Emirates and Singapore Airlines to be briefed this week on new service-entry slip
Airbus will attempt to defuse the growing crisis over A380 production delays this week by briefing key launch customers on the on-going problems.
In light of growing speculation that the A380 delivery plan had slipped again since Airbus’s June disclosure (see box), the manufacturer’s parent EADS confirmed last week that “from what is known today, there will be further delays”. It added that it would provide more detailed information “within four weeks”.
Christian Streiff, who replaced Gustav Humbert as Airbus chief executive in the fall-out that followed the June announcement, is carrying out a three-month review of the airframer’s operations and is expected to report back on this by the end of September.
As of last week, neither of the two A380 launch operators – Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Emirates – had been formally updated on the state of the programme, but Airbus is expected to put that right this week.
“We’re in contact with Airbus concerning the announcement EADS has made,” says SIA. “We’re now waiting to hear some firm details from them about the delays and how they will impact on us.”
Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline, says Airbus “has not advised us officially yet, but we expect to speak to them this week”.
Delivery of the first of the 45 A380s that Emirates has on order – which, under the original schedule, was due to take place in October 2006 before being delayed to April 2007 as part of the 2005 programme rescheduling – is under the June plan now due in October next year. However, Clark says that he “remains sceptical” about the manufacturer’s ability to achieve this, and “would be surprised to see any deliveries to Emirates in 2007”.
Clark dismisses talk of the airline seeking to cancel its massive order: “We need to give Airbus time and space to sort things out, and talk of cancellation, damages, etc will only worsen the situation. Our chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum will then decide on the next steps.”
| On-going delivery setbacks Having unveiled an initial round of A380 delivery delays in mid-2005 that pushed the first delivery to Singapore Airlines (SIA) from the second quarter of 2006 to the last quarter, Airbus disclosed in June that on-going production complications would delay deliveries further. The reschedule meant that just one A380 would be delivered in 2006 – to SIA at the end of the year – and only nine of the 25 planned for 2007. A senior industry source tells Flight International that the latest problems are “significant”, and there is speculation that early customers could face extra delays of up to six months, with only four aircraft being delivered in 2007. |
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Source: Flight International
