A380 unveiling, 1/18/05, Live.

Thomas Borchert wrote:

There is no doubt the thing will fly.

True. That engineering is pretty straightforward.

Also, at this stage in the project, there is no doubt it will
sell (actually, something like 160 are sold)

Well, yes, but contingent on the aircraft meeting certain weight and performance
guarantees. Should they miss those by any significant amount, you will see a lot
of cancellations.

and be within weight

Airbus has already publically admitted they have a weight problem. They think
they can overcome it. There are reasonable doubts.

and budget limits.

And they've already admitted a rather large overrun.