Lovers of flight will be checking out the Berlin Airshow. More than 1,100 exhibitors from 47 countries, are showcasing current and future products and services connected with aviation and space technology.

 

"Over budget, running late, but finally in the air and in front of customers.

European aerospace group EADS has showcased its new military transport plane, the A400M, on the opening day of the Berlin Air Show.

EADS' Airbus unit will use the event as a platform to show it can finish and sell the A400M.

The plane is more than four years late and nearly ten billion dollars over budget.

European customer countries have been faced with bailing the project out.

Two A400Ms are now taking test flights, with another two expected to go into service this year.

But it's not all bad news for Airbus.

Sales of the A380 superjumbo are surging.

The Arab world's largest carrier, Emirates, used the Berlin show to announce that it will order 32 more A380s, in a deal worth more than 11 billion dollars.

The show, which takes place every two years, was opened by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

She's come under fire for plans to impose an air travel tax while Europe's aviation industry struggles with a weak economic environment."