Originally Posted by
Andy_S
Except that building the A380 in the first place was arguably a prestige project......one that they persisted with until they could no longer ignore the "business perspective".
The French have always been strong on "
prestige projects" that are/were business disasters, miring organisations in vast amounts of long term debts, to the point they have to drop other worthy projects that are/can be much better.
You can blame the ENA for that, who have always been ultra strong in the management of the EUSSR also.
(Need a bail-out? No problem French always get a "passe partout").
No doubt you will find the "illuminated" management of AF and Airbus/
EADS are drawn from this "prestige" university ENA, spending their time studying how to
make France competitive, commit business suicide, add to the growing 2 trillion + pile of French government debt costing 55 billion a year (
or 1700+EURO per second) to service in interest payments on their 55,412,270,936€
One wonders how the French survive at all.
They do have the highest level of tax in the world, so their project disasters will always be financed by the earnings of grand children, n'est pas?
They even now try to shut down their only great successes such as their NPPs and replace them with intermittent unreliable sources of energy.
Good examples:-
Euro Tunnel bailed out...
Air France bailed out several times, still loss making.
TGV - SNCF, now one of the most indebted companies in Europe... the subject of a vast bailout in 2018 forced by the unions.
(who spent most of last spring and summer striking to force the government to underwrite the debts).Still loss making,-
Two out of three French high-speed TGV trains are operating at a loss despite the high prices.
SNCF freight - loss making.,,,,314 million euros in 2016 - accumulated debts then amounting to 4 billion euros.
SeaFrance (was owned by SNCF) went t..ts up.(in October 2008 had been losing in the region of €3 million a month)
Superphénix FBR, shut still costing large amounts to dismantle having generated just 7700Gw/h electricity over 11 years,
closed 1998 still not dismantled fully until 2023.
Alsthom - several bailouts attempted mergers.
Airbus will move on from the A380.
What could possibly go wrong for Airbus producing a vast expenses paid super prestige project like A380, assume it sells, - it tanks, it's a commercial disaster who pays?
If the French banking and insurance market fails, Airbus will be casualty number 1, so it may not be able to "move on", as you put it, and the blame will lie at the door of the 380.
(If you don't believe me look at what happened at Embraer in 5yrs)