EVERETT – The biggest customer for Airbus’ new superjumbo jet should have received its first A380 this month.
But things have gone awry of late for Airbus.
On Tuesday, the aircraft manufacturer confirmed the most recent A380 delay, which pushes back by almost two years its delivery to Emirates, the Dubai-based airline with the most superjumbo orders on Airbus’ books.
The announcement from Toulouse, France-based Airbus caused some airlines to consider canceling orders. The news also sparked speculation that this is just what the Boeing Co. needs to get its 747-8 passenger line going.
“I have a feeling that this is just the foot in the door that Boeing needed,” said Richard Aboulafia, an industry analyst with the Teal Group.
Boeing’s updated 747, the 747-8 Intercontinental, seats about 55 passengers fewer than the 555-seat A380. Initially, Boeing’s aircraft would have gone into service several years behind the A380, but Airbus’ delays narrow the gap.
Since last November, Boeing has logged 30 orders for its 747-8 freighter. Despite Airbus’ woes, however, Boeing hasn’t been able to build momentum for the passenger version of the 747-8 in terms of orders, with only one buyer, who is unidentified, to date.
Airlines interested in the large plane might have been waiting to see how things play out with Airbus, said Paul Nisbet, an analyst with JSA Research.
“And things aren’t playing out very well,” he said.
Both Nisbet and Aboulafia think that just one commercial order of the 747-8 Intercontinental might jump-start Boeing’s line – an order that seems imminent given Airbus’ latest stumble.
Aboulafia also indicated that Airbus might want to beef up engineering on its updated A350, which will compete with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, as a means of rebounding from the latest debacle.
Two weeks ago, Airbus’ parent company, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., acknowledged rumors of a third delay on the A380 but didn’t provide a new delivery schedule. Airbus now intends to deliver one aircraft to Singapore Airlines, its launch customer, in October 2007, one year behind schedule.
The single delivery in 2007 is down from an original projection of 25. Subsequent deliveries, such as Emirates’, have been pushed back as much as 22 months. The company will roll out 13 A380s in 2008, down from the 35 initially promised, and 25 in 2009, as opposed to the 45 planned.
Although Air France and Germany’s Lufthansa said their jets had been delayed by another year, both appeared to rule out cancellations.
“We’re still convinced that the A380 is a success story and the A380 is a growth aircraft,” Lufthansa spokeswoman Stefanie Stotz said.
But Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. and Emirates remain less convinced of A380’s success. Both are examining their options as a result of the delays, which EADS said would shave a total of $6.1 billion off operating profit in the plane’s first four years. Virgin Atlantic’s six-plane order with Airbus will be a topic of discussion at the company’s Oct. 12 board meeting.
Emirates indicated that the future of its 45-plane order, worth $13 billion at list prices, could be in doubt.
“Emirates has been advised by Airbus of a further 10-month delay to its A380 program, which means that our first aircraft will now arrive in August 2008,” chief executive Tim Clark said in an e-mailed statement.
“This is a very serious issue for Emirates, and the company is now reviewing all its options,” he added.
That seemed to be news to Airbus chief executive Christian Streiff, who told reporters during a conference call that the aircraft maker sees “no significant signs” that cancellations are likely from any of its A380 customers.
“Until now, everybody’s still on board,” he said.
Streiff emphasized on Tuesday that the latest production holdups were caused entirely by problems with the installation of the 300 miles of wiring aboard each plane.
“This is the only weak link in the production chain,” Streiff said.
In June, when the plane maker announced the second six-month delay, EADS shares plunged 26 percent the next day.
The crisis led to the sacking of Airbus boss Gustav Humbert and EADS co-chief executive Noel Forgeard, who remains under investigation by market authorities after it emerged that he had exercised stock options to make a profit of $3.2 million just weeks before ordering an internal probe into the delays.
EADS is tightening its control over Airbus and is expected to buy BAE Systems PLC’s 20 percent stake in the plane maker. BAE shareholders vote today on a management recommendation to go ahead with the $3.5 billion sale.
Shares in EADS, which had fallen recently in anticipation of big new delays, closed 1.1 percent higher at $28.85 in Paris after the announcements by Emirates and Lufthansa. Boeing shares increased by $1.81, or 2.3 percent.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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