Tue, Oct 03, 2006
Superjumbo Intro Delayed Nearly Two Years
ANN REALTIME REPORTING 10.03.06 1130 EDT: More
news regarding the latest delay to strike the A380 superjumbo
program was revealed Tuesday, when Emirates president Tim Clark
announced Airbus told the carrier to expect another long wait for
its planes.
"Emirates has been advised by Airbus of a further 10 months
delay to its A380 program, which means that our first aircraft will
now arrive in August 2008," Clark said in an email to CNN. "This is
a very serious issue for Emirates and the company is now reviewing
all its options."
Emirates is the largest single buyer of the A380, with 45 planes
on order.
With this latest delay -- the third to strike the program, and
the second this year -- deliveries of the A380 are running nearly
two years behind the original schedule... news that will likely be
met with an uproar from airlines waiting to launch the planes on
scheduled routes.
A spokesman with Virgin Atlantic said Monday the carrier had
been told to expect delays for its A380s, although the airline did
not elaborate on the length of the delays.
Airbus has yet to make a formal announcement regarding the A380,
nor is the reason for the latest delay known at this time. Past
delays have centered on the A380's elaborate wiring system, which
is designed to allow airlines to customize inflight entertainment
and other offerings on its planes.
The board of parent company EADS is scheduled to meet Wednesday
to further review a proposed restructuring plan submitted by Airbus CEO Christian Streiff
last Friday. The plan is rumored to include job cuts,
and perhaps even a plant closing, or reshuffling.
Reteurs reports the French financial daily Les Echos said
Streiff's proposal was seen by EADS shareholders as too drastic --
and that Streiff had threatened to resign if the plan was rejected.
EADS declined to comment on those statements.
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