Enders EADS CEO regarding the A350 XWB certification: “authorities are probably a little bit nervous”.

Boeing's recent problems with the 787 Dreamliner aircraft have likely left regulators "a little bit nervous" about approving other planes, the chief executive of EADS said.

"I think the certification authorities, whether it's the FAA or any other, are probably a little bit nervous about these new planes now coming in, about the materials and the systems and the processes," said EADS chief executive Tom Enders.

"This is why we have refrained from... any schadenfreude about the problems in the 787, because we have had similar problems in the past," Enders said in a breakfast meeting with reporters in New York.

Any new technology incorporated on the aircraft is likely to face increased scrutiny from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency as a result, he said.

"If industry runs into trouble, particularly as certification is concerned, that affects not just one manufacturer, but others as well," Enders said.

Enders said one lesson from the 787's problems is that there may be a benefit to upgrading existing aircraft rather than embarking on entirely new designs. "It's not completely risk-free" to modify existing designs, Enders said. "But it's of course much less risky than developing new aircraft and it comes for the fraction of the cost."

Enders said that Airbus had not gained business due to Boeing's problems with the 787 Dreamliner.

Based on the article “Tougher certification after Boeing 787 woes: EADS” published in Economic Times.