Airbus Industrie remains coy on why it has postponed a planned meeting with its supervisory board that would have given authority to formally offer the A3XX very large aircraft to customers, but it is increasingly clear that the manufacturer has not yet gained the backing of a sufficient number of airlines.
The 26 May meeting is said by Airbus to have been postponed for "fine tuning of specific issues". The consortium stands by earlier statements that it has firm indications from eight airlines. Only Emirates and Singapore Airlines (SIA) have been identified, however. Emirates has expressed interest in buying up to 12 aircraft; SIA up to 16. Airbus is known to have stepped up the pressure on other target airlines, showing them SIA's letter of intent and asking them to sign similar agreements before the end of May to qualify for a special launch price.
The response appears to have been cool, however. Cathay Pacific remains undecided, while a number of European carriers, including British Airways, KLM and Lufthansa are denying any interest in the A3XX. It is also believed that FedEx, once believed to be a hot prospect to launch a freighter version, is in talks with Boeing about a new 747 variant that would meet its requirements. If that happens, other prospective cargo customers, such as Atlas Air, might also stick with Boeing.
At a May conference in London organised by the Economist, Boeing's executive vice-president, sales and marketing, Seddik Belyamani said of the A3XX: "This aircraft is being pushed, not pulled. We cannot find an airline that's pushing for this." He added that a 747X could be launched at "exactly the same time" as an A3XX.
Source: Airline Business
