Airbus is in very dire straits, the only plane selling in any quantity is the A320 series. The A380 is a colossal disaster, the A350XWB is a classic case of too little too late, Airbus would be better off forgetting about that plane before it turns into another A380 fiasco.

The military 400 series is suffering the same problems.

Airbus is hemoraging money by the truckload. If they don't enact the power8 program and slash costs, they are in extremely grave danger.

It is the A380 that has wiring problems, not the A350 which is still in design and far far behind Boeing's 787.

Airbus is in a bad business spiral. Cost cutting, aka Power8, has become a political issue. The delay in the overweight A380 is causing Airbus to give away future aircraft in compensation to avoid immediate cash drain. A freighter A380 will not be built and total A380 orders may not hit breakeven point. Airbus is trying to buy business from Russia and China by promising in country content and new aircraft factories. Actual A350XWB costs will start ramping up next year, and if Airbus does not have enough orders the A350XWB may never be built.

Airbus vs. Boeing... it's a game of leapfrog. Boeing were in dire straits 5 years ago as Airbus surged ahead. Airbus still has good cashflow with its top selling single isle 320 series. The A380 is a long term project, 30 years hence. The A350 XWB has a chance to leapfrog the 787 at launch and Boeing haven't announced any delays just yet. Competition is good for the airline business and customers know that.

Why should any one be so surprised? When the French and German bosses were squabbling behind their ivory towers as to who should have the bigger piece of the pie and the renown to go with it, they have no idea 2D and 3D modeling software are not exactly compatible. Hello? Talk about a European fiasco!