October 8, 2006
OH, THE HUMANITIES:
Airbus faces fresh hit over super-jumbo: Emirates and Virgin in new £170m compensation demands as deliveries of A380s are delayed again (Oliver Morgan, October 8, 2006, Observer)
Emirates, the leading launch customer for the Airbus A380 super jumbo, is demanding £150m in compensation for delays to the crisis-hit programme.Tim Clark, president of Dubai-based airline Emirates, which has ordered 45 A380s, made the claim in talks with Airbus management last week following the announcement of a third postponement of deliveries of the world's largest passenger jet. It is also understood that Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic is claiming more than £20m in compensation for delays in its order of six A380s, while Australian carrier Qantas has announced it wants £40m.
The Virgin board meets on Thursday to discuss its options for dealing with the hold-ups, which have pushed deliveries back by two years. The alternatives under consideration are: cancelling all or some of the orders; deferring them; or switching A380s for other Airbus planes. Last week, Airbus parent EADS announced that technical problems with the wiring would now leave airlines waiting two years longer than they had planned before receiving their aircraft, adding that the problems with the programme would hit profits over the coming years by £3.25bn.
It has also emerged that EADS is carrying out a root-and-branch review of the business case for its next aircraft...
There's no business case for the company, just statist momentum. Posted by Orrin Judd at October 8, 2006 12:37 PM
They have big problems, no doubt. But delays can happen when you try to break new ground. I quote:
"Delays and cancelled flights soon gave the 747 the nickname "Dumbo Jet", the flying white elephant. At the beginning of the 70s problems with the engines went so far that up to 30 completed Jumbos had to be stored in Everett with concrete blocks instead of engines under their wings. Moreover there were rising costs and delays in supplying the aircraft. The tight schedule was to blame for this, because it was simply unrealistic to build up a new organisation, a new production plant and a new aircraft all at the same time in only 34 months."
Let me add: the 787 incorporates many new features and has not flown yet (Airbus is actually more advanced in use of composites).
Posted by: wf at October 9, 2006 5:10 AM