This reminds me of the f-35. I find it absolutely insane that a mix of tax incentives can lead to this inefficient mess involving custom built ships and airplanes.
Wonder how much this supply chain dynamic ends up adding to the cost of the a380 in aggregate
It also buys them into Airbus as customers & supporters, aligns commercial, technological & employment interests across European nations in numerous ways. If Airbus didn't already exist, they'd rationally want to create it rather than just leaving the market to the US and China. I'm sure the four million parts and 30 countries aspect adds a lot of complexity and bureaucracy, however it might be a reasonable price to pay for the benefits they derive natively in Europe from having an Airbus (as opposed to not) and so many nations being part of it.
Say, Kentucky gets 1200 high paying jobs they never had due to their Senator's power (I'll veto the bill unless you build a factory there too...) . How is this bad for the state of KY?
Wonder how much this supply chain dynamic ends up adding to the cost of the a380 in aggregate