Russia, Airbus make strange bedfellows

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, February 20, 2007

While the chaos escalates in Europe over how to put Airbus’s best foot forward, the Russian government continues to express interest in upping its 5 percent stake in EADS, Airbus’s parent company.

Certainly, Airbus has its hands full already trying to pacify both the governments of France and Germany and maintain some semblance of a business. The countries recently disrupted Airbus’s restructuring effort — a much-needed move after the A380 delay cost EADS billions of dollars in profits. If Airbus can’t cut costs soon, the company faces an uphill battle with its A350 XWB jet, a plane that industry analysts describe as crucial to Airbus’s future.

The Teal Group’s Richard Aboulafia recently commented on the prospect of Airbus relying on Russia for funding. Although unpleasant, Airbus could consider Russia in its fallback scenario, he said.

However, “this would be a ‘check yourself at the door’ moment,” Aboulafia said. “Anything would probably be better than that.”