The troubled company European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., maker of the largest passenger airplane in the world, the Airbus 380, landed its first planes in America to show it to the country and perform some tests.
The plane was highly touted, but the project ran into serious problems with poor management and financial issues that brought about a two-year delay that eventually cost them over $6.60 billion in profits. The company needed to showcase the planes to show that they've taken care of the problems and that they will have the planes ready for delivery by October.
With the problems, the company has had to cut 10,000 jobs and spin off or close six of the manufacturing plants they have based in Europe. Co-CEO Louis Gallois said that that this is the worse year in Airbus' history.
The company sent planes to John F. Kennedy International Airport and also to Los Angeles International Airport. Other than showing off their product, at LAX they will test the plane for docking at terminals and airfield maneuvers. LAX is expected to be the first U.S. destination of the plane for commercial services.
The plane sells for about $300 million depending on the size of the order, and has room for up to 550 passengers. It also cruises at 560 mph, flies for 8,000 nautical miles and holds 81,890 gallons of fuel.
Airbus has sold around 160 planes to 15 airlines around the world, but so far no airlines in the U.S. have made an offer to buy the plane. Boeing has started building a competitor to the "380" and is in early production on that project.
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