Photo Gallery New Super-Airbus Faces Old Problems
The lobby of the Airbus plant in Toulouse, southwestern France. Allegations of insider trading forced former Airbus CEO Gustav Humbert and Noël Forgeard, chief of the parent company European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS), to resign on July 2.
Technicians work on the body of the Airbus A380 passenger aircraft at the Jean-Luc Lagardère assembly line in Toulouse, France.
A worker is seen on the Airbus A380 assembly line in Toulouse, France. The new super jumbos were supposed to be ready earlier this year, but Airbus has faced repeated delays in production and now expects to deliver no sooner than 2008.
Recently appointed Airbus CEO Christian Streiff poses in front of the assembly line of the A380. In response to repeated production delays, Streiff presented the executive board of his parent company, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS), with a vast restructuring plan on September 29.
The Airbus A380, seen here at the Farnborough International Airshow in England, is the largest passenger airliner in the world, superseding the Boeing 747. The double-deck, four-engine airliner provides seating for 555 people in standard three-class configuration, or up to 853 people in full economy class configuration.
Airbus CEO Christian Streiff at a press conference at the Farnborough Airshow on July 17. The new chief executive faces the tough task of restructuring Airbus after repeated production delays and the resignation of his predecessor.
Banners promoting the flight of the Airbus A380 in Singapore's Changi International Airport. Singapore Airlines is set to be the first carrier to fly the new A380 super jumbo.
A model of the new Lufthansa hangar currently under construction at Frankfurt airport. The German airline has ordered 15 Airbus A380 super jumbos, which are now expected to be operational in the summer of 2008. Lufthansa is building two hangars in Frankfurt and Peking--Europe's and Asia's largest, respectively--to accomodate the massive new double-decker planes.
An A380 super jumbo lands at the Airbus production facility in Hamburg, Germany. As part of the restructuring plan, Airbus plans to centralize assembly of the A380 at its site in Toulouse, France.
Germany is concerned that production of the A380 super-jumbo could be moved entirely to neighboring France
