A400M News

[Stratofreighter]

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/20 ... ncing.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

DATE:08/01/10

SOURCE:Flight International

EADS running out of patience on A400M refinancing

By Andrew Doyle

EADS is warning the Airbus Military A400M customer nations that time is running out to save the troubled airlifter, which programme sources say is costing the company more than €100 million ($143 million) a month to sustain.

"We are negotiating," says EADS. "We cannot take the burden all alone. We need to share the burden."

Sources close to the programme rate the chances of a refinancing deal for the A400M being agreed before EADS's end-of-January deadline at "50:50".

The project, running around two years late with the prototype having finally achieved its maiden flight in December, requires another €11.4 bllion of funding to complete. EADS has already made a €2.4 billion provision, leaving additional costs of around €9 billion that need to be covered by the seven partner nations and industry.

The amounts of money mentioned are ENORMOUS ELEVEN BILLION EUROS additionally for a programme that is not all that "cutting edge" and with a prototype already flying

[Stratofreighter]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8452493.stm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Under contracts signed ahead of the start of the programme six years ago, Airbus has agreed to sell them the planes for a fixed price.

"We made a big mistake when we [entered into] contracts for this aircraft six or seven years ago," Mr Enders said, speaking to BBC World Business Report.

"If you make mistakes don't repeat them. We should not again take a decision which would lead us to further problems in the years to come."

However he added that the final decision on whether to scrap the project would be the decision of the whole board at Airbus' parent company EADS.

[Hurricane]

http://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/news/?ID=33465

The sky looks clear ... for as long as it may last as the A400M-customers have agreed to support Airbus with additional fundings to keep the A400M-project a-live. Final details are still under construction although the fundings are not endless as the customers "won't keep the project running at any cost"

Adios, H.