| Funding for wide bodied A350 jet remains open, says Airbus |
| Last Updated(Beijing Time):2006-12-05 13:20 |
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Airbus said yesterday funding for its wide bodied A350 plane remained open and might include a capital hike but cautioned that one airline might cancel orders for the new aircraft.
Airbus confirmed its newly approved A350 XWB would be funded by a combination of internal and external market sources and did not rule out taking government development loans, according to Bloomberg News.
However, Airbus President and Chief Executive Louis Gallois said that no decision had been taken, or was imminent, on whether to approach European governments for loans for funding that the United States has attacked for being illegal subsidies.
Confirming the plane's total development cost of 10 billion euros (US$13.32 billion), Gallois said parts of the project would be shared with outside risk-sharing partners.
"The financial resources must be sufficient and sustainable," Gallois said.
Gallois said that a capital increase was one of the options under discussion and he noted that the financial markets were interested in Airbus parent EADS but there was no big hurry.
Gallois is also co-chief executive at EADS.
Gallois renewed Airbus' criticism of Boeing on the grounds that it too receives hidden government subsidies.
"We are all aware in our hearts that the 787 is based on highly subsidized spending. There is government funding on both sides of the Atlantic. We are discussing with governments future R&D funding but other options are on the table."
"We have no imminent cash needs. We are only asking for a level playing field. No decision has been taken or is imminent."
Gallois said Italy's Finmeccanica could be involved in the production of the A350, if it wanted to, while another Airbus executive said that Chinese and Korean firms could also be involved.
Commercial director John Leahy said he expected some cancellations from one of the 10 airlines that signed up for an earlier version of the A350.
Earlier yesterday, French Finance Minister Thierry Breton said France did not exclude participating in a capital increase at EADS as part of the financing for the A350 wide-body aircraft.
"The four governments concerned have announced that they would provide guarantees at similar conditions," he said in La Tribune newspaper yesterday.
He said the financing for the A350 was not yet finished but half would come from cost savings and the other half from financing in which all concerned parties, including shareholders, would participate.
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