Says More Testing Needed

Airbus says talks with US and European authorities on wake turbulence created by its 555-seat A380 are continuing, just six short months before the first scheduled delivery of the jetliner.

"Discussions are still going on and there are still several months to go before the plane enters service," said Airbus spokeswoman Barbara Kracht to the Wall Street Journal.

Kracht added that aviation experts failed last week to agree on separation standards for the A380... which means until a decision is made, any plane trailing an A380 must fly at least 10 nautical miles behind it, in order to give sufficient time for the A380's considerable wake to disperse.

That's twice the amount of space a 747 requires -- which, if that standard holds, will likely cause controllers and other airlines some grief as they slot other aircraft into airports where A380s operate from.

Members of the International Civil Aviation Organization say more time is needed for more test flights... and a final ruling on separation standards should be ready by November, one month before the first A380 is scheduled to be delivered to Singapore Airlines.

FMI: www.airbus.com, www.icao.int