Boeing reported a greater-than-expected 19 percent drop in quarterly profit on Wednesday as it took a charge on a delayed military plane contract and suffered knock-on effects of its troubled 787 Dreamliner program.

Airbus is expected to sell five A380 superjumbo aircraft to All Nippon Airways, its first sale of the world's biggest passenger plane to a Japanese airline, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.

U.S. auditors upheld Boeing's protest of the award of a $35 billion refueling-aircraft deal to a U.S.-European team that includes rival planebuilder Airbus, a U.S. lawmaker said Wednesday.

The former number two at EADS, ex-strategy chief Jean-Paul Gut, has been placed under formal investigation in a French probe into suspected insider trading at the Airbus parent company, a judicial source said on Wednesday.

Former EADS co-chief executive Noel Forgeard has been placed under formal investigation on suspicion of insider trading while at Europe's largest aerospace group, his lawyer said on Friday.

European planemaker Airbus is starting to feel the pain of the high price of oil and is bracing for airline customers to delay and even cancel orders, its chief salesman said on Wednesday.

Former EADS chief Noel Forgeard was detained in police custody for questioning on Wednesday as part of a probe into possible insider trading at the European aerospace giant, French police sources said.

Airbus parent EADS said on Monday it had been hit by the gloom surrounding the aviation industry and warned of further industrial risks, but moved to cheer up shareholders with talk of a higher dividend next year.

When Air France-KLM reports on Thursday morning at 7:30 CET, it will be interesting to see how the world’s biggest airline by revenue views the prospects for what is likely to be a very difficult year.

European aerospace group EADS has drawn up a list of acquisition targets in the United States but does not plan a rival bid for U.S. defence firm DRS Technologies , EADS Chief Executive Louis Gallois said.

Planemaker Airbus announced another delay in deliveries of its A380 superjumbo on Tuesday, deepening the woes of Europe's biggest industrial project and risking further penalties with unhappy airlines.

European planemaker Airbus has warned customers they may face more delays on delivery of the world's largest passenger plane, the A380, which is already two years behind schedule.

A host of news out of France on Tuesday, with Alstom down more than 2 percent on reports that officials are investigating it for bribery.

Shares of Dow component Boeing and the parent of its European rival Airbus slipped in European trading Monday after weekend reports that both companies were facing more delays for much anticipated aircraft.

European shares ended lower on Monday, breaking a three-day winning streak, as techs and telecoms weighed and offset the impact of surprisingly strong U.S. service sector figures.