Abu Dhabi: The UAE's two leading national carriers Emirates and Etihad have received letters from European planemaker Airbus warning them of possible delays in deliveries of the A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft.
"Yes, Emirates can confirm that it has received the letter from Airbus. At present we have nothing more to add," an official spokesperson for Emirates, the biggest A380 customer, told Gulf News yesterday.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad also confirmed that it received a letter from Airbus on potential delays. "Etihad has received a letter from Airbus indicating that there may be a delay in the delivery of the A380," a spokesman for the airline was quoted by Reuters.
Critical phase
Etihad has ordered four of the $300 million, 525-seat planes. Airbus sent a letter to state-owned Emirates, which has ordered 58 of the aircraft, informing it of possible delays in its "wave 2" deliveries, airline President Tim Clark told Reuters. This would apply to A380s being delivered to the carrier from April next year, Clark said.
Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders has written to all A380 customers telling them that production of the world's largest aircraft has reached a critical phase and that a planned sharp hike in production is challenging. However, the latest development won't impact the planned deliveries of the first five A380s to Emirates, which is scheduled to receive the first superjumbo in August.
