Airbus takes another hit....bigger one may be coming (1 Viewer)

[Rickboy]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15484297/

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Emirates Airline is canceling orders and options for 20 Airbus A340 aircraft and would send a team to the manufacturer’s headquarters in France to check the promised delivery dates for an order for the A380 superjumbo, an airline spokeswoman said Monday.

“Emirates confirms it will not be taking delivery of its order and option for 20 Airbus A340-600 aircraft,” an Emirates spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman, who asked not to be identified further because she was not authorized to speak to the media, said the company was “sending a team of technicians from its engineering department in mid-November to Toulouse in order to assess if the revised timings we have been given for the delayed delivery of our A380s are achievable.”

Emirates is the biggest customer for the A380 superjumbo. If Emirates pulls its order it would be a devastating hit for Airbus that could force a bailout by the EU.

 

[LafourcheSaint]

Go Boeing!

The new 787 will be sweet

 

[killah]

I thought China bought a lot for them?

 

[saintsfan342000]

Heck yes. Those Euros were crazy to ever design that aircraft.

Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is the next generation plane for sure. GO BOEING, and GO USA!

 

[Rickboy]

I think the Chinese (China Eastern) is purchasing 8 aircraft. Airbus has forcasted several hundred sales to China in the future. I believe these forcasts are reasonable but they are down the road.

Also, Virgin Atlantic is postponing their order for 6 A380s by four years.

However the Emirates order accounts for 30% of all A380 sales. Thats a huge chunk of sales.

 

[DadsDream]

Here ya go, Rickboy:

"The decision to purchase Boeing 777s was taken after Airbus announced significant delays for delivery of A380s. Global package demand continues to grow and we need the appropriate aircraft to meet that demand."
Maury Lane, a spokesman at FedEx Express

FedEx cancels Airbus order, switches to Boeing
Tue Nov 7, 2006 11:58am ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - FedEx Express, a unit of FedEx Corp. (FDX.N: Quote, Profile, Research), said on Tuesday it would buy 15 Boeing Co. (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 777 freighter aircraft and canceled its order of 10 A380-800F Airbus (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) aircraft due to delays in delivery.

FedEx said its agreement with Boeing also gives it options to purchase an additional 15 aircraft. It expects to take delivery of four of the 777 aircraft in 2009, eight in 2010 and the remaining three in 2011.

READ MORE
http://today.reuters.com/news/artic...O-TRANSPORT-FEDEX-BOEING-DC.XML&from=business

 

[DadsDream]

You called it several months ago, Rickboy:

FORBES
Airbus to Shed 10,000 Jobs
By LAURENCE FROST 02.28.07, 6:31 PM ET

Airbus, steadily losing its market lead to Boeing Co., unveiled drastic plans Wednesday to follow in its U.S. rival's footsteps by cutting thousands of jobs, selling off manufacturing sites and outsourcing more work to external suppliers.

Strikes and protests greeted the European planemaker's long-awaited announcement that it intends to shed 10,000 staff and sell, close or spin off six plants, as it struggles to survive the crippling fallout from a two-year delay to its A380 superjumbo and the weaker U.S. dollar.

"We are doing what other companies have done, but we're a bit late," Airbus Chief Executive Louis Gallois said as he presented the "Power8" restructuring strategy to reporters.

Airbus will sell off or shut down its French Saint-Nazaire-Ville plant and two German sites - Varel and Laupheim - as the company increasingly outsources "non-core" parts, Gallois said. Together, the three facilities currently employ over 3,000 workers.

READ MORE
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/02/28/ap3473746.html

 

[DadsDream]

Bad news is piling up for Airbus:

UPS cancels order for 10 Airbus A380 freighters
Scrapped order is latest blow for superjumbo jet
Updated: 36 minutes ago

PARIS - The Airbus superjumbo program suffered a major new setback Friday as UPS Inc. said it would cancel its order for 10 A380s, leaving the aircraft maker with an empty order book for the cargo version of its much-delayed flagship.

The move comes just a week after UPS, the world’s largest shipping carrier, and Airbus announced a revised agreement that gave either party the right to terminate the order.

In a statement, Atlanta-based UPS said it decided to cancel after it learned Airbus was diverting employees from the freighter program to work on its passenger plane program.

READ MORE
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17418499/

 

[DadsDream]

After the inaugural run, Lufthansa and Airbus will operate a demonstration flight to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport on Tuesday, before returning to New York and then Frankfurt. The plane then heads to Hong Kong and back, before continuing its journey to Washington Dulles International Airport on March 25, with a final stop at Lufthansa’s Munich hub on March 28.

A380 superjumbo arrives in New York
Maiden flight to North America to court local buyers, airports
Updated: 1 hour, 23 minutes ago

NEW YORK - The latest jetliner to claim the title of world’s biggest passenger aircraft completed its maiden voyage to America on Monday, flying on football field-length wings and a prayer that the U.S. airline industry will want to buy the double-decker jumbo jet.

The four-engine Airbus A380 touched down at Kennedy International Airport at about 12:10 p.m. EDT, to the cheers of onlookers gathered to watch the arrival. As the plane taxied, a pilot waved an American flag. Minutes later, a separate A380 arrived in Los Angeles, but was devoid of any passengers.

The nearly eight-hour trans-Atlantic flight was a chance for plane builder Airbus and German airline Lufthansa AG to show off the jewel of Airbus’ offerings to potential American buyers and to the airports they hope to turn into flight bases for the jet. The 239-foot-long A380 can seat as many as 550 passengers, hold 81,890 gallons of fuel, cruise at 560 mph and fly some 8,000 nautical miles.

READ MORE
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17677829/

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

Minutes later, a separate A380 arrived in Los Angeles, but was devoid of any passengers.

- I think I saw that one this morning when I passed LAX; if not, it was just another big-*** plane that looked like it.