Targeting a first flight for the A400M military aircraft by the end of October is looking increasingly ‘difficult’.

According to Airbus executive vice president Tom Williams, targeting a first flight for the A400M military aircraft by the end of October is looking increasingly ‘difficult’. The company has had ‘issues’ with engine failures, including software problems. Each week of delay to the first flight beyond the end of October would probably equate to a further week’s delay to the delivery of the first aircraft, Williams added. AFX, (28/07)

Airbus chief executive Thomas Enders said problems with assembly and delivery of the A380 aircraft can only be overcome once a stable serial production has been reached.

Airbus chief executive Thomas Enders said problems with assembly and delivery of the A380 aircraft can only be overcome once a stable serial production has been reached. He indicated the company is hiring engineers from outside Europe and overhauling its IT systems.

Middle Eastern carriers are expanding as fast as they can in hopes of redefining their region as the aviation crossroads of the globe.

Middle Eastern carriers are expanding as fast as they can in hopes of redefining their region as the aviation crossroads of the globe. While most airlines worldwide are undergoing their worst crisis so far, the Middle-Eastern government-backed airlines thrive ;

Airbus A380 aircraft launch company, Singapore Airlines, is to accomplish its 1000th commercial flight with the super-jumbo on August 3rd.

Airbus A380 aircraft launch company, Singapore Airlines, is to accomplish its 1000th commercial flight with the super-jumbo on August 3rd. More than 400,000 passengers have already been carried. In 9 months of use,

The first of the 58 Airbus A380 planes Emirates Airlines ordered was delivered Monday in a handoff ceremony in Hamburg, Germany

The first of the 58 Airbus A380 planes Emirates Airlines ordered was delivered Monday in a handoff ceremony in Hamburg, Germany; it should accomplish its first commercial flight on August 1, between Dubai and New York’s JFK airport.

Manufacturers of regional aircrafts like Embraer and Bombardier are taking profit of a market gap left open by Airbus and Boeing

Manufacturers of regional aircrafts like Embraer and Bombardier are taking profit of a market gap left open by Airbus and Boeing: planes meant for feeder flights. With the advent of ever lager aircrafts like the Airbus 380 which require investments in airports,

EADS is expected to report an increase of almost 150% in its earnings before interest and tax for the second quarter of this year

EADS is expected to report an increase of almost 150% in its earnings before interest and tax for the second quarter of this year, fuelled by a continuing strong order inflow at Airbus as well as a faster pace of deliveries.

EADS is looking for a suitable US partner to possibly offer the A400M military transport aircraft to the Pentagon.

EADS is looking for a suitable US partner to possibly offer the A400M military transport aircraft to the Pentagon. Aviation Week reports that executives from EADS North America have held discussions with both Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin about assembling the A400M in the US if it can grab a contract from the DoD. According to John Young, director of tanker programmes at EADS North America, there is a “huge opportunity” for the transport aircraft in the US defence market to replace up to 450 ageing C-130s.

Aviation Week analyses the upcoming “narrow-bodies battle” as plane manufacturers are considering future product strategies.

Aviation Week analyses the upcoming “narrow-bodies battle” as plane manufacturers are considering future product strategies. Airbus and Boeing face “increasingly tough production decisions” as they try to elaborate strategies for the end of the next decade. With the introduction of Bombardier’s C-Series,

US airlines accumulate losses in the face of surging fuel costs.

US airlines accumulate losses in the face of surging fuel costs. After American Airlines and Delta, United Airlines and US Airways also reported huge losses in the second quarter -at $ 2.7Bn and $ 567M respectively.

Emirates is the symbol of Dubai’s dynamism, reports L’Express.

Emirates is the symbol of Dubai’s dynamism, reports L’Express. Next July 28, it will take delivery of its first Airbus A380 in Hamburg. The airline has ordered 58 superjumbos in total -worth more than $ 20Bn.

Airbus, Safran and Caisse des Depots yesterday announced the creation of a € 75M investment fund aimed at supporting SMEs in the French aeronautics sector.

Airbus, Safran and Caisse des Depots yesterday announced the creation of a € 75M investment fund aimed at supporting SMEs in the French aeronautics sector. La Tribune says this fund, named Aerofund II, clearly has one goal: pushing further the consolidation of the aeronautics industry.

Airbus’s commercial future is bright, writes Prof.

Airbus’s commercial future is bright, writes Prof. Philip Lawrence, Director of the Aerospace Research Centre in Bristol, in a letter to Financial Times. Airbus has been paying the price of earlier management mistakes on its A380 programme.

Thomas Enders reiterated at a conference in Toulouse yesterday that the weak dollar was a “deep, substantial problem ” for Airbus.

Thomas Enders reiterated at a conference in Toulouse yesterday that the weak dollar was a “deep, substantial problem ” for Airbus. He warned that the company was preparing for a “sustained period of low dollar”.

Louis Gallois is confident that EADS will soon find investors for the Airbus sites

Louis Gallois is confident that EADS will soon find investors for the Airbus sites it seeks to sell in France and Germany. According to him, “the euro quotation at $1.58 is the reason why investors hesitate to invest into the aviation sector”. Suddeutsche Zeitung