Word that Airbus parent EADS said the A380 super-jumbo program faces another delay is raising concerns for the freighter version due to start reaching cargo fleets in 2009, instead of just the passenger model.
Until now, Airbus has said that wiring harness problems related to its inflight entertainment systems would only delay its passenger model, but that freighters were still on schedule to reach FedEx Express, UPS and International Lease Finance Corp. starting in 2009.
However, EADS issued a statement Sept. 21 saying that while wiring problems were "being tackled" Airbus was still assessing the full impact. "From what is known today, there will be further delays" in the A380 program, EADS said, and declined to say if the freighter delivery schedule would suffer.
The delay statement did not mention freighters, but an EADS spokesman said he could neither exclude the freighter version nor include it in the delay, pending the results of the Airbus review.
An Airbus spokeswoman said since that assessment is not yet complete "it remains to be seen how that freighter will be affected. Our CEO will come out with a statement in a few weeks, but right now we don't have any specifics," she said.
At FedEx Express, which plans to add 10 of the super-jumbos to its fleet for international shipments, spokesman Maury Lane said, "We've seen the media reports" on the A380 program delay. As to whether the FedEx freighter deliveries would back up, "I guess that's a question for Airbus to answer; it is concerning," he said.
UPS spokesman Mark Giuffre said his company was reassured earlier in the week that its 10-plane order was still on schedule for deliveries to start late in 2009. Now, "we see these announcements and we see they are going through their assessments, and so we are monitoring it very closely."
Airbus is still evaluating things, Giuffre said, "so the potential you look at is that there still could be delays." UPS always had contingency plans in case it needed to back up orders for a new aircraft model, he said, and "we're looking at alternate plans" if Airbus says the big freighter cannot be delivered on schedule.
John D. Boyd
