To take on the 787, Airbus is offering the midsize A350, a retooled version of its A330. But it is having little success so far. Vagn Soerensen, the chairman of Austrian Airlines, has complained that the A350's operating economies did not match those of the 787, a view shared by Singapore Airlines and other big potential customers. Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, the chairman of the International Lease Finance Corporation, a major airline leasing company, stunned a trade meeting last month by saying that Airbus should scrap the A350 and come up with an entirely new design — a move that could cost Airbus billions in development costs when it is already paying the multibillion-dollar bill for the A380.

Mr. Aboulafia of the Teal Group said: "There is no proof that the market is endorsing the A350. They don't have a single blue-chip customer."