Humbert was asked by reporters to respond to an interview given to several French newspapers by his boss, Noël Forgeard, co-chief of EADS, that had appeared in print that morning. In the interview, Forgeard declared that Airbus management had decided to introduce an all-new A350, rather than simply modify the original design.
The Airbus chief paused and his expression hardened: "I was surprised to read about the details," he said, adding that he found it "unhelpful" for EADS senior managers to "make announcements before any decisions have been made."
The incident in Berlin offered a rare public glimpse of the tensions that people familiar with Airbus and its parent company, European Aeronautic, Defense & Space say are rife among top managers at both companies - and which some say lie at the heart of the miscommunications that led to the announcement this week that Airbus was delaying the delivery of its first A380 superjumbo jet by as much as seven months.
