Scales Back 2009, 2010 Deliveries Due To Transition Problems

Airbus has completed the A380 program review, and is now informing customers about changes to its delivery schedule.

As ANN reported, the review assessed the program status as Airbus struggles to transition from low rate individual production, so-called Wave 1, to the full serial design and manufacturing process, called Wave 2.

"This is unfortunately not the first delay and as CEO of Airbus I have to say I regret this very much," Airbus CEO Thomas Enders said Tuesday, reports The Associated Press.

Enders stressed that overall, the recovery program -- initiated in summer 2006 -- is progressing well. Four aircraft were delivered as planned and are performing in airline operations on long-range routes, with only minor issues reported so far.

The nest 17 aircraft are in various stages of production, mainly in the wiring installation and system testing phases. Most aircraft earmarked for delivery in 2008 have already flown.

"We are not talking about a catastrophic scenario," Enders said.

However, the review has also shown that the steep ramp-up planned in 2006 is not fully achievable. Time and resources needed for Wave 1 production aircraft are higher than expected, and this has created some delay in the changeover to Wave 2 with its new design and manufacturing process.

As a result, Airbus plans now for 12 (instead of 13) deliveries in 2008 and 21 (instead of 25) in 2009. Details about the new plan and the further ramp-up and delivery slots in 2010 and the following years will be discussed with customers in the coming weeks.

Airbus isn't quite ready to talk about what the financial impact of its decision will be.

"The extent of the additional costs will be influenced by the actual production and delivery scenario," the planemaker states. "This will follow discussions with the customers and a more precise evaluation of the implications of the new delivery schedule for 2010 deliveries and beyond. This will therefore take some more time to determine."

FMI: www.airbus.com