The aircraft company Airbus receives much of its funding from European governments. Airbus recently decided to build a new 550-seat megajetliner, with duty-free shopping courts and restaurants on board. The project has experienced production delays as well as cost overruns, and it now appears that there will be very few buyers.

An industry expert says the idea from the start was “nonsense” [Aboulafia, 2006]. Is public sector production of aircrafts ever justified?

Explain why it could lead to the apparently illadvised decision to build the mega-jetliner.