Airbus U.S. chief says presence in Washington possible

[eridani]

http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2021226174_airshowmcartorxml.html

Airbus lost the long and contentious bidding to build an aerial-refueling tanker for the U.S. Air Force, but Airbus Americas chairman Allan McArtor asserts there are signs that Boeing will stumble and give its rival a renewed opportunity.

“I think we’ll get another shot at it,” said McArtor in an interview at the Paris Air Show Wednesday.

He also said that Airbus, which has U.S. engineering centers in Wichita, Kan., and Mobile, Ala., is likely to add two more in the next decade and will seriously consider locating one in Washington state.

“We are attracted to Washington state for the same reason we were attracted to Wichita. That’s where the talent is,” he said. “If you want to have access to the talent that developed over the last 100 years of aviation, Washington is very fertile ground.”