It's not going to sway a buyer but I think airbus for its own sake wants to keep it going. It certainly won't worry Boeing.

If it happens, this is a huge deal. It would be unprecedented for either Airbus or Boeing to have a production line in another country. It's an attempt to buy market share and keep Boeing from selling further to China.

It's considered to be a good aircraft, flexible and right sized. It's pitched at a market that's current and developing as opposed to the 50- and 70-seaters that are really past it.

If it happens, this is a huge deal -- it would be unprecedented for either Airbus or Boeing to have a production line in another country. It's an attempt to buy market share and keep Boeing from selling further to China.

This means a really bad year for Airbus just got much worse. For Boeing to be able to say they're going to have 20 percent better economics than the A380 means Boeing is taking the high ground.

The lid has been kept on a little more tightly in Europe. The pace of opening the market to competition has been slower, which has benefited the established carriers. Regulation on airport slots also means the government can control access to the sector and influence the fate of new entrants.