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Introduction

Dec. 10, 2014: As company investors' days go, Day 1 of Airbus Group didn't go well. Airbus stock traded off 10% on news that the A330 production rate, already to reduced from 10/mo to 9/mo in 4Q2015, will be further reduced in 2016. No number was given.

Then Airbus acknowledged it may decide by 2018 whether to terminate the A380 program. There were no sales this year.

And true to form, the CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al-Baker, did another one of his famous U-Turns. Only a short time ago he was singing the praises of the A350, the first of which was to be handed over to his airline on Saturday. Today he announced delivery was postponed "until further notice," with no explanation for the delay.

The stock reverberation didn't end there; it migrated across the Atlantic, sending Boeing stock down on Wednesday at a rate twice that of the Dow Jones index.

Summary:

• A330ceo sales have dried up in advance of the A330neo introduction. A large Chinese order appears to be going nowhere.
• The A380 program is supposed to finally hit cash break-even in 2015, but no sales put this program in doubt.
• The only way to boost the A380 is to do a neo and the business case is iffy.