October 15, 2007
Airbus on Monday handed over the first A380 plane to Singapore Airlines after two years of setbacks and speculation of further delays.
Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper reported on Sunday that Airbus remained worried about deliveries and had launched new measures last month to avert further delays.
“There are no delays; that is a misunderstanding,” Airbus sales chief John Leahy told reporters at a ceremony to mark the long-awaited first delivery of the world’s largest airliner.
Asked if Airbus was reaffirming its 2008 delivery target of 13 aircraft, Leahy said, “That is our plan and we are on target. We have said it is a challenge, of course, but we are on track.”
Problems over the installation of the 500 km of wiring on the double-decker A380 planes toppled Airbus management, pushed the planemaker into loss and layed Europe’s biggest industrial project by two years.
“The A380 is not a luxury, it is a necessity. That’s why increasing A380 production to meet demand remains our biggest challenge for the next two years”, Airbus chief executive Tom Enders told Airbus staff, suppliers, journalists, and other guests.
“Everything we have accomplished so far gives us the confidence, the courage and the means to face the big ramp-up in 2008 and 2009,” he said.
The first aircraft was delivered to Singapore Airlines 18 months later than planned at a ceremony at Airbus’s headquarters in Toulouse, which featured pounding music and a high-tech light show against a curtain which was drawn back to allow gathered guests to see the massive plane nosing into a parking stand.
The plane will enter service between Singapore and Sydney with a flight raising money for charity on October 25. Full service will begin on October 28.
Seen as an industry standard-bearer for on-board comforts, the airline unveiled a cabin interior with 471 seats, compared with the plane’s original standard of 555 seats, now reduced to 525 seats to accommodate new seat designs.
The Singapore Airlines version will have 12 self-contained suites on the main deck in what the airline calls a “cabin class beyond First”.
“From today, there is a new queen of the skies for air travel,” said Singapore Airlines CEO Chew Choon Seng, dismissing the rival 747 as a plane which “belongs to the past”.
On-board entertainment will include 100 movies, more than 180 TV programs, 700 CDs and over 22 radio channels. The same entertainment box will include a word processor and 3D games.
Airbus’s Leahy said he did not rule out further sales of A380s this year after securing orders or commitments for around 30 in 2007.
“I think we probably could do more A380s this year,” he said.
Airbus has 165 A380s on its firm order book but recent deals with British Airways and Grupo Marsans have brought commitments for the USD$319.2 million jet to 189 planes spread among 16 airlines. It expects to sell around 800 planes in 20 years.
Rival Boeing says demand for 500-plus seaters is a niche market compared with thousands for future mid-sized jets.
With two passenger decks and room for a bar and shops, the A380 claims 50 percent more floor space than the 747 and its designers boast it will introduce a new era of airborne luxury.
British entrepreneur Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic promises double beds and casinos at 30,000 feet.
The delivery is a big milestone for Airbus after it battled successfully to stave off cancellations of the mammoth passenger plane, though two buyers did cancel commitments for its all-cargo sister model.
Plans call for 13 deliveries in 2008 and 25 in 2009, with the first two dozen aircraft being wired by hand while a new system is prepared to bring output to 45 a year from 2010.
Airbus officials said they expected to deliver a revised cargo version from 2014 or 2015 after studying the designs again around 2009.
(Reuters)