Airbus

The Airbus story Since the 40s, the US monopoly is due to the symbiosis between government and industry regarding civil projects during and after the Second World War. Boeing, Lockheed and MacDonnell Douglas dominated the whole business, supported by various government agencies with substantial funding for research and development. While European airlines are operating 25 percent of the global airline fleet, the European aircraft manufacturer' share of the global market only amounts to ten percent. 85 percent …

…the HBN group is being formed with Hawker, Breguet and North Aviation. In the following time, French and British designers start to develop five design studies. At the same time, the "Arbeitsgemeinschaft Airbus" (working group Airbus) is founded in Germany. Signing a contract on December 23, 1965 ATG Siebel werke, Bolkow, Dornier, Flugzeug-union Sud, HFB, Messerschmitt andVFW commit themselves to be national partners in any future European program which is concerned with technology in the aviation industry.