Air France suffers Airbus 380 delay

Air France will have to wait an additional three months to take delivery of its new Airbus A380 aircraft, after the European airplane manufacturer and Boeing’s major rival, announced that it will not be able to deliver the planes on schedule. Originally, Airbus apparently had plans to increase production, but this did not materialize, causing a series of up to two years worth of delays. One of the major problems has been around the incorrect wiring of some aircraft. Fabrice Bregier, who heads Airbus’s activities in France, noted that all deliveries would likely “slip” by about three months, and this is likely to most heavily impact Air France, which counted one the arrival of the A-380, the world’s largest commercial airplane, to boost its long-haul fleet.

According to a report in the New York Times, Air France and other carriers that have been negatively impacted by these delays may choose to seek financial damages from Airbus, resulting in various hefty penalties for the European aircraft manufacturer. All delivery dates appear likely to be postponed by at least three months, which will impact all airlines that expected to receive these jumbo-jets between now and 2010. In addition to Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Qantas will also have to deal with similar delays in the arrival of the A-380. The CEO of Emirates Airlines has already indicated that this major Middle Eastern carrier would “suffer serious damage” if it does not receive the A-380 on time.

The A-380 is billed as the world’s largest commercial airplane and can seat up to 555 passengers. The plane, like the venerable Boeing 747, is a double-decker aircraft and will be used exclusively on popular long-haul routes.

www.airfrance.com