EUROPE'S BIGGEST CIVIL AIRLINER PROJECT SINCE THE 1960S SUPERSONIC CONCORDE. BUT THE PRODUCTION PROBLEMS COME AT A PECULIARLY DIFFICULT TIME FOR AIRBUS, WHICH IS IN THE MIDDLE OF A POTENTIALLY RADICAL REVIEW OF ITS WIDE-BODY AIRCRAFT STRATEGY EMBRACING THE SLOW-SELLING A340 AND THE A350, ITS NEWEST MODEL. AIRBUS FACES ITS WORST CRISIS IN YEARS AS THE TWIN-ENGINED LONG-RANGE MODELS OF BOEING CO. -- THE CURRENT 777 AND THE 787 DUE IN 2008 -- HAVE DRIED UP DEMAND FOR THE LESS COST-EFFICIENT FOUR-ENGINED A340 WHILE DENTING EARLY SALES OF THE A350.
