In brief: Airbus delays again its A380 superjumbo

Posted on May 16, 2008 by Matthieu Desiderio

Airbus is not yet out of the crisis… The European aircraft manufacturer announced on Tuesday new delays on deliveries of its A380. After 2006 announcement, the superjumbo, already almost two years late, is again behind schedule.

In a statement, Airbus declared it will only deliver 12 aircraft in 2008, instead of 13, then 21 in 2009 (instead of 25) and that 2010 forecasts of 45 planes would be confirmed in the coming weeks. Airbus CEO Tom Enders explained his company encountered problems switching from individual to serial production, and that it will take another trimester to catch up. The targeted production of four A380s per month, expected for 2010, will not be know and has not been confirmed yet by Airbus.

A380 delays will trigger penalties…

One of the main problem for the aircraft manufacturer is that these new delays will trigger penalties. Airbus will have to compensate airlines, that will however not be as important as the previous compensation which drove Airbus into the red in 2007.

Airbus could not predict the financial fallout due to these new delays but will basically have to pay for aircraft rentals that airlines will use while waiting for their A380, plus extra costs due to higher fuel consumption.

These new delays may affect Emirates Airlines’ activities: the airline based in Dubai planned to take market share from European carriers on long-haul routes between Europe and the Pacific Rim and may have to delay these operations. Emirates is the biggest buyer of Airbus A380, with 58 orders of a 555-seat version and still waits to receive its first aircraft (originally in August 2008)…

Louis Gallois still discusses Euro/Dollar rate problem

Louis Gallois, CEO of EADS, Airbus parent company, again declared that the whole European aerospace industry was suffering financial issues, because of the Euro/Dollar rate. He explained Airbus was producing its planes based on a rate of $1.16, while the dollar topped $1.55 for €1.

As he already explained in a conference that Transport Expertise members attended in Paris (see article Industrie aéronautique et coopération transatlantique, Apr. 10, 2008, in French), Louis Gallois repeated that EADS needs to reduce its spending in the euro zone, and tranfer its cost structure in in US dollars, not only in the United States, but also in Mexico, Canada, and Brazil. He had supported the idea that Canada with Bombardier and Brazil with Embraer, could be key-partners for Airbus/EADS in the future…

References

Article: Airbus announces new A380 delays, Seattle Times, May 14, 2008: here
Article: Gallois says A380 delays will trigger penalties, Reuters, May 14, 2008: here
Article: Airbus delays may hurt Emirates, The National, May 15, 2008: here

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