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March 05, 2007
Euro-Failure

Mark Steyn takes note of the flopping of the Airbus A380:

Do you remember the A380 Airbus? It was launched to much fanfare in 2005 as the symbol of the coming Euro-imperium. Giant double-decker QE2s of the air would be looming over cities around the world. You’d be fumbling for a match and saying, "Funny, I don’t remember the almanack saying anything about a total eclipse today" only to realize that the vast shadow over the landscape was the Air France A380 coming in to land at LAX, assuming they’d had the runways lengthened in time.

It doesn’t seem to be working out quite like that: these days the headlines are mostly about delays in delivery and lost customers – "UPS To Cancel A380 Order" – or threats of strikes by French and German workers and lost jobs in the less obstreperous branch offices of the Euro consortium – "Airbus To Cut 1,600 Jobs In Britain."

So it’s grand news for Euro-investors that at least Pakistan’s national carrier has been successfully strongarmed into buying the White Euro-elephant of the skies, after pressure to deny landing rights to the existing PIA fleet on "safety grounds". Now twice as many jihadists will be able to fly from Waziristan to Heathrow in one go! (The Airbus can carry 800 passengers, or a thousand if your child bride goes in the hold.)

The A380 is indeed a poignant symbol of the European Union: far too big and never actually taking flight. However, it may well prove useful for large-scale population evacuations circa 2015.

When I first heard of this plane, I did consider that it had a chance - everyone said the 747 was "too big" when it was being designed, but it proved the critics wrong...but if you've got a plane that can't fit a lot of international airport runways, that does make it a bit difficult to get off the ground, as it were. What I should have kept firmly in mind was the fact that this plane wasn't the result of aviation innovation, nor the result of free market risk-taking but, instead, is the result of Euro-socialist grandiosity. For such, it doesn't matter if the bloody thing works, but only matters that it can be sold for an election cycle or two in terms of new jobs and such.

The utter failure of Europe is made manifest more and more each day - they are the brink of complete collapse, and if they want to be living in a recognisable Europe in 2050, they'd better recover their lost Judeo-Christian values.

Posted by Mark Noonan at March 5, 2007 11:44 AM


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Comments

The Airbus people just couldn't conceive of the notion that major airports just don't have the money to make the kinds of renovations that would be needed to accomodate these monster planes. Runways, gates, hangers...sheesh...These things don't magically appear. Chicago's O'Hare airport is planning an expansion...but to accomodate increased traffic. (Of course, being Chicago, it's more likely that the reason is that Mayor Daley's buddies in the construction business wanted to skim more off the taxpayer) can you image the billions it would take to reconfigure airports just so that the Airbus A380 could fit?

When the 747 was created, there were changes that had to be made to airports as well, but it was a time when air travel demanded either more flights, or bigger planes. Also, taxpayers were more willing to have their cities and states raise taxes to build or expand airports. Now, you have huge competition by government entities for dollars from a limited tax base. Giving Airbus a chance to sell more airplanes is not a priority.

Also...considering how long it takes now to board and take off, would you want to wait for 800-1000 other people to board an A380; and then wait at your destination with 800-1000 other people to get your luggage?

Posted by: Hermie [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 01:04 PM

"they'd better recover their lost Judeo-Christian values."

"is the result of Euro-socialist grandiosity"

Airbus is a private, multinational corporation. Moreover, blaming Europe's religious status for its troubles makes about as much sense as GM blaming its record-breaking losses on gay marriage.

Aw, poor Mark is still bitter about Europe's opposition to the war so he has to include this meaningless post professing Schadenfreude about Airbus. Meanwhile, how many posts have there been about the Walter Reed Hospital on this site? To preempt your answer, why is the treatment of the veterans a partisan issue?

Gar Wood

Posted by: Gar Wood [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 01:52 PM

I don't know about Europes turning away from religion. But I was an on-site contractor at Daimler-Benz in Stuttgart for two years a while back. And it's all about socialism there. That is why European cars and other goods are so expensive - socialism.

Funny - the actual communist countries can make stuff real cheap with their virtual slave labor wages.

Posted by: Kahn [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 02:49 PM

"The utter failure of Europe is made manifest more and more each day - they are the brink of complete collapse"

Yet the dollar is going down and the Euro is going up...

Posted by: Whisperwolf [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 03:28 PM

The entries in this blog are digressing from plainly stupid to utterly insane. I do not have time to digress on the particulars as others have pointed them out. Your blind obedience is mind numbing and nauseating. I truly wonder what the point of this all is - you could reduce the entire blog of pointless regurgitation of the administrations every word to just the proverbial "yeah - what he said" after everything that comes out of their mouths.

