Meet the Airbus A400M

[Sapper!]

The US is interested?
http://www.businessinsider.com/airb...n-fly-more-than-5400-miles-on-a-tank-of-gas-1

 

[e6bflyer]

Looks like a slight improvement on a 50 year old airplane that is still in production here. Going up to FL370 is great, but when your max speed (not cruise speed, mind you) is .72, you had better hope for favorable winds or that tank of gas isn't going to last so long.
It looks like a C-17 was sexually assaulted by a C-130 and this is its child.

 

[Fog]

It looks like a C-17 was sexually assaulted by a C-130 and this is its child.

You also have to wonder just how much $$$ Airbus/EADS will lose on the A400M, A380 and the A340 programs - and remember that the A350 (a new program) is still very much in development and a very looong way from initial deliveries. The A400M is billions over-budget, 3 years late (due primarily to the Europeans insisting on developing their own turbo-prop engine) and has orders for slightly more than 175 a/c. They can't possibly make a profit w/ fewer than 300 a/c sold (development costs were north of US$8bn). The A380 was 2 yrs late and wing-cracks developed on the initial a/c delivered. So Airbus had to patch a repair on all of them at its own expense. None were ordered in 2012, but they did get an order for 20 at the Paris Airshow. They've delivered about a 125 airframes so far & have about 280 orders, but are a long way from turning the 1st dime on the program. Finally, the A340 (a 4-engine wide-body) is functionally obsolete and being grounded world-wide because no one can made $$ with it. They sold about 375, so they lost $$ for sure on the program. Back when I was in international banking, Airbus would not provide financial statements, but did offer the guaranty of the French Treasury. That shows how proud they were then, but that was more than 20 yrs ago. I do not know what financial information they provide lenders these days. JMHOs.

 

[e6bflyer]

You also have to wonder just how much $$$ Airbus/EADS will lose on the A400M, A380 and the A340 programs - and remember that the A350 (a new program) is still very much in development and a very looong way from initial deliveries. The A400M is billions over-budget, 3 years late (due primarily to the Europeans insisting on developing their own turbo-prop engine) and has orders for slightly more than 100 a/c. They can't possibly make a profit w/ fewer than 300 a/c sold (development costs were north of US$8bn). The A380 was 2 yrs late and wing-cracks developed on the initial a/c delivered. So Airbus had to patch a repair on all of them at its own expense. None were ordered in 2012, but they did get an order for 20 at the Paris Airshow. They've delivered about a 125 airframes so far, but are a long way from turning the 1st dime on the program. Finally, the A340 (a 4-engine wide-body) is functionally obsolete and being grounded world-wide because no one can made $$ with it. They sold less than 300, so they lost $$ for sure on the program. Back when I was in international banking, Airbus would not provide financial statements, but did offer the guaranty of the French Treasury. That shows how proud they were then, but that was more than 20 yrs ago. I do not know what financial information they provide lenders these days. JMHOs.

I'm with you FOG. Airbus definitely has an advantage over Boeing in that it is being infused by the Euro governments. Unfortunately for them, this has led to a series of poor business decisions and the last few aircraft that have come off their lines have been questionable gambles. They still do, however, have several profitable models that are selling like hot cakes around the world. I suspect the A350 will be a success once it finally gets to the line since it is a functional copy of the 787.
I sincerely hope there are no more stumbling blocks for the 787. I would love to see Boeing crush it with this one and stay profitable. I know they are kind of one of those "too big to fail" corporations, but they have had some pretty hard times in the past.

 

[insanebikerboy]

It looks like a C-17 was sexually assaulted by a C-130 and this is its child.

The C-17 must've skipped out on the recent SAPR training...

Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Fog]

I'm with you FOG. Airbus definitely has an advantage over Boeing in that it is being infused by the Euro governments. Unfortunately for them, this has led to a series of poor business decisions and the last few aircraft that have come off their lines have been questionable gambles. They still do, however, have several profitable models that are selling like hot cakes around the world. I suspect the A350 will be a success once it finally gets to the line since it is a functional copy of the 787.
I sincerely hope there are no more stumbling blocks for the 787. I would love to see Boeing crush it with this one and stay profitable. I know they are kind of one of those "too big to fail" corporations, but they have had some pretty hard times in the past.

To be more precise, there are now slightly more than 175 A400Ms on order. They still need to double that number before the program can hope to break-even. The A350 won a bag of orders at the Paris Air Show, but it is still 2 yrs+ from 1st delivery. In the meantime, Boeing will likely deliver another 250+ 787s as the South Carolina plant ramps up.