Ever the dysfunctional family, Europe's commercial aerospace business cannot seem to get matters squared away. The Paris show is a few short months away. Big announcements are due – the absence of these make the two primary players very antsy. So the news from both firms slows as the show approaches in order to provide daily news.

So in the run up to show time, any bad news leaks are awful. News like this for example: The French government has blocked a proposal by managers of EADS to raise up to $4 billion this year to help finance the Airbus jet A350XWB.

Airbus needs lots of capital to restructure and pay for the A350's development. There are all sorts of machinations going on over the EADS dividend too. Clearly the goings on inside EADS are still highly unsettled and this continues to hamper Airbus. Customers must be extremely agitated. Their loyalty is being tested unmercifully.

Those companies that jumped on the 787 bandwagon must be pleased with their decision. Even if they did not get a bargain, at least they will get a plane. Every day that Airbus does not get its (read EADS) house in order causes more customer angst. Yes the A320 program is purring along, but the big money is in bigger jets. Airbus only has one program working well (A330) in that field. This is not a prescription for good news.

As if this was not enough, the former boss of Airbus parent firm EADS, Noel Forgeard, received a severance package of more than 8.5m euros ($11.5m). In addition, EADS documents showed he will get 2.4m euros more over the next two years not to join a competing firm. This last sentence is of course the funniest thing in aviation news right now. Which aerospace firm in the world would hire him? In fact, we bet that Airbus' competitors would offer pay this sum if he went back to Airbus!

Ever the dysfunctional family, Europe's commercial aerospace business cannot seem to get matters squared away. The Paris show is a few short months away. Big announcements are due – the absence of these make the two primary players very antsy. So the news from both firms slows as the show approaches in order to provide daily news.

So in the run up to show time, any bad news leaks are awful. News like this for example: The French government has blocked a proposal by managers of EADS to raise up to $4 billion this year to help finance the Airbus jet A350XWB.

Airbus needs lots of capital to restructure and pay for the A350's development. There are all sorts of machinations going on over the EADS dividend too. Clearly the goings on inside EADS are still highly unsettled and this continues to hamper Airbus. Customers must be extremely agitated. Their loyalty is being tested unmercifully.

Those companies that jumped on the 787 bandwagon must be pleased with their decision. Even if they did not get a bargain, at least they will get a plane. Every day that Airbus does not get its (read EADS) house in order causes more customer angst. Yes the A320 program is purring along, but the big money is in bigger jets. Airbus only has one program working well (A330) in that field. This is not a prescription for good news.

As if this was not enough, the former boss of Airbus parent firm EADS, Noel Forgeard, received a severance package of more than 8.5m euros ($11.5m). In addition, EADS documents showed he will get 2.4m euros more over the next two years not to join a competing firm. This last sentence is of course the funniest thing in aviation news right now. Which aerospace firm in the world would hire him? In fact, we bet that Airbus' competitors would offer pay this sum if he went back to Airbus!

A good summary can be found here. Essentially French presidential candidates are falling over each other to save Airbus. These are cynical attempts because the issue is not helping Airbus, its about winning votes. With each additional meddle, Airbus managers are going to be more mired in a political cesspool.

Earlier we wrote about the Apocalypse coming at Airbus. How's this for a comment from the most conservative French pol? "There needs to be a real shareholder, who would be the industrial boss of the company, who decides on management and we should stop this Franco-German parity and just take the best people to take the best decisions," Sarkozy told France 3 television.

A real shareholder who is industrial boss? What arrogance! It would seem Mr. Sarkozy thinks the real boss, the best people, are French. Clearly he would not be thinking the Germans run better companies. While not sure which French companies he might hold up as paragons of management; Germany has more well run big industrial firms than France. We might offer the two countries' auto industries as an example.

Managing Airbus today surely qualifies as among the toughest jobs in the world.

A good summary can be found here. Essentially French presidential candidates are falling over each other to save Airbus. These are cynical attempts because the issue is not helping Airbus, its about winning votes. With each additional meddle, Airbus managers are going to be more mired in a political cesspool.

Earlier we wrote about the Apocalypse coming at Airbus. How's this for a comment from the most conservative French pol? "There needs to be a real shareholder, who would be the industrial boss of the company, who decides on management and we should stop this Franco-German parity and just take the best people to take the best decisions," Sarkozy told France 3 television.

A real shareholder who is industrial boss? What arrogance! It would seem Mr. Sarkozy thinks the real boss, the best people, are French. Clearly he would not be thinking the Germans run better companies. While not sure which French companies he might hold up as paragons of management; Germany has more well run big industrial firms than France. We might offer the two countries' auto industries as an example.

Managing Airbus today surely qualifies as among the toughest jobs in the world.