UPS cancels A380 order?

[Mudfoot]

Let's look at this from a manufacturing and marketing perspective, shall we?

First, there are more pax versions of the A380 ordered than freighter, therefore with one's back to the wall, whom does one appease? Where does one put its resources? Do the math... especially after the heavy indebtedness Airbus has to their long suffering A380 clients as a whole. Believe me, UPS probably had a reorder price stipulation in place when they walked away from the table - and they still want the plane.

Second, the reported lay-offs are not due to the A380's woes only - it's in line with Airbus' restructuring process which has almost come to be. The basis of that is to, 1) redefine who (Fr v. De v. UK v. Es) does what (A320 v.A330/340 v. A380) as far as manufacturing, in order to save time and money, and 2) in an effort to bring similar disciplines under one roof, consolidation of work processes must take place, therefore some streamlining of production lines must be done. Remember, they've still got to develop the A350 XWB, hence resource management is critical to their bottom line. Their order book is still strong, their production will pick up in the near future, i.e., not "down and out". Just down... but not for the count.

Think back - in the 1990's, the UK's Airbus wing factories went on stike and crippled many Airbus production lines, but they got through it. Boeing had wiring problems with their new 747 model, but they got through it. The capability to pull together and rebound is what the industry watches, and usually that is delivered. Wait and see...

Oh, and speaking of selling assets, what about Boeing and Wichita? Still going, as the battery bunny says.

Cheers, y'all.