A380 delays cause more concerns for carriers
The news of the delayed delivery to Qantas of the A380, originally scheduled for delivery this month but now August 2008 will cause some ongoing significant aircraft management and compensation issues for Qantas and other international carriers who were depending on the on time delivery of the aircraft as a key part of their future operational plans.
Qantas has already received $104 million in compensation from Airbus for earlier delays and it was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald today that Qantas CFO Peter Gregg says that the amount of compensation had already reached maximum levels for six of the 12 aircraft it had ordered, but he said the company expected to receive further payments from Airbus, but they would be less than last year’s $104 million due to contractual limits.
Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Virgin Atlantic were all depending on the delivery of the aircraft, with Emirates President Tim Clark saying yesterday that the latest delay presented a serious issue for the carrier, which has been counting on the A380s as part of its growth strategy.
International media reports are saying that Emirates could cancel half of its A380 order in favour of the Boeing 747-8, but the Boeing 747-8 is only currently available as a freighter with Boeing is not expected to finalise a passenger configuration until next year and delivery of passenger 747-8’s not likely until 2010.
As reported in TravelMole yesterday Qantas says it is not considering cancelling its A380 order at the moment with Peter Gregg saying yesterday, “That would be a major step for us and we’ve spent a lot of money on training people.”
Peter Harbison of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation said it is possible that Qantas might not be overly disappointed as a result of A380 delivery delays because it would potentially have a bigger effect on the expansion plans of the airline’s key rivals Emirates and Singapore Airlines, but Qantas will have to continue using ageing 747-400 fleet for much longer than planned but more importantly the delays could influence future purchasing decisions. Peter Gregg said that the delays would not prevent Qantas ordering from Airbus again, but it would most certainly be in the back of their minds!
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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