Last month, Louis Gallois, EADS chief executive, suggested it was perhaps time to scrap the European aerospace group’s dual headquarters in Paris and Munich. Far better to concentrate decision-making in one spot, and the obvious place was Toulouse – the Airbus headquarters.

Mr Gallois is now going further. He thinks it would be a good idea to rename EADS simply Airbus. After all, Airbus is not only the group’s flagship and biggest revenue earner, but the name has become a globally recognised brand, far better known than the cumbersome EADS acronym – short for European Aeronautic Defence and Space company.