Post by ProteusPost by ProteusEven socialist Canada's flagship line, Air Canada, has chosen Boeing's
787 Dreamliner over the huge Airbus 380A in a multi billion dollar order.
This was followed by a 300+ Boeing aircraft order by Indonesia.
Let's face it. The new Boeing 787 and 7E7 Dreamliner planes are much more
practical than Airbus ' "flying Titanic" 380A. And production delays for
the 380A have already been announced by the heavily taxpayer-
subsidized Airbus consortium. All of this is very damaging publicity for
Airbus.
The Boeing airplanes are more fuel efficient, quieter than the Airbus
monstrosity
and can fly non-stop to any destination on the planet. Whereas the Airbus
requires
costly airstrip enlargements. For air passengers, who would want to be
on
Post by Proteusa
Post by Proteusplane
with 550-600 smelly, proletarian passengers. Can you envision the
processing
Post by Proteuslineups
and nightmares in the airport after landing? Also anti-terrorist security
would be more
difficult with the Airbus 380A. And what a juicy target it would be.
Still we can be glad that Airbus is there. Competition is good. Without
Airbus there
wouldn't be any.
what whas the comment about the 747 ,35 years ago?
see above...
===========================
35 years ago there was no aircraft capable of carrying 250 + people
nonstop to almost anywhere in the world.
Boeing bet their own $$ and entire company on the 747 success. If it failed,
Boeing would have been reduced to only defense contracting.
Airbus gets to bet EU taxpayers $$ on the 380 . If it failed and no one
bought it, so what? It was all paid for by taxpayers . No big loss.
Apparently you have not read about the 380's garganuan problems either.
Right now , not one aairport has the ability to let one land because they
runways are too underconstructed for the weight. There are no concorses big
enough to unload 2 levles of passengers at a time , and then ther eare these
problems.
from WSJ
Airbus faces possible penalty payments of several million dollars to
airlines for delays in delivering its new A380 jetliner amid complaints
by some customers about lateness.
One airline executive said the penalties could run in the tens of
millions of dollars for one airline. Airbus declined to comment on
financial effects of the delays.
Details of the delays are trickling out from airlines more than a month
after Airbus said the delivery schedule would slip from the first half
of 2006. Geoff Dixon, chief executive of Australia's Qantas Airways,
said the delays of "at least six months" are "a major concern to us."
Qantas is due to be among the first airlines to receive the two-deck,
555-seat A380. The airline said in a statement that the delay was
"disappointing, given that we have met all of Airbus's deadlines" to
tell the aircraft maker how to customize the 12 A380s Qantas has
ordered. Mr. Dixon said his concern was lessened because Airbus isn't
changing the order in which it will deliver the planes to airlines, so
the delays won't put Qantas at a disadvantage against rival carriers.
An Airbus spokeswoman said delays will be between two months and six
months. Airbus officials blamed the delay largely on the complexity of
customizing the enormous aircraft, which buyers plan to fly as their
flagship jetliner and so are making quite elaborate. Other technical
issues also appear to be a factor, but Airbus wouldn't disclose details.
"We are embarrassed," said Airbus Chief Commercial Officer John Leahy.
"We will obviously owe some penalty payments to customers for a few
months' delay." Mr. Leahy said "we never realized" the degree of
customization airlines would want. When Airbus launched the A380 in
2000, it advertised the largest passenger jet ever as "the eighth wonder
of the world," and promised new amenities such as health clubs and
casinos on board.
Airbus said on April 27, after the A380's first flight, that the plane
would enter service "in the second half of 2006." When airlines ordered
the plane, some as far back as 2000, Airbus targeted deliveries for
early 2006, and more recently said the A380 would enter service in "the
first half" of next year.
A spokesman for Singapore Airlines said several days after the first
flight that "Airbus has advised us of a delay," and the two were working
on compensation terms. Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Chew Choon
Seng said this week at an industry gathering in Tokyo that confidential
talks continue with Airbus. The airline has ordered 10 of the planes and
originally hoped to start service next April. The company's logo hails
it as "First to fly A380 in 2006."
Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline, another early customer, has
said several times recently that delays aren't a surprise for an
ambitious new aircraft model and that they don't worry him unless they
grow beyond six months. A spokeswoman for Air France-KLM, which was due
to start flying the A380 in April 2007, said the airline had been
informed by Airbus of delays, but she offered no details.
Mr. Leahy said that in the life of the A380 program, which could run 50
years, a few months' delay will soon seem insignificant. He also said
that customers' frustration is a sign of how much they want the plane.
"It's taken us longer than we were hoping" to get designs and equipment
from suppliers handling interiors for the planes, added Airbus Marketing
Vice President Colin Stuart. Each airline's fleet of A380s has its own
designs for wiring, plumbing and other customized elements.
Airbus is 80%-owned by European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. and
20%-owned by BAE Systems PLC. The uncomfortable news for Airbus came as
EADS again delayed announcing a new slate of senior executives. EADS has
faced several months of management turmoil amid disputes between its
main French and German shareholders over who will fill its two
chief-executive posts as well as run key divisions including Airbus. A
person close to the company said an announcement could come within days.