Singapore : Singapore Airlines will delay introduