second-biggest export market for French wines after Germany — had fallen by 44 percent in value from October to November. On Tuesday, the vice-president...

Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, January 31, 2020 Airbus SE (Airbus or the Company), a global provider of civilian and military aircraft based in France, has agreed to pay combined penalties of more than $3.9 billion to resolve foreign bribery charges with authorities in the United States, France and the United Kingdom arising out of the Company’s scheme to use third-party business partners to bribe government officials, as well as non-governmental airline executives, around the world and to resolve the Company’s violation of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and its implementing regulations,...

US threats to impose tariffs on European autos did not come up in trade talks in Washington, European Union Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said Thursday. “It was not mentioned; it was hardly mentioned,” Hogan told reporters in the US capital. “I think it should be good news for Germany.” The Trump administration has repeatedly threatened to put tariffs on European automobiles imported into the US, citing threats to national security. But a deadline to make a decision passed last November without a comment from the White House after the EU threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs on US imports. Hogan’s remarks...

Europe's Airbus has become the world's biggest plane maker this year as its US rival Boeing struggles to get its bestselling MAX jets back in the skies. Airbus — which has trailed Boeing since 2012 — delivered a record 863 aircraft in 2019, Reuters news agency reported, citing airport and tracking sources. Boeing, on the other hand, had delivered just 345 planes by the end of November and is on course for its worst performance in more than a decade, mainly hurt by the grounding of the MAX aircraft. The US plane maker delivered 806 aircraft in 2018, slightly more...

Planes could soon by flying in V-shape formations like migrating birds in a bid to save fuel and emissions. Airbus says flight technology is now mature enough to use the formation which would allow aircraft to effectively ride on the coattails of each other. The tactic is often seen in cycling, where racers “draft” behind leaders of the racing peloton, following in their slipstream. Within six months, two A350 planes will make a long-haul formation flight to prove the so-called “wake energy retrieval” can be accomplished, according to The Times. Then early in 2021, an airline will pair two jets,...

The airplane of the future is almost here. And, according to experts, it will know everything about you as a passenger. Including how long you spend in the bathroom. In early October, Airbus unveiled what it believes to be the future of its aircraft at an industry event in Los Angeles. It’s calling its new cabin the Airspace Connected Experience, CNN reported. The new planes will come with a host of high-tech gadgets to assist crew members in ensuring passengers have an enjoyable — and safe — flight. The connected aircraft could also help save airlines a bundle of cash...

Washington, D.C. – The United States has won the largest arbitration award in World Trade Organization (WTO) history in its dispute with the European Union over illegal subsidies to Airbus. This follows four previous panel and appellate reports from 2011-2018 finding that EU subsidies to Airbus break WTO rules. Today’s decision demonstrates that massive EU corporate welfare has cost American aerospace companies hundreds of billions of dollars in lost revenue over the nearly 15 years of litigation. (please see link, for full article)

The World Trade Organization ruled in favor of the United States Wednesday in a long-running dispute with the European Union over subsidies to Airbus, paving the way for the U.S. to hit the EU with $7.5 billion in retaliatory tariffs........ The U.S. and EU have been fighting since 2004 over whether their respective aerospace industry policies toward Airbus and Boeing amount to unfair practices. The WTO's ruling said the EU subsidized Airbus by giving it preferential treatment on interest rates. "The Appellate Body upheld the Panel’s findings that Airbus paid a lower interest rate ... than would have been available...

The World Trade Organization handed down a ruling yesterday that because the European Union subsidized Airbus in its competition with Boeing, the United States could impose retaliatory tariffs on $7.5 billion in EU exports to the United States. The Wall Street Journal reports on the retaliatory tariffs being planned: The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said it would impose the tariffs starting Oct. 18, with 10% levies on jetliners and 25% duties on other products including Irish and Scotch whiskies, cheeses and hand tools. As a Scotch drinker, I am not happy about this, and wonder how many...

The United States will impose tariffs on $7.5 billion (€6.8 billion) worth of European imports in retaliation for illegal EU subsidies to airplane maker Airbus. The announcement came hours after the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Wednesday ruled on a 15-year-old case that the US could impose $7.5 billion in retaliatory tariffs in response to illegal EU subsidies to Airbus that hurt its American rival Boeing. Washington plans to impose a 10% tariff on aircraft imported from Europe and apply a 25% import tax on other agricultural and industrial items on October 18, the Office of the US Trade Representative...

MUMBAI: The core problem which led to the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft worldwide has surfaced on the Airbus 320Neo as well. Both these aircraft have a tendency to pitch the nose up, excessively to an unsafe degree, during certain stages of flight. The big difference though is that unlike the Boeing 737 MAX, the A320NEO has never had an excessive pitch problem during flight operations. The problem came up recently only during laboratory testing carried out by the European aircraft manufacturer. But a wary European Union aviation regulator, which had certified the A320NEO safe to fly, has issued...

(WIkipedia...."During the certification process, the FAA delegated many evaluations to Boeing, allowing the manufacturer to review their own product.[48][49] It was widely reported that Boeing pushed to expedite approval of the 737 MAX to compete with the Airbus A320neo. That aircraft hit the market nine months ahead of Boeing's model.") Article excerpt... ...During his time as President of the United States, Barack Obama promoted the sale of Boeing planes—including the 737 Max 8 planes—around the world. In November 2011, in Bali, Indonesia, President Obama announced an agreement between Boeing and Lion Air. "For the last several days I’ve been talking...

The 737 Max has been grounded since mid-March following two fatal crashes. Investigators implicated a piece of new flight-control software in both air disasters that repeatedly pushed the nose of the planes downward. A total of 346 people were killed in the two crashes. The manufacturer on Wednesday posted the biggest quarterly loss in its history as costs piled up and it took a nearly $5 billion charge to compensate airlines affected by the worldwide grounding of the 737 Max, now in its fifth month. Boeing's $4.9 billion charge and the $1.7 billion increase in costs related to the 737...

... The regulator stated that “excessive pitch attitude could occur in certain conditions and during specific maneuvers”, warning that the condition “could result in reduced control” of the aircraft. As a safety measure, EASA has ordered A321neo operators to update the flight manuals subsequently, within 30 days of the AD. Airlinerwatch points out the MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) installed on the MAX was also intended to prevent “excessive pitch” of the aircraft. The software would push down the nose of the aircraft if the AOA (Angle of Attack) sensor detected too steep of a pitch. However, according to Air...

Boeing has bested Airbus as the world's largest aircraft maker for most of this decade. That's about to change in dramatic fashion. Airbus' commanding lead is especially significant because the race between the two companies has historically been tight. Last year, for example, Boeing delivered 806 aircraft last year to Airbus' 800. 2015 was the only year this decade in which one of the two airplane manufacturers delivered 100 more planes than the other. The gap between them is almost certainly going to get wider. Boeing has not been able to deliver any of its bestselling 737 Max planes since...

European regulators have ordered inspections on some older Airbus A380 superjumbo airplanes after some cracks were detected in wings on the world's largest passenger aircraft. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) directive, which formalizes an instruction from the manufacturer itself, covers part of the outer wing on the 25 oldest aircraft, which first went into service in 2007 with Singapore Airlines . Airbus said the safety of the aircraft was not affected. "We confirm that small cracks have been found on the outer rear wing spars of early production A380 aircraft. We have identified the issue and designed an inspection...

Speaking at a final press conference from Le Bourget airfield outside the French capital on Thursday, Airbus sales chief Christian Scherer said the European planemaker never received a request for proposals—a document that formally launches bidding for most major aircraft contracts—from IAG SA, the owner of British Airways. The secret negotiations between Boeing and IAG led to the biggest surprise of the week-long show: a letter of intent from the carrier to purchase 200 of the Max aircraft, a model that is grounded following two fatal crashes. IAG is currently an Airbus-only narrow-body customer and has said it plans to...

PARIS — The leadership of Airbus appeared at a press briefing ahead of the Paris Air Show on the company’s 50th anniversary with an all-new team and a new style. Chief executive Guillaume Faury led the group, talking about the company’s plans not only to automate and digitize production but to address concerns over climate change by “inventing the decarbonized aviation of the future.” He was followed by new sales chief Christian Scherer, who proved a solid replacement for his firebrand predecessor John Leahy by not only talking up the Airbus jets but declaring their vast superiority to Boeing’s airplane...