Airbus is 80% owned by European Aeronautic Defence & Space Company (EADS) - formed in 2000 from the merger of French, German and Spanish firms - and 20% owned by Britain's BAE Systems.

Some say its existence symbolises what can be achieved when European governments work together.

But European government support for Airbus also has sparked a trade spat with the US, home to rival Boeing. Both accuse each other of paying illegal subsidies to the two aerospace giants.