Can Enders give Airbus new wings?

PARIS: Airbus SAS's A400M military plane has left former paratrooper-turned-Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders fighting to deliver on a program that's over budget, behind schedule and testing the patience of seven countries.

The plane is set to perform its maiden flight in Seville, Spain, today, six years after European governments ordered 180 jets for 20 billion euros ($30 billion). The A400M was commissioned under a set-price commercial contract rather than a military deal, which Enders has called a "big mistake" because it left Airbus to pay for cost overruns and penalties.

Enders has been doing damage control since he took over in 2007. He inherited the A380 super-jumbo jet that is years behind schedule. The A400M is sapping cash and engineering resources that Airbus needs to compete with Boeing Co on new models of its best-selling commercial planes. And airlines are deferring deliveries amid the worst travel slump in decades.