Dubai carrier expects settlement to compensate for delays to airliner could result in financial write-off for Airbus
Emirates is preparing to thrash out a deal with Airbus to compensate it for the financial impact of the A380 delay, and expects that the size of the payment is likely to require the European airframer to take a "massive write-off".
When the Dubai carrier signed its original A380 deal at the 2000 Farnborough air show, the aircraft were scheduled to start joining its fleet by April 2006, says the airline's president Tim Clark.
However, the series of production delays pushed the delivery back initially to October 2007, and now to August 2008, with Emirates planning to introduce the type into revenue service in October next year.
The airline has been analysing the impact of the delay on its business and Clark says that "we now have a figure and in the next few weeks we will begin talking". He adds: "Airbus is anxious to ensure that the programme is seen to be alive and well, and I am sure we will come to a compromise, which Airbus will take as a massive write-off."
Emirates says the late arrival of its A380s has "really hit us" |
Airbus declines to comment on any of the compensation talks it is having with A380 customers.
Meanwhile, Emirates has declared itself satisfied with an audit of Airbus's troubled A380 production processes, and Clark is confident its first aircraft will be "ready the way we want it" by January next year, nine months ahead of the October target set by the airline. Emirates sent a team of engineers to Toulouse towards the end of last year to assess whether Airbus could meet its new delivery promise for the delayed aircraft.
Clark says that having airline employees who are not manufacturing experts audit a "production process that is in limbo" has been a challenge.
"It is difficult to get the full story, and although we are satisfied that things are okay, we will be monitoring things every week," he says.
Emirates will have a longer period than it has had with previous new types to fine-tune its cabin requirements. "It's something we haven't had before and, if there's any silver lining to this delay, it means that we have a bit of a breather that we didn't have on our A340-500s," he says.
The airline continues to discuss its requirements with Airbus and Boeing about a major order for long-range twinjets. Clark says the carrier has a requirement for "anything up to 100" Airbus A350 XWBs or Boeing 787s in the next few years.
He says that "part of the assessment will be who can deliver first", but the fact that the Airbus programme is two years behind its rival, and has so far not secured a second engine supplier, means it is "immediately at a disadvantage".
However, Clark says that Airbus will be at pains to secure Emirates as a flagship customer. "If they have us on board, it makes it much easier for them to sell the aircraft," he says.
Source: Flight International
