Happy Occasion Marred By Clouds On The Horizon

It's a set of keys nearly two years in the offing. On Monday, European planemaker Airbus formally delivered the first A380 superjumbo to Singapore Airlines.

"Until now, the A380 has been Airbus' baby," said Airbus president Thomas Enders, reports The Associated Press. "Today we are here to celebrate this beautiful mature aircraft coming of age."

Like most maturation processes, the path the A380 took to market was paved with its share of angst... much of which still lingers. ANN extensively covered the difficulties Airbus endured to put the first A380 into customer hands, including three production delays that put off the aircraft's entry into service for 22 months.

Though Monday was a happy occasion for the planemaker, it occured under the shadow of looming crises, for Airbus employees and management alike. As many as 10,000 workers stand to lose their jobs under the controversial "Power8" restructuring program, necessitated by the massive financial hit the company, and parent EADS, took following news of the second A380 delay.

Enders also had a message for Airbus employees... many of which are nervously waiting to hear if they'll still have jobs in six months.  "I realize how unsettling these last times, particularly the last 18 months, have been," he said Monday.

Of course, not all employees endured financial hardship... in fact, some EADS executives apparently did very well.

As ANN reported, the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) is now investigating charges several top-level EADS executives, along with some government officials, acted on insider information and sold off massive amounts of stock ahead of the public announcement of the second A380 delay.

The resulting fallout of that announcement sent EADS stock tumbling to depths it has yet to recover from... and the timing of those sale decisions hints at "massive insider trading," in the words of AMF.

It's not surprising, then, Monday's delivery ceremony was quite muted, compared to the lavish 2005 unveiling of the first A380. Around 500 guests attended the delivery; more than 10,000 were present in 2005, including several government executives who are now in virtual hiding due to the insider trading probe.

With all the intrigue... it can be difficult to remember a new era of commercial transport will soon begin. Singapore Airlines plans to put its first A380 -- the largest passenger airliner to ever take flight -- into service by the end of the month.

Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Chew Choon Seng said his airline's first A380 was "well worth the wait."

FMI: www.airbus.com, www.singaporeair.com