Airbus protests Air India deal

[dArKeR]

Airbus said that it hadn't been given a chance to present its new A380 and was `astonished' at Air India's decision to buy 50 jets from Boeing

European Aircraft giant Airbus Industrie has cried foul over state-run Air India's decision to buy 50 Boeing jets, saying it was denied a chance to show off its new A380 superjumbo, as analysts said politics influenced the decision.

Airbus urged the Indian government to order a new tender after Air India approved on Tuesday the purchase of up to 50 Boeing planes worth US$7 billion, the US plane-maker's second big win this week.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/worldbiz/archives/2005/04/29/2003252447

Airbus, I think you should be thankful aWol didn't order your A380 test flight shot down as he did Paul Wellstone's and Carnahan's flights!

[SKKY]

1. WAAAAAAWAAAAA!!! Get over it Airbus.

[physioex]

2. LOL.....

True, and I strongly suspect India is a growing market. And I predict that they will order Airbus planes in the future.

[Save The World]

4. Pauvre, pauvre

Airbus. This is good news for the American economy and American jobs.

[rsmith6621]

3. The Deal Is Subject to

Approval from the government

[enid602]

5. India

India would be wise to get rid of some of the dollars they're accumulating, and avoid the dangerious situation (holding too many dollars which could lose value) in which China finds itself. As long as India's getting a good product, this looks like a good deal for them. Very pragmatic, the Indians.

Their pragmatism also extends to foreign affairs, where they've formed a coalition with Brazil, Russia and China to counter any US designs on Iran.

[fortyfeetunder]

6. Boo hoo Airbus

While your sales and marketing people kept ragging on Boeing, the Boeing guys quietly went about and did what they did best, sell some airplanes.

Perhaps your new use for the A380 is to make a set of nesting airplanes like the Russian babushka dolls...

[Joebert]

7. Quick translation note...

Babushka = Grandmother
Matryoshka = Nesting doll

(Can't really spell that correctly due to the Cyrillic alphabet not matching exactly)

:-)

However, point well taken. It would be interesting to see how Boeing and Airbus compete on the world market if all politics, subsidies and tariffs were eliminated from the equation.

[Dirk_H]

8. It's always the same

with those orders by state owned airlines: These are not ordinary business decisions, based on economical or technical reasons, but mere political horse-trading. Last year Indian Airlines placed an order for Airbusses, now it was Boeings turn. Thats quite usual and Airbus as well as Boeing knows that. Perhaps the only thing Airbus is a little bit frustrated about, is the possibility, that the US administration might be a little bit better in bribing and/or blackmailing other governments than the Europeans, because they had a lot of practice recently.