Posted by: kblack77 [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 03:53 PM

Mr. Noonan,

The same could be said about Las Vegas dont you think?

I know of no other city in the USA that exists for the sole purpose of promoting gambling, prostitution and adultery.

Just a little tongue in cheek humor and a reminder it is very difficult to chastise others for their moral values when we live in the city of sin and part take of some of the vices offered by that city.

Posted by: IT for life [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 04:42 PM

kblack - you just keep that paragraph handy to post in each string?

Posted by: Kahn [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 05:10 PM

Kahn, I was thinking the exact same thing. It's remarkable how similar all of kblack's posts are.

The entries in this blog are digressing from plainly stupid to utterly insane.

No one's forcing you to join this stupidity and insanity, kblack, and you wouldn't be missed if you left. Surely there's some other blog where your PHD in Physics will be appreciated. Besides, there were only 3 comments prior to yours, and one of them was from your buddy, Gar Wood. So which comments were stupid and which insane?

Posted by: Retired Spook [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 05:29 PM

Sorry, I can't count. There were 4 comments prior to yours kblack, and they alternated Conservative - Liberal - Conservative - Liberal. So at which point did they regress from stuipd to insane?

Posted by: Retired Spook [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 05:31 PM

It's remarkable how similar all of kblack's posts are.

It's not remarkable to me; morons always repeat themselves. kblack is a moron, and why should we care what he thinks of this blog? Oh, that's right--we don't!

Gar Weed wouldn't know about Europe, Mark; he rarely ventures far from mommy's basement...

Posted by: God is Great--Libs I Hate... [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 06:13 PM

Gar,

It is only technically private...it can't make a move without consulting the various governments and the EU.

IT,

I wasn't asking them to become sinless - I'm merely suggesting that if they don't start having children and showing a bit of courage, they are through.

Posted by: Mark Noonan [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 06:22 PM

Mark,
Okay I agree Europeons are dumb.
Now, I know this is OT, but I think it's time for you to do some kind of post on what is happening at Walter Reed. While I disagreee with many of the posters on this blog, I have no doubt that they support our troops. By not bringing up Walter Reed, this and other rightwing blogs seem to be conceding the high ground to the dems. I don't consider this a partisan issue as much as I consider it an American issue. I also have a feeling that a lot of the democrats knew about the conditions at Walter Reed and didn't do anything about it until the sh#t hit the fan. So what do you say?

Posted by: Casper [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 06:35 PM

what can i say, when your right your right...

look. All I am saying is that you have a choice - you can have intelligent interesting discussion about actual issues. Or you can simply repeat what the leader says mindlessly and spend your whole life trying to blame all the problems on the world on group A or group B.

In this case Dem or Rep. Both groups have, and continue to do , rather stupid things that ultimately benefit the wealthy and powerful. Perhaps the set of wealthy and powerful is somewhat different between the two - but don't be confused - essentially nobody in main stream politics is doing 99.9% of anything with YOUR best interest in mind...

Don't you want to move past this and discuss actual issues rather than how much power Al Gore's house uses? Or how much money certain ex Republican leaders were on the take for.

Or making ludicrous generalizations about what "europe" should or shouldn't do? Or how Bush handed out hugs - a collective eye roll please?

Its a choice - i come here to see what people I know disagree with me are thinking. Because I am open minded and I want to hear the counter argument. Unfortunately, about 5% of the entries are actually about any issue of substance - or say anything remotely original.

Posted by: kblack77 [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 06:37 PM

"and if they want to be living in a recognisable Europe in 2050, they'd better recover their lost Judeo-Christian values."

What does this mean?

Posted by: Nick at March 5, 2007 07:39 PM

Unfortunately, about 5% of the entries are actually about any issue of substance - or say anything remotely original.

Well then, kblack--that puts you in the majority...

Posted by: God is Great--Libs I Hate... [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 07:54 PM

OT--Walter Reed issue being blown out of proportion. The first General fired had only been on the job for six months, and is supported by some 1,500 soldiers who have been patients there. The building in question is Bldg. 18, an outpatient bldg. The ones doing the bitching are mainly some disgruntled guard troops.

WRAMC remains one of the pre-eminent military hospitals in the U.S., if not the world. It is slated to close in 2011, and medical operations will move to Bethesda, not far from WR.

Casper, congress is investigating the crap out of this one, and the President wants a bipartisan commission to do oversight on all military medical facilities.

