European plane maker Airbus is reviewing the delivery schedule of its flagship A380 superjumbo jet, and its most important client Emirates said today it had been told to expect new delays.
Airbus chief executive Thomas Enders said he was running 'a major review' of the A380 production programme, which has already suffered three delays and generated billions of euros in cost overruns.
He told German media, however, he would not 'shoot from the hip' to come up with new delivery dates. He said that he does not yet have the results of the major review.
Meanwhile, Dubai's Emirates, the largest A380 customer with an order for 58 of the massive aircraft, said it had received a letter from Airbus about delays.
The flagship A380 has been hit by successive problems that have caused total delays of 18 months, slamming Airbus' parent company EADS with an estimated €3.87 billion in cost overruns.
Cooperation between an Airbus site in the northern German port of Hamburg and the southern French city of Toulouse, where final assembly takes place, has hit snags and 2,000 German employees are now working in Toulouse to sort out the problems, Mr Enders said.
A total of 193 A380s have been ordered to date by 17 airlines, mainly in the Gulf region, Asia and Europe.
The plane has a catalogue price of €210m, though sector discounts are the norm for major customers.
US rival Boeing had been able to capitalise on the earlier A380 problems as it launched its own next-generation B787 Dreamliner, but this project too has been hit by delays caused by the immense complexity of the design and construction process.
Boeing recently insisted that there would be no further delay to the 787.
