First-ever Airbus media tour

February 08, 2007

Airbus took media aloft for the first time on a A380 superjumbo jet. Airbus sales chief John Leahy reiterated on Wednesday ahead of the first media demonstration flight that he expected 20 new orders for the aircraft from two customers in 2007. Leahy told Reuters on board the plane that Airbus expects to sell 800 or 900 A380 aircraft over the life of the programme. Leahy said he did not expect further A380 cancellations after U.S. express service FedEx cancelled 10 planes last year. Airbus is expected to announce a major restructuring involving the loss of up to 5,000 thousands of jobs on February 20.