Real-Time Market Data by XigniteJapan is not a big market for European plane-maker Airbus. Thanks to decades of political and military ties with the United States, rival plane-maker Boeing rules the roost there, leaving the Franco-German plane maker with a market share of around 4.0%. But Airbus' recent dreams of gaining a bigger share took a slight knock Monday, as All Nippon Airways reportedly reconsidered plans for investment and aircraft purchases.

A spokesman for All Nippon Airways, Japan's second-biggest airline, was cited by Reuters on Monday as saying that a decision on choosing new aircraft had been "postponed"-though he denied claims that the plan had been entirely shelved. The comment was made in response to a report in Japanese daily Yomiuri, which claimed that the carrier would no longer buy the Airbus double-decker A380 and that it would slash capital spending over the next four years by more than 77.8%.

Yahoo! BuzzA spokesman for Airbus told Forbes.com that he hoped All Nippon Airways would nonetheless choose Airbus eventually, "when the circumstances caused by the financial crisis are resolved."

French and German politicians urged the Japanese government last year to start buying planes from Airbus, rather than Boeing, no doubt sniffing opportunity as the nation's carriers began to put together fleet modernization plans. But one year on, airlines across the world have been crimped by the financial crisis, a drop in passenger travel and the need to carefully hedge fuel costs as oil prices go haywire.

Even China, a country thought to be more immune to financial shocks than the rest of the world, called for investment delays and even order cancellations in order to cut back aerospace spending. This was not a good omen for Airbus, particularly if the insecurity spreads to the Middle East -another loyal customer- as well.