10/15/2007

Airbus Finally Delivers

First A380 Superjumbo Handed Over to Singapore Airlines

After production delays, management shake-ups and job losses, Airbus has finally done what it is supposed to do -- deliver planes to customers. The European planemaker delivered its first A380 superjumbo to Singapore Airlines in a glitzy ceremony Monday.

Airbus finally delivered its first A380 superjumbo to Singapore Airlines on Monday in a glitzy ceremony in Toulouse, France -- 18 months later than scheduled. But even as the troubled European planemaker sought to celebrate its achievement, reports in the French media over the weekend of possible further delays forced executives to go on the defensive.

"Until now, the A380 has been Airbus' baby. Today we are here to celebrate this beautiful mature aircraft's coming of age," Airbus CEO Thomas Enders said at a handover ceremony that included a sound and light show.

The brand new A380 will take off for Singapore on Tuesday, and will carry its first passengers on Oct. 25 in a flight to Sydney. Tickets for the maiden flight were auctioned off for charity. Full service will begin Oct. 28. The Singapore Airlines version will have 471 seats, instead of the standard 525, and will include 12 self-contained suites. The planes have two passenger decks and rooms for a bar, shops and even a casino.

Complications relating to the installation of the 500 kilometers (311 miles) of wiring in the double-decker A380 pushed back the project by two years, leading to 10,000 job cuts at the company and damaging its competitive standing against rival American planemaker Boeing. The delays announced in June this year wiped 26 percent off the value of shares in parent company EADS.

Le Journal du Dimanche, a newspaper owned by one of EADS' core shareholders, Arnaud Lagardere, reported Sunday that Airbus remained worried about deliveries and launched a new set of measures last month to prevent any further delays. But the company sought to dismiss these reports. "There are no delays; that is a misunderstanding," Airbus sales chief John Leary told reporters during the ceremony in Toulouse on Monday morning.

Airbus will be relieved to have its first delivery behind it after the delays, five CEOS and a battle between France and Germany over who has a say in both Airbus and EADS. "I didn’t think some of these leading airlines would stay with us through two years of delays," Leahy told Reuters on Sunday.

Morale at Airbus has been further damaged in recent weeks by accusations by the French financial regulations that senior managers at EADS profited from insider knowledge about the A380 problems to sell shares.

smd/ap/reuters

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