Airbus jabs at Boeing’s 787, celebrates 1,000th A330 delivery

Boeing’s Dreamliner is “not reliable” an Airbus executive alleged Friday.

Airbus’ sales chief John Leahy made the comment Friday at an event marking the 1,000th delivery of an A330.

“What they’ve got is an architecture that is not mature and that will eventually become mature. It’s going to take a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of cancelled flights. And maybe redesign quite a few systems onboard,” Leahy said, according to this AFP report.

Leahy’s comments comes a week after a 787 operated by Ethiopian Airlines caught fire while parked at London’s Heathrow Airport. Investigators on Thursday recommended that the U.S. aviation authorities consider instructing airlines to disable the 787’s emergency locator beacon, which is believed to have started the fire. The Federal Aviation Administration previously grounded Boeing’s 787 for three months earlier this year until Boeing redesigned the jet’s lithium ion battery system.

Leahy and Airbus celebrated the 1,000th delivery of an A330 aircraft. It’s a milestone reached by only three other widebody jet programs: Boeing’s 747, 777 and 767.

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