Airbus wins Business Leader position in 2005 Scientific American 50

Airbus has been named as a "Business Leader" in this year’s Scientific American 50 Annual Listing for its accomplishments in the development of the world’s largest and most modern aircraft, the A380.

The leading U.S. magazine's prestigious annual list recognises outstanding acts of leadership in science and technology from the past year and has selected Airbus as a leader from a wide variety of industries including biotechnology, micro-electrics, communications, aviation and nanotechnology.

Selected by the magazine's Board of Editors with the assistance of distinguished outside advisors, the Scientific American 50 spotlights three areas of leadership - Research Leader of the Year, Business Leader of the Year and Policy Leader of the Year. The formal announcement of the Scientific American 50 leaders was made on 7th November and the complete list of winners will be published in the magazine's December issue, available from 22nd November. The list is also accessible on www.sclam.com.

"The Scientific American 50 is our annual opportunity to salute the people and organisations worldwide whose research, policy or business leadership has played a major role in bringing about the science and technology innovations that are improving the way we live and offer greatest hope for the future", said Scientific American's Editor-In-Chief, John Rennie.

Commenting on the listing, Airbus President and Chief Executive Officer, Gustav Humbert, said: "Airbus has a long tradition of introducing new technology to its products when they bring real benefits to our customers and we are delighted to be recognized for this. We are honored to be selected by Scientific American 50 for the prestigious title of 'Business Leader' for the development of the A380. Like Scientific American, Airbus also strives to a singular stature in the world of science and technology."

Past Scientific American 50 winners included stem cell researcher Douglas A Melton, Professor of National Sciences at Harvard; Nobel prize-winning neurobiologist Roderick MacKinnon; aviation leader Burt Rutan, President Scaled Composites; corporate chief Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and CEO General Electric; and high tech innovator Steven Jacobs, CEO Apple.

The Airbus A380 is an all-new, true double-decker aircraft incorporating the most advanced technologies for lower operating costs and higher passenger comfort. With 159 firm orders and commitments from 16 customers worldwide, the 555-seat passenger version has a range of up to 8,000 nm/15,000 km, allowing it to fly non-stop between Europe and Asia or from Asia to North America. The A380 took its maiden flight in April 2005, and there are now three A380s active in the extensive flight test program. First delivery of the A380 is scheduled for late 2006.

About Airbus
Airbus is an EADS joint company with BAE Systems. Airbus' mission is to meet the needs of airlines and operators by producing the most modern and comprehensive aircraft family on the market, complemented by the highest standard of product support. Airbus provides the aircraft best suited to the market's needs and to support these aircraft with the highest quality of service. The Airbus product line comprises 12 aircraft models, from the 100-seat single-aisle A318 jetliner to the 555-seat A380 - which will be the largest civil airliner ever when it enters service in 2006.

About Scientific American
Founded in 1845, editorial contributors to Scientific American have included over 100 Nobel laureates among them Albert Einstein, Neils Bohr, Francis Crick, Stanley Prusiner and Harold Varmus. Scientific American Inc is a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, a U.S. subsidiary of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH, a privately held international media corporation operating in more than 40 countries.

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