FedEx cancels A380 order

[Torpedo Fodder]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...g7U&refer=home

FedEx Scraps Airbus A380 Order, to Buy 15 Boeing 777s (Update2)

By Mary Schlangenstein

Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- FedEx Corp., the world's largest cargo airline, scrapped its order for the troubled Airbus A380 jumbo jet and said it would purchase 15 Boeing Co. 777 jets instead. It was the first cancellation of an A380 order.

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Yet another reversal for Airbus; Perhaps they should christen the A380 the "Albatross", as that's what it's proving to be around Airbus's neck. Add to the fact that the A380's "break even" point was recently revised to 420 aircraft, and I'm having a hard time seeing how this prigram is going to turn a profit. And while they're busy getting the A380 airborne, their other widebodies are suffering: The A340 is being decimated by the 777 (so far this year, ten times as many 777s as A340s have been sold, and five times as many have been delivered), and all orders for the A330 have dried up past 2008, the year the Boeing 787 enters service. Meanwhile the 787's competitor, the A350 now likely won't be ready until 2013 due to gross miscalculation and incompetence (the current A350XWB was what the aircraft should have been from the start). About the only bright spot is that the A320-series is still selling quite well. While I seriously doubt Airbus will go out of business, they're definatly in for some lean times in the next few years.