Airbus Delivers A380; Boeing Delays 787
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"He's up."
"He's down."
Sounds like a fight movie from the fifties.
This isn't a movie, unfortunately. Airbus finally shipped its A380 to applause. Boeing has delayed its Dreamliner for six months.
What's it all mean?
The Airbus saga includes one key fact. The plane wouldn't have gone anywhere, what with Board-room battles, unless a French middle-manager (Michaels, A1) finally got his team and an equivalent German team to work together to iron out difficulties in the fiendishly complex design.
Boeing is delaying because it needs more time to put its new plane together because of supply shortages for fasteners.
Airbus announced first, had the spot-light for a while, and lost it - and a huge portion of its stock-market capitalization - because of its difficulties.
Now it is Boeing's turn, or so it seems.
The message?
Airbus succeeded in part because middle managers toughed it out and completed production.
Boeing faces the same obstacles.
A final winner? I'll bet there isn't one. Both planes will launch, behind schedule, safely. We'll have to wait and see how much profit the planes product.
References
Michaels, Daniel. Airbus, Amid Turmoil, Revives Troubled Plane. The Wall Street Journal. 15 October 2007. A1.