EVERETT — As the Boeing Co. delays the first jet of this century, rival Airbus makes the initial delivery of the final jet designed in the last century.
Today, Airbus will hand over the first A380 jet to Singapore Airlines. The superjumbo jet likely will be the last commercial aircraft designed using mostly aluminum. When the A380 enters service later this month, it will bump Boeing’s 747 from the title of the largest passenger plane.
The engineering minds at Airbus began conceiving a large aircraft in the 1990s. The European jet maker officially launched its A380 in 2000 with the hopes of seeing the first superjumbo jet enter service in spring 2006.
As both Boeing and Airbus are finding out, even the best-laid plans can go wrong.
For Airbus, its A380 plans derailed extensively because of complications with the A380’s wiring and lack of communication among workers at different Airbus factories. The company will deliver only one superjumbo this year, down from its initial projection of 25. Next year, Airbus hopes to deliver 13 A380s, down from the forecasted 35. Its production woes stretch out even into 2009, when it will turn over 25 rather than 45.
The significant delays will cost Airbus’ parent company, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. roughly $6 billion in profits over a four-year span.
Certainly, Boeing officials had the A380 nightmare in mind as they announced last week a six-month setback for their 787 program. Missing parts and complications in Boeing’s global supply chain led to its delay.
“It’s obvious we are disappointed to have to announced this delay,” said Jim McNerney, Boeing’s chief executive.
Boeing plans to handle its setback a bit differently than Airbus. The Chicago-based company will continue building planes, stockpiling as many as 40 by the time it delivers the first 787 to Japan’s All Nippon Airways in November or December 2008. In doing so, Boeing will fall only three 787 deliveries short in 2009 with the intention to be back on schedule completely in 2010, two years after the first delivery.
Some analysts say that’s risky since the jet maker could discover problems during flight testing and have to rework all of its planes in progress. But analyst Paul Nisbet, with JSA Research, thinks otherwise.
“They don’t want to get permanently behind,” Nisbet said.
Regardless, Boeing’s 787 still will pay off before Airbus’ A380. With more than 700 orders on hand, Boeing’s James Bell, chief operating officer, doesn’t foresee the delay having a huge financial impact.
“The business case for the 787 remains extremely solid,” Bell said.
With 165 firm orders, Airbus remains well shy of its break-even point. However, the European jet maker estimates a demand for 1,260 large jets such as its A380 and Boeing’s 747 over the next 20 years. Just last week, Airbus picked up a tentative order from new A380 customer, Grupo Marsans, a Spanish tourism group.
Reporter Michelle Dunlop: 425-339-3454 or mdunlop@heraldnet.com.
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