"If the dollar continues to remain weak in the long-term, the break-even point for the A380 will be higher. We have to be prepared for that," Airbus's parent company, EADS, stated in early March. Former CEO Philippe Camus said the number of planes the company would have to sell before it turned a profit on the ambitious super-jumbo project could then rise from 250 to 300 planes. In other words, the company would have to almost double the number of orders it currently has on the books. Up till now, airlines have ordered 154 of the A380 planes.

Airbus has a problem. Internationally, the airplane business is calculated in dollars. Because Airbus manufactures its jets in Europe, its costs are calculated in euros -- leaving the company highly vulnerable to fluctuations in the American currency. In light of the continuing weakness of the dollar, management is now seeking other options.

First among them would be an expansion of Airbus's current savings and cost-cutting programs. Up until now, the company has been planning to cut its costs by €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) by 2006. "If the euro rises to $1.30 or above, then we may have to do more," EADS officials have said. The company's European distributors say Airbus has increased pressure on them to lower their prices on parts as a way of combatting the drop in the dollar.

A third alternative for Airbus would be to move parts of its airplane manufacturing business to the United States. The company is currently scouting the States for a future factory where the company would like, among other things, to produce refuelling tanker planes for the Pentagon. The factory could also produce parts used in the assembly of civilian aircraft. So far, however, the factory remains a vision -- the company has no concrete plans for it.