Emirates - which is the biggest customer for the A380, with 45 on firm order - is facing a delivery delay of more than two years over its original schedule, and president Tim Clark says that it now has "a figure" on the financial impact that this has had on the business.
"By August 2008, we would have had 17 or 18 A380s. If you imagine each one doing up to 4,500h a year, you can imagine the dent," says Clark. " In the year to April 2008, we expect our capacity to grow by 14%. With A380s, we would have grown by 30%. All our long-distance flights are full. It has really hit us."
Additional costs include installing two A380 simulators and opening a maintenance centre capable of handling up to seven of the superjumbos, neither of which are now required in the short term as the aircraft are not due to begin arriving until August next year.
Source: Flight International