If this has been a long-ignored issue, I assert that the IG has some 'splainin' to do...

Posted by: God is Great--Libs I Hate... [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 08:07 PM

kblack77,

Regarding your first comment... Huh?

Regarding your second comment... You say you want to know what the people who disagree with you are thinking... you are open minded... and you want to hear the counter argument. Now if you really mean that, Rush Limbaugh is on from noon 'til 3:00 P.M. Eastern every weekday. I think he can be heard in most areas of the United States. Even liberals are welcome to and do call in to express their opinion and try to stump "El Rushbo".

I don't know of any better way to research and learn about what the other side is thinking, to hear the counter arguments, and to prepare for your evening's discussion on Blogs For Bush! If nothing else, you can amuse yourself and confirm your belief about how "nutty" (facetiously speaking) those of us are who listen to him.

If you are as "open minded" as you claim to be, you may even agree with him occasionally. Besides that, you will also pick up a lot of news items you may not hear or read about from other sources.

Don't give up with just a day or two. Stick it out for 2 or 3 weeks before you make a decision not to continue. Fridays are open topic and can include just about anything, even sports.

Oh, and don't worry about those generalizations. Rush gets quite specific on most topics,

AAR

Posted by: AAR [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 08:08 PM

Because I am open minded and I want to hear the counter argument.

Well, that explains a lot. Reminds me of a great quote from NRO a couple years ago:

Jonah Goldberg, 4/20/05 (in describing 60’s radicals)

“Many older Liberals had minds so open, their brains fell out”

Posted by: Retired Spook [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 08:13 PM

Yeah, I know, not all germane to this thread, but don't you think it's funny that with 22 different threads on this page alone, not one is devoted to the plight of our wounded soldiers as they navigate our DOD medical system?

Posted by: 19KGuy [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 08:21 PM

God is Great--Libs I Hate,
I read somewhere that congressmen from both parties have been hearing complaints and been blowing them off for years. If that's true, then there a lot of people that have some explaining to do.

Posted by: Casper [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 08:23 PM

kblack - I worked in the heart of a major German corporation in Germany for two years. You?

Posted by: Kahn [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 08:28 PM

gar wood, I don't think you are correct on Airbus ownership. I am reasonably sure it run by the French and German government. It may not be wholly owned by them, but they have a significant, controlling stake.

That is one reason Boeing has belly ached all these years because their interest gives it an unfair advantage.

Posted by: Porter Jervis [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 08:36 PM

Deleted - Off Topic

Posted by: Gar Wood [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 09:12 PM

Deleted - Off Topic

Posted by: Wade at March 5, 2007 09:17 PM

AIrbus is mostly privately owned by consortiums of defence and aerospace companies.

Its a good thing for boeing Airbus is having so much trouble they already had twice as many orders for the A380 as Boeing had for the 747.

As far as the socialism goes lets see 30 hour workweek, six weeks mandatory vacation, 6month minimum maternity leave- I sometimes wonder how the hell airbus was able to compete at all

Posted by: neologizer [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 09:18 PM

Neologizer, as is true with many "private" companies in Europe, they are remnants of government owned and government run "nationalized" systems that the governments of Europe realized they shouldn't be running, however, they just turned direct control to stock ownership, where governments of France and Germany controlling MUCH of that stock. And not too far away they bought BAEs stock, which was an actual privately held company in order to have LESS outside influence in decision making.

Airbus has been successful because for some reason, Europe can subsidize Airbus and give them EVERY tax break under the sun, then sue the United States at the WTO saying that Washington State tax benefits to Boeing are in violation of Free Trade Agreements. And they constantly win those battles.

Boeing is still the Number One Aerospace Company on the planet, and that's with one arm tied behind it's back by the EU, who odd enough, seems to want to make sure Airbus gets an unfair advantage.... Imagine that!

And Gar, are you dizzy yet? If you don't like the topic at hand, you'll try and figure out a way to make it be about how EVIL our military leadership is or how EVIL our administration is.

Why don't you try to do that with the TOPIC at hand. Otherwise, wait until there's a topic that lends itself to your delusional bashing.

Posted by: wawilliyo [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 09:33 PM

The Airbus A380 fiasco can be blamed on the entrenched bureaucracies and political gamesmanship which controlled the fate of the airplane. Like the Concorde, the 'prestige' of having build something nobody will buy, outweighed the practical concerns. European polticians will boast about the A380 now, but in the end the Airbus backers will regret not concentrating on an airplane which could compete with the 747 on a realistic level, not a fantasy.

