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Viewing cable 05PARIS372, THE AIRBUS A-380 - REVEALED

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
05PARIS372 2005-01-20 16:00 2011-08-24 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Paris
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 000372 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EUR/WE, EUR/ERA, EB/TPP 
STATE PASS TO USTR (VERONEAU, NOVELLI, SANFORD) 
COMMERCE FOR ALDONAS 
COMMERCE FOR ITA FRED ELLIOTT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAIR ETRD FR WTRO USTR
SUBJECT: THE AIRBUS A-380 - REVEALED 
 
REF: 04 PARIS 9014 
 
 1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  Airbus hosted a lavish "A-380 Reveal" 
ceremony in Toulouse January 18 before 5000 invited guests, 
including French President Chirac, British PM Blair, German 
Chancellor Schroeder and Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero. 
The unveiling of the first fully-functional A380 superjumbo 
took place with Olympics-opening fanfare, and constituted a 
"celebration" of European industrial policy and innovation. 
Chancellor Schroeder made the only clear references to 
Boeing/Airbus, admonishing the European Commission to keep 
"Europe's interests" in mind when negotiating with the U.S. 
-- a seeming reference to Europe's need to preserve its 
ability to launch future publicly-funded initiatives such as 
Airbus.  Airbus highlighted its global company image during 
the ceremony, featuring multimedia promotions and foreign 
airline testimonials heavy in English.  Airbus cites 145 
existing orders for the A-380, with 250 needed to break even, 
and claims that 700-750 orders are achievable over time.  A 
major Chinese order is expected imminently.  Both the guest 
list and reception buffet were international in flavor. 
Senior executives from FEDEX (Fred Smith), UPS, Goodrich, 
General Electric and a host of other U.S. suppliers and 
customers were present.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (U) Airbus Industries hosted a major event at its 
Toulouse, France production site January 18 to showcase the 
new A380 superjumbo jet.  The event, heralded as the &A380 
Reveal8, attracted 5000 guests from around the world, 
including French President Chirac, British Prime Minister 
Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Spanish Prime 
Minister Juan Luis Zapatero.  CEOs of major customer airlines 
(Emirates, Singapore Air, Air France, KAL, Fedex, UPS, 
Virgin, Malaysian, Thai and others) were featured invitees. 
Economic and Commercial Minister-Counselors represented the 
Embassy, along with the just-arrived American Presence Post 
(APP) Toulouse Consul.  Technical level FAA representatives 
participated from Washington. 
 
3. (SBU) The well-organized ceremony resembled a combination 
of Olympics opening and heavyweight prize fight.  The 
multimedia show featured an animated Merlinesque figure 
lauding man,s capacity to innovate, and cloud-walking 
dancers reminiscent of the Athens Olympics opening ceremony. 
Airbus President Noel Forgeard led the four heads of 
state/government onto the stage like heavyweight 
prizefighters.  Airbus highlighted its global company image 
during the ceremony, featuring multimedia promotions and 
foreign airline testimonials heavy in English (including Air 
France CEO Spinetta).  Both the guest list and reception 
buffet were international in flavor. 
 
4. (SBU) Airbus CEO Forgeard and the four European leaders 
played up the &celebration8 of European industrial policy, 
cooperation and innovation.  British PM Blair was careful to 
replace &European8 with &British and European8 in his 
praise for the various contributions to the A380.  Chancellor 
Schroeder made the most substantive presentation, noting that 
the A380 was indicative of what &Old Europe8 can 
accomplish.  He took the opportunity to signal his support 
for broadening the participation of other European countries, 
including possibly Russia, in the ownership of Airbus, 
parent company EADS.  (Comment.  Germany may find attractive 
the prospect of diluting French influence in EADS and 
Airbus.)  Schroeder was also the only speaker to highlight 
the Boeing/Airbus dispute, admonishing European Commission 
negotiators to keep "Europe's interests" in mind when 
negotiating with the U.S. -- a seeming reference to 
preserving Europe,s ability to launch future publicly-funded 
initiatives such as Airbus. 
 
5. (SBU) The recent tussle over the leadership of EADS (see 
reftel) was in evidence.  (France has recently announced that 
Airbus CEO Forgeard will replace Philippe Camus as French 
co-chair of EADS later this year.  That decision came after 
some resistance from Camus-supporter Arnaud Lagardere, whose 
Lagardere group controls 15 percent of EADS.)  Both Forgeard 
and President Chirac heaped lavish praise on the late Jean 
Luc Lagardere, one of the driving forces behind the creation 
of Airbus, while paying scant attention to his successor, son 
Arnaud.  EADS co-chair Philippe Camus was virtually invisible 
during the ceremonies and Daimler-Chrysler CEO Jurgen 
Schrempp did not even attend, although EADS German co-chair 
Manfred Bischoff spoke at the event.  (Comment. 
Daimler-Chrysler holds 30 percent of EADS and has reportedly 
been unhappy with reports that Forgeard and Chirac support 
scrapping the EADS French/German co-chair structure for a 
single, preferably French, CEO.) 
 
6. (SBU) While the Airbus President and the four European 
leaders heralded the A380 project as a European success and 
the product of European cooperation, the European Commission 
played no visible role in the festivities.  The four major 
participating countries and their global customers were the 
stars of the event. 
 
7. (SBU) With 145 orders in hand, Airbus claims that it is in 
sight of the 250 aircraft reportedly needed to make the A380 
venture profitable.  Airbus executives are increasingly using 
a target number of 700-750 aircraft for eventual sales.  The 
first flight of the A380 should take place in late March or 
early April, and officials hope to showcase the aircraft at 
the June 2005 Paris Air Show.  Singapore Airlines will be the 
launch customer, with first commercial flights planned for 
early 2006.  Reports were circulating in Toulouse yesterday 
that a major Chinese A380 order could be announced in the 
next week. 
 
8. (SBU) COMMENT.  The Airbus A380 superjumbo has yet to take 
flight, let alone fire up its (hopefully GE) engines and taxi 
out of its hangar.  Yet, with 145 orders to date, European 
leaders are ready to cite it as a success for European 
cooperation and European industrial policy.  Airbus is also 
at pains to highlight its global company identity, citing its 
worldwide customer base, global supply chain, and 
85-nationality-strong labor force.  Time will tell, however, 
how much of a success the A380 will become.  Development and 
production costs continue to rise, and the eventual market 
size for the superjumbo remains undetermined.  Nonetheless, 
for the moment, European leaders are content to promote the 
A380 as the poster child for European industrial cooperation. 
 END COMMENT. 
 
Wolff