Was Reportedly Scheduled To Take Off This Week

The behemoth Airbus A380 won't be taking off on its maiden flight this week, as scheduled. There's still far too much work to be done for the flight to take place anytime before the middle of April, according to company executives quoted by a German newspaper.

The newspaper Handelsblatt quoted one Airbus spokeswoman as saying the flight would take place this week. That statement concurred with one from an Airbus executive, co-chief Rainer Hertrich, who said last month that the flight would take place in early April.

But engineers actually working on the maiden flight say otherwise. Still facing taxi tests to evaluate acceleration and braking, the engineers said it will take at least a couple of more weeks before the super jumbo actually gets off the ground.

But the Airbus spokeswoman quoted by Handelsblatt said it was immaterial whether the first flight took off April 10th, April 15th or April 30th. After all, she reasoned, the airplane will be on the market for the next 35-years. What's the hurry?

FMI: www.airbus.com