Shelby: Airbus still eyeing Mobile

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - EADS is looking into whether it's feasible to build commercial airplanes in Mobile, Ala. That's according to U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. In an interview with the Birmingham News after a symposium address, Shelby said that while EADS didn't win the competition against Boeing to build tankers for the Air Force -- a loss that ended EADS' plans to put an assembly plant in Mobile -- the senator said EADS's Airbus may end up building commercial airplanes in Mobile. "They're looking to see if it's feasible," Shelby said. Shelby was a participant at a symposium in Tuscaloosa hosted by GE Aviation, which is building an engine coatings plant in Auburn. (Source: Birmingham News, 09/30/11) Gulf Coast note: GE Aviation also has an engine components plant in Batesville, Miss., and is building another one near Hattiesburg in South Mississippi.