The EADS board, meeting in Amsterdam, was to have endorsed the appointment of a new, two-man team of chief executives but Franco-German tensions delayed the naming of a new leader at Airbus.

Noel Forgeard of France, the current chief executive of Airbus, and Thomas Enders, the German head of the defence division at EADS, were set to replace co-chief executive officers Philippe Camus and Rainer Hertrich during the company's annual general meeting Wednesday.

But the board said it had postponed until early June the appointment of Forgeard and Enders in the absence of an agreement on the new head of Airbus.

EADS co-chairmen of the board Arnaud Lagardere and Manfred Bischoff will head the company's operational activities until then, the group said in a statement.

In the meantime Forgeard and Enders will continue in their jobs at EADS, the first as chief executive of Airbus and the second as head of EADS's armaments division.

"The new board, headed by chairmen Manfred Bischoff and Arnaud Lagardere, (...) decided to issue a statement on these strategic issues for the future of EADS by June 1," the group said.

The EADS board will at that time decide on three issues: the choice of the new executive joint presidents, approval of the new structure of the company and the appointment of the executive committee, the statement said.

The choice of Forgeard and Enders was announced in December. But a replacement for Forgeard at Airbus has not been chosen though German Stefan Zoller has been announced as the successor to Enders.

French and German shareholders, each holding 30 percent of the capital, have been unable to agree on who should head Airbus and how power should be shared. The German refused to accept that Forgeard should continue as Airbus chief.

While announcing the postponement of their official appointment the board confirmed that Forgeard and Enders were the chosen candidates and said "they will be named executive presidents of EADS and will take up their jobs for five years."

In the interim they will put forward names for membership of the executive committee.

Two names have so far surfaced as the potential Airbus chief.

Fabrice Bregier, the current head of Eurocopter, has the backing of German-US carmaker DaimlerChrysler, an EADS shareholder, provided he is replaced by a German at the helicopter subsidiary.

In another scenario, France would agree to let Airbus fall to German leadership by giving the reins to Gustav Humbert, now chief operating officer at the Toulouse-based aircraft maker.

If a German is eventually chosen to head Airbus, the announcement may not come until after a May 29 referendum on the European constitution in France in order not to aggravate French national feelings.

Airbus roused French pride on April 27 in Toulouse with the successful maiden flight of its A380, the world's biggest airliner capable of carrying 800 passengers and a key arm in its battle with US rival Boeing.

The French government, which is campaigning for a yes vote on the EU constitution, would prefer an announcement on the future leader of Airbus at a later date, said a government analyst who requested anonymity.

The incoming Franco-German duo at EADS, Forgeard and Enders, meanwhile face dual challenges: keeping Airbus flying high against US rival Boeing and building defence business.

They inherit a group that since its creation in July 2000 has dethroned Boeing in the commercial airliner market and undertaken ambitious industrial challenges, such as the Airbus A380, the world's biggest airliner, the Airbus A400M military transport aircraft, attack helicopters, missiles and satellites.

Airbus scored a watershed victory over Boeing in 2003 by delivering for the first time more commercial planes than its rival.

And Airbus, which maintained its lead in 2004, intends to keep it.

The transatlantic duel is being fought against the background of the persistently weak dollar, the currency of reference in the aeronautics sector. The situation leaves the European aircraft maker, which incurs costs in euros, at a disadvantage.

Determined to break Boeing's monopoly on the 747 jumbo jet market, Airbus launched the A380 program at a cost of more than 10 billion eurosbillion dollars).

Boeing took a different tack, focusing on the long-haul, medium-capacity market with the launch of the 787 Dreamliner last year. Production is to begin in 2006, with the first flight in 2007 and first delivery in 2008.

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