Airbus denies delays Qantas A380 orders
Qantas says it has yet to be told of any further production delays affecting the delivery of its double-decker A380s, despite speculation that more announcements are on their way from European manufacturer Airbus.
The Australian reported the carrier confirmed yesterday it had received a letter from Airbus chief executive Tom Enders telling it that a review of the program was underway.
“We’ve heard these rumours as well. The CEO of Airbus has written to us and said they are conducting a review but no one has told us anything about a delay,” Qantas chief financial officer Peter Gregg said.
Singapore Airlines, the only carrier already flying A380s, also said it had not been told of further delays.
Qantas has ordered 20 A380s and expects its first plane to be delivered in August, although there are rumours of glitches with the cabin fit-out in Germany.
Its initial deliveries will come from a first wave of production, Wave1, affected by a Franco-German software debacle that caused the initial delays.
Those planes have had to be rewired by hand and that process has slowed down production.
The latest speculation centres on the ramp-up of the industrial process, known as Wave2, that will be used to make planes not affected by the wiring problems.
Airbus is believed to be on track to deliver 13 planes this year but there are doubts, according to European media, about whether it can fulfil a commitment for a further 25 next year.
“It’s very serious.” “This will do us serious damage,” Emirates president Tim Clark was quoted by The Times in London as saying. Mr Clark said Emirates, which has ordered 58 A380s, would find out within three weeks if Airbus would meet its timetable.
But Airbus argues that the media confused Mr Enders’ comments about reviewing the program with suggestions of further delays.
In a statement sent to The Australian, the European manufacturer said Mr Enders had stated on several occasions that the A380 delivery schedule would continue to be a major challenge for the company until the ramp-up was completed. It said the program was in a critical phase of a steep production increase and changeover from Wave1 to Wave2.
“A major review of the program at this transition phase is standard practice,” it said.
“This includes, amongst other things, an analysis of the progressive shift of the experienced workforce from Wave1 to Wave2 aircraft, the ramp-up readiness of the supply chain and the status of the delivery schedule.”
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