Company Watch - Airbus.

For more company news, data and analysis, please go to: http://www.airguideonline.com/professional.htm Sep 11, 2006

AerVenture, a joint venture between AerCap and Kuwaiti cargo startup LoadAir, placed an order valued at $360 million for CFM56-5Bs to power the 30 A319s/A320s ordered late last year. Sep 8, 2006

Airbus has replaced the head of the A380 program in another move designed to calm clients involved with the troubled project. Charles Champion's move comes just two months after a crisis over production delays led to the resignation of the company's chief executive and the co-head of parent EADS. Airbus said Champion had been replaced by Mario Heinen, who was in charge of the A320-family jets. Champion will continue as an advisor to the company. The change came as hundreds of employees took part in test flights from Toulouse. Sep 10, 2006

The Airbus A380 program was boosted Monday when a test aircraft carrying 474 "passengers," described as Airbus employees and "cabin experts," completed the first of four test flights scheduled for this week. The first lasted 7 hr. and the remaining flights will go as long as 15 hr. Sep 6, 2006

Airbus A380 makes first test flight, program gets new leader. The Airbus A380 superjumbo jet made its first test flight with a full passenger load in France Monday. The seven-hour round-trip flight from Toulouse to Paris was the first of four test flights scheduled for this week. Airbus also named Mario Heinen to lead the A380 program; he was previously in charge of the A320. Sep 5, 2006

Airbus names Heinen new A380 head, completes passenger test flight. Fallout from A380 production delays continued Monday when Airbus removed Charles Champion as head of the next-generation aircraft program and promoted Mario Heinen, its Single Aisle Program chief, to senior VP and A380 Program head. The announcement came the same day as the A380's first passenger test flight. Alain Flourens, executive VP and head of Airbus's Centers of Excellence, will take over Heinen's role and Champion will remain as a special adviser to CEO Christian Streiff. Heinen, 50, takes over a program bedeviled by production delays that have pushed back deliveries twice. Extensive wiring problems revealed in June led to the forced resignations of CEO Gustav Humbert and EADS co-CEO Noel Forgeard (ATWOnline, July 3). Airbus said its management team "is currently working on a review of the A380 industrial situation and the preparation for the launch of the A350" and Streiff plans to report the findings by the end of the month. Sep 5, 2006

BAe board urges sale of Airbus stake for [euro]2.75 billion. BAE Systems, conceding that it would likely have to wait an "extended period" for the value of its 20% stake in Airbus to rise, decided late Wednesday to sell the holding to EADS for [euro]2.75 billion ($3.52 billion), well below previous estimates that the stake was worth [euro]4-[euro]5 billion. BAE's board said in a regulatory filing that "it is in the best interest of the company to exit at the price determined" rather than to spend the "significant amount of management focus, time and investment" required to help Airbus address its "significant issues." If the sale goes through, as is widely expected, EADS would hold a 100% stake in Airbus. Sep 8, 2006

BAe was surprised in July when investment bank Rothschild said its stake was worth just [euro]2.75 billion. It pushed back the long-planned divestment and enlisted PricewaterhouseCoopers to perform an independent audit of Airbus that confirmed Rothschild's valuation. BAe's board said it is sending a circular to shareholders with the time and location of an "extraordinary general meeting" required to approve the sale. Repayment of outstanding debt between BAE and Airbus and transaction-related costs will cut BAE's net proceeds from the sale to [euro]1.78 billion, the UK aerospace company said. Sep 8, 2006

EADS co-CEO Louis Gallois told Le Monde, in response to BAe's statement, that those programs are being examined carefully and results of an internal review will be announced soon. "In July we told the financial markets that the risks and the programs were being studied," he said. "We knew that we had to deal with significant challenges at Airbus. We are working on them, and we will have a complete view in a few weeks" when a revised A380 delivery schedule is announced and new A350 financing likely will be approved. Sep 8, 2006

BAe Systems is close to a final decision on the planned sale of its 20% stake in Airbus back to EADS. BAE pushed the sale back in July when its stake was valued lower than anticipated by investment bank Rothschild, which said the holding was worth [euro]2.75 billion ($3.5 billion), below previous analyst estimates putting the value at [euro]4-[euro]5 billion. Sep 6, 2006

Swiss International Air Lines will acquire a further two A321s and one A320 next spring for its European fleet. The extra capacity will enable the carrier to provide additional feeder services for its long-haul fleet, which will add two A330-200s in November. Swiss said the new aircraft will create some 250 new jobs. Its short-haul fleet comprises six A321s, 15 A320s, seven A319s and 24 Avro RJ85/100s. Sep 6, 2006

BAe Systems has agreed to sell its 20% stake in Airbus to EADS for [pounds sterling]1.87 billion. If shareholders agree to the deal, pan-European EADS, which owns 80% of Airbus, will own the firm outright. The 13,000 Airbus workers in the UK, where aircraft wings are built, are not thought to be affected by the deal. BAE can sell its 20% stake after a 2001 deal it signed with Franco-German EADS. Sep 10, 2006