Mon, Mar 16, 2009
German Mag Says Defects Have Led To Groundings
While touring the European Aeronautic Defense and Space
manufacturing plant in Toulouse, France last month, a delegation
from Dubai-based Emirates Airlines reportedly gave Airbus officials
a laundry list of defects found throughout the carrier's fledgling
fleet of A380 superjumbos.
Der Spiegel said a 46-page report was submitted to Airbus after
the delegates' visit, outlining a number of defects which have
caused breakdowns that grounded Emirates' four A380s a total of 500
hours to date.
EADS spokesman Alexander Reinhardt told Bloomberg, "Airbus takes
these problems very seriously. We are working intensively to fix
those problems." Reinhardt refused to elaborate on the nature of
the problems, citing that customer confidentiality prevented
it.
Last week, Emirates announced the possibility of delaying the
delivery of more A380s. A company spokesman said simply, "We had a
routine meeting with Airbus to discuss aircraft delivery positions
down the line."
Emirates has ordered a total of 58 Airbus A380s, making the
Mid-East airline Airbus' biggest customer.
Airbus delivered 12 A380s in 2008, and expects another 18
deliveries during 2009, a slight reduction from the 21 aircraft it
had projected. Last week Air France-KLM Group said it plans to
delay delivery of two A380s, while Lufthansa predicted two
superjumbo deliveries slated for this year won't happen until 2010.
The delays are being blamed on production difficulties.
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