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Asian carriers disappointed at latest A380 super jumbo delay

SINGAPORE, Oct 4, 2006 (UNI) 

Disappointed Asian airlines led by launch customer Singapore Airlines (SIA) must wait almost a year longer for their first Airbus A380 super-jumbo planes in the latest delay to hit their growth plans, industry players said Wednesday.

The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), Airbus’s parent firm, announced the delay Tuesday in the program’s third setback since June 2005.

SIA was originally supposed to receive the first of an original order of 10 double-decker A380s early this year but delays have progressively pushed back the plane’s arrival.

Airbus president and chief executive officer Christian Streiff said Singapore’s first A380 will now be delivered in October of next year.

‘‘The delays are disappointing; all the more so because the flight test and certification program is proceeding well, and the delays are down to production issues,’’ SIA said in a statement.

SIA said it will receive compensation under the agreement with Airbus.

Australian flag-carrier Qantas also expressed disappointment and said it has begun a review of its capacity needs.

Qantas said that based on its discussions with Airbus it will not receive the first of its 12 A380s until August 2008, around two years behind schedule.

Qantas chief financial officer Peter Gregg said the airline was satisfied that the delay was due to production problems at Airbus and not technical issues with the aircraft.

Streiff said the production process ‘‘has one, big flaw -- one weak link in the chain: that of the design of the electrical harnesses installation in the forward and aft fuselage.’’

Dubai-based Emirates, the single biggest customer for the A380 with 43 orders, said it had been informed of a further 10-month delay.

‘‘This is a very serious issue for Emirates and the company is now reviewing all its options,’’ Emirates president Tim Clark said in a statement.

The Sydney-based independent aviation consultancy firm, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), said the delays will be felt most keenly in the Middle East.

CAPA said Emirates’ growth trajectory and competitive impact could be slowed but not stalled by the delays and that may be positive news for its competitors.

SIA confirmed it will remain the first to fly the world’s biggest commercial airliner and will receive the first four aircraft.

Singapore Airlines has expressed disappointment with Airbus delays before, yet in July announced it would buy nine more A380s.

‘‘Airbus has confirmed a further delay to the deliveries of the 19 A380 aircraft ordered by Singapore Airlines,’’ SIA said.

‘‘Singapore Airlines is assessing the impact that the delays, just notified, will have on forward capacity growth, and assessing options to mitigate the situation.’’

While assessing the impact of the latest problem, Stephen Forshaw, SIA’s vice president of public affairs, told AFP the carrier is already missing out on incremental growth on some routes because of the plane’s late arrival.

‘‘It’s not that we are in a position where we’ve had to stall the introduction of new routes, or anything like that,’’ he said.

But the Singapore-London route, for example, is served daily by three Boeing 747s that SIA wants to replace with the larger A380s.

‘‘We’re talking about the inability to grow that capacity by an extra 100 seats’’ on each aircraft, he said. ‘‘That’s incremental growth that we miss out on.’’

Some leases have had to be extended as a result of the A380’s late arrival, and some Boeing 747 jumbo jets will remain in service longer than planned, Forshaw said.

Another Asian carrier, Thai Airways International, plans to buy three A380s in 2009 and three more in 2010.

‘‘So far there is no change in our plan but we are examining the news,’’ a senior company official said. ‘‘If there are further delays, we may have to think about alternatives such as seeking compensation or changing orders to Boeing.’’

Korean Air has vowed to seek compensation over the latest A380 delays.

Malaysia Airlines has also ordered the plane but made no immediate comment.