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GROUP DUE TO REVEAL EXTENT OF AIRBUS CRISIS
L'azienda deve acquisire il controllo dell'assemblaggio dell'A380 per poter realizzare una produzione di serie di quattro esemplari al mese - È emergenza per il maggiore costruttore aerospaziale europeo - Occorre trovare 10 miliardi di dollari per lo sviluppo della famiglia degli A350 a lungo raggio per sfidare il Boeing 787 «Dreamliner»
Kevin Done

EADS is due to disclose to investors this week the extent of the growing industrial crisis at Airbus. Europe's leading aerospace and defence group is set to reveal further costly delivery delays for the A380 superjumbo and outline a restructuring plan aimed at addressing concerns about the long-term viability of the aircraft maker. Its competitiveness against Boeing is being undermined by the continuing weakness of the US dollar against the euro.

Airbus, long vaunted as the leading example of the success of cross-border industrial co-operation in Europe, is struggling to maintain credibility: first with customers, until it can produce a firm delivery schedule for the A380, and second with investors, until it can quantify the financial damage of the A380 delays and put forward a detailed restructuring plan

BAE Systems' shareholders are expected to approve the sale of the UK defence group's 20 per cent stake in Airbus to EADS at an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday. This will enable the Franco-German group to gain 100 per cent control of the troubled aircraft maker and integrate Airbus much more tightly into the EADS management structure

EADS and Airbus must:
- gain control of A380 assembly and bring the superjumbo into full series production of up to four aircraft a month to support a firm delivery schedule;
- launch an industrial restructuring programme aimed at cutting well in excess of a billion euros in costs in order to boost Airbus' competitiveness in the face of the weak dollar;
- gain board approval for the $10bn development of the proposed A350XWB family of medium capacity, 250-350 seat, long-range widebody airliners, needed to give Airbus a worthy rival to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner;
- probe the rumoured delays and mounting costs of the A400M military transport aircraft project;
- ensure that the group does not fall behind Boeing in the push to develop the next generation single aisle aircraft for the first half of the next decade to replace the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 787 - the workhorses of the world aircraft fleet and the mainstay of production at both groups.
Only the first two issues will be addressed pubblicly by EADS this week.
Airbus disclosed a second round of delays in the A380 programme in June and said these would cut planned deliveries of the world's biggest passenger jet by almost two thirds from 25 to only 9 in 2007
The A380 crisis is the immediate worry. However, of as great concern for the longer term is Airbus profitability, the mainstay of EADS earnings

Kevin Done
Tratto dal «Financial Times» del 2 ottobre

• Aircraft maker: casa aeronautica
• Assembly: assemblaggio, montaggio
• Body: fusoliera (di aereo)
• Competitiveness: competitività
• Customers: clienti
• Defence group: gruppo che opera nell'ambito dei sistemi (aerospaziali) di difesa
• Delivery delays: ritardi nelle consegne
• Delivery schedule: programma di consegne
• EADS: sta per European Aeronautic Defence and Space (Company)
• Earnings: profitti
• Financial damage: danno finanziario
• Jet: (= jet plane) aviogetto; aereo a reazione
• Management structure: struttura gestionale
• Profitability: redditività
• Range: percorrenza, tratta
• Restructuring plan: piano di ristrutturazione
• Seat: posto a sedere
• Shareholders: azionisti
• Single aisle aircraft: velivolo a corridoio unico
• Viability: vitalità (di un'impresa); (ma anche: solvibilità)
• Widebody airliners: Aerei con la fusoliera a sezione ampia
• Workhorses: (lett.) cavalli da lavoro, stacanovisti