EADS execs pledge to restore confidence in Airbus, fix A380 problems

LUCKNAM PARK, near Bath, England — Airbus is working full-tilt to fix its A380 superjumbo jet production problems, in the face of an "extremely bad" reaction from the jet's customers. It hopes to have the line rolling again by the middle of August.

At a media briefing this weekend before the Farnborough Air Show, executives from Airbus and its parent company, European Aeronautic Defence & Space (EADS), Airbus acknowledged the damage wrought by the A380 delays and discussed what they plan to do about it.

The new French co-CEO of EADS, Louis Gallois, and his German co-CEO, Tom Enders, admitted that customer and investor confidence is damaged. Yet Enders insisted that "the management crisis is over."

Enders said EADS will take a cool look at how Airbus is managed and at the relation between EADS and Airbus, but won't rush into management reform. He didn't promise an overnight fix.

"We need a few months to sort it out," said Enders. "This matter is far too important to shoot from the hip."

The dual Franco-German leadership structure at the top is not at fault, he said, and will stay because the French and German shareholders demand it.

About 45 journalists attended the event at this Gosford Park-like English country manor in the West of England, set in the middle of a vast estate.

Offering abstract assurances reminiscent of Boeing's public contrition after its ethics scandals, Gallois talked about restoring reputation through "transparency, team spirit and action."

"Disclosure and trust, it's our mandate," he said.

More concrete was the list of issues highlighted by senior Airbus executive Tom Williams as he explained what went wrong with the A380 wiring.

One issue was that the CATIA computer tool used in the airplane's digital design was not sufficiently accurate when it came to designing electrical systems, he said. The problem was made worse by Airbus' switch to aluminum wiring when the model was designed for copper wiring, which has very different physical properties.

Williams said Boeing might well benefit from Airbus' bad experience, as the CATIA model — also used in Seattle — is adjusted after this experience.

In fixing the production line problems, Williams said, "we've slowed everything down. In some areas, it's stopped."

He said he plans to start the first new airplane down the line in mid-August. "We expect to be rolling again by that point," Williams said.

But earlier, Enders warned that the projections for fixing the problems simply represent "our best assumption right now. This may change again."

"We have a recovery task force working through the summer," he said. Only after that team reports will the revised delivery schedule be nailed down.

In the middle of all the gloom about the wiring mess, Williams offered a couple of rays of sunlight.

First, the production mess is not due "to any radical redesign we are having to do," he asserted. The quality of the airplane is proving itself in flight tests.

And second, some of the wild dreams about the A380 just might still come true, he suggested.

Williams said the complexities caused in A380 production by airlines requiring extensively customized interiors — which can affect the wiring, some of which goes to the seats — were indeed a big factor in what went wrong.

And he said when the airplanes go into service, cynics will be proved wrong and the lavish Airbus interior mock-up at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse — with its spiral staircase, its waterfall, its cocktail lounge — will look "positively dull" in comparison to some of the real airplanes.

Starting Monday, the A380 will fly over the Air Show daily.