ATC
Airbus and Boeing are now at odds over ATC initiatives
Traditionally, Boeing and Airbus have used the Paris and Farnborough airshows to announce multimillion-dollar sales contracts, in the hope of one-upping th

Traditionally, Boeing and Airbus have used the Paris and Farnborough airshows to announce multimillion-dollar sales contracts, in the hope of one-upping the opposition. But at Farnborough this year–the first big post-September 11 air show–neither company had major announcements to make. As a result, the unveiling of an ATC initiative by Airbus became an important news item, and one that caught industry observers–and Boeing, which announced its futuristic air traffic management plan last year–by surprise.

Airbus said it had teamed with the French company Thales and the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS) to form the Air Traffic Alliance, whose guiding philosophy is that “new technologies are available, but practical implementation is too slow compared to the need.”