GIANT FREIGHTERS NOT AFFECTED BY AIRBUS DELAYS
- Latest News
- Monday, 24 July 2006
A spokesman for the French aircraft builder said first deliveries of the freighter version of the super jumbo were not scheduled until 2009.
“Rescheduling is for customers in 06/07/08,” he said. “Also, the A380F’s wiring system is less complicated than that of the passenger version, where a lot of the work involves meeting customisation demands.”
To date, Airbus has received 159 orders from 16 customers for the A380. Of these, 27 are for freighters, ordered by four of these customers.
Meanwhile, Qantas is reportedly seeking stand-in aircraft in the wake of the fiasco over the late delivery the A380.
Qantas is negotiating with Airbus to arrange a number of stand-in replacement aircraft such as A330-300s, which have around half the freight and passenger capacity of the giant A380s.
The national carrier’s chief executive, Geoff Dixon, says he’s adamant that Airbus will compensate Qantas for the A380.
Emirates and Singapore Airlines, the airlines with the biggest orders for the A380s – are also demanding compensation for the delivery delays.
Qantas, which has ordered 12 A380s, had expected the first aircraft to be delivered this October, but this could be put back at least 12 months.
However, Dixon says Qantas has no intention of changing its order.
Meanwhile, delays in production of the A380 have raised questions about the European company’s management and its general strategy of building super jumbos while rival US company – Boeing – is forging ahead with its smaller and more fuel-efficient aircraft, the 787 Dreamliner.
Singapore Airlines has signalled its intention to buy 20 aircraft from Boeing while taking options on another 20 jets.
Meanwhile, International Lease Finance Corp has indicated it might pull its A380 orders, with another big client – Malaysia Airlines – also considering a similar move.