Loses $245 Million In Quarter

A major European aerospace company saw a lot of red in the third quarter of this year. The European Aeronautic Defense and Space company, or EADS, reported Wednesday it lost hundreds of millions in the third quarter, due to problems at its Airbus subsidiary.

EADS reports it lost $245 million in Q3... compared to a profit of $355 million for the same period a year ago.

What's the difference? Well, a year ago the A380 superjumbo program was still on track for deliveries to begin right about now. The planemaker's midsized A350 was also expected to enter service in 2010... but that was then, and this is now.

The A380 is now delayed an additional 11 months. The A350 program is also in limbo, awaiting final approval for a costly redesign that, even in the best-case scenario, will give its Boeing 787 competition an almost five-year head start in the marketplace.

Analysts fear bad news for the A380 will also mean less funds available for its smaller cousin... pushing that date out even further.

Airbus is expected to announce its plans for the A350 over the next few weeks. It isn't a stretch to say the board at EADS will be VERY interested to see what they have to say.

FMI: www.eads.com, www.airbus.com