Another Arrow In Airbus

Emirates and Singapore Airlines are critical to the A380 as they are the premier passenger airlines for big planes, but it is easy to overlook the important cargo segment. So, it is a crushing blow to the A380 that Fedex has cancelled its A380 orders and will buy the triple 7. This is devastating news. Fedex has competitors and if they want to compete they will need planes too, and if the A380 isn't ready, they too will have to buy what is available. More such news is in the offing, I believe. Airbus reminds me of the classic depiction of St. Sebastian, sure he is still alive, but the outlook isn't all that sunny.

Lest readers think that I gloat over European failure and US success, as that is the prevailing undertone of the Boeing/Airbus rivalry, I do not. I do not relish the misery of Airbus's shareholders, workers or customers. I want to see excellence and success in commerce regardless of its geographic origin. And I want to see the continuing fruits of human ingenuity manifested in the progress of commercial aviation. What I do relish though is the defeat of the statist industrial model at the hands of dynamic capitalism. I relish the victory of Adam Smith, F.A. Hayek, and Schumpeter (all Europeans mind you) over Marx, Keynes, and EuroStatism.