Posted by: Hermie [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 09:46 PM

they'd better recover their lost Judeo-Christian values.

That cesspool is already lost. Their too busy proclaiming their love for Allah and the false prophet Mohammed.

Posted by: Bob Arctor [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 09:49 PM

The entries in this blog are digressing from plainly stupid to utterly insane.

Nobody begged you to stay. I wonder why not....

Posted by: Bob Arctor [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 09:55 PM

"If you don't like the topic at hand, you'll try and figure out a way to make it be about how EVIL our military leadership is or how EVIL our administration is."

Wawillyo,

I'm sorry (but a little flattered) that you would be so concerned about my ability to portray the righties as EVIL. But the treatment of our wounded vets is not a partisan issue and I'm sorry that you and Mark apparently think liberals are trying to make it one. This is a significant story that surely deserves more attention than Airbus or yet another post on global warming.

Gar Wood

Posted by: Gar Wood [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 10:17 PM

Deleted - Off Topic

Posted by: IT for life [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 10:22 PM

I think it's a combination of neologizer's post and wawilliyo's post. Airbus is a government protected company living in a system of European socialism.

Posted by: Kahn [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 10:29 PM

The Airbus A380: MOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Posted by: Macker [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 10:35 PM

Deleted - Off Topic

Posted by: Bob Arctor [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 11:21 PM

Oooohhhhh a Yahoo account! How brave!

Posted by: Kahn [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 5, 2007 11:23 PM

DaimlerChrysler owns 30% of EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company), a parent company of Airbus (as of March 2006)

In early 2001 EADS and its partner in Airbus, BAE Systems, agreed to establish it as a fully integrated company. Airbus formally achieved this on 12 July 2001. This new arrangement saw the shareholdings established at 80% (EADS). In September 2006, both companies announced a transaction of all stock from BAE Systems to EADS, meaning that Airbus will be fully owned by EADS.

Meaning almost 1/3 of Airbus is/will be owned by the owner of Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, Mercedes and Freightliner

Kahn,
Would you happen to own any of those vehicles or are you afraid to admit you might support euro-socialism with your very own wallet? -LOL

Posted by: neologizer [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 6, 2007 01:12 AM

Everyone seems to forget the fact that on the strenght of their previous models, Airbus was on the brink of bringing Boeing to its knees. I don't know much about the 380 situation, to be perfectly honest. And it's not an issue I'm likely to spend a lot of time on. But just on the face of it I will opine...

The 380 may ultimately prove to be a bust. Then again, it may be just growing pains. It's not like either event hasn't happened in aviation history. Either way, ya puts your money up and ya takes your chances. And to suggest that whatever ultimately happens is the result of moral turpitude is just plain... well, . One thing's for sure that on a pure dollar value, it was a cheaper "mistake", or "misjudgement", or whatever you want to call it than the space shuttle program -- or Iraq. And on the face of it (which I'm guessing most here are reacting to) I wouldn't blame either of the latter on moral turpitude or some sort of socialist agenda any more than I would the former.

Posted by: Ricorun [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 6, 2007 01:32 AM

I feel you have a point.

I also have a feeling that the downfall of Airbus A380 shares much with the space shuttle and Iraq. Poor management and inept execution of an otherwise technically obtainable goal.

Posted by: neologizer [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 6, 2007 02:05 AM

Related-

New autopilot will make another 9/11 impossible

Daily Mail: A hijack-proof piloting system for airliners is being developed to prevent terrorists repeating the 9/11 outrages. The mechanism is designed to make it impossible to crash the aircraft into air or land targets - and enable the plane to be flown by remote control from the ground in the event of an emergency.

Scientists at aircraft giant Boeing are testing the tamper-proof autopilot system which uses state-of-the-art computer and satellite technology. [..] The so-called 'uninterruptible autopilot system' - patented secretly by Boeing in the US last week - will connect ground controllers and security services with the aircraft using radio waves and global satellite positioning systems.
*
*

Woo hoo! American ingenuity! Go Boeing!

Posted by: Freedom1 [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 6, 2007 06:33 AM

Mark,

Why did you delete my post as "Off topic" Yet, you choose not to delete GIG post which clearly states "OT"?

I admit my post was hot under the collar.
However, my basic assertion on GIG still stands and i doubt you or anyone else on here would disagree with that assertion.

My offer still stands GIG: Fully paid flight, expenses, lost wages if you will speak directly to those guardsmen that you think are bitches.
:)

Posted by: IT for life [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 6, 2007 11:56 AM

test

Posted by: Whisperwolf [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 8, 2007 01:52 AM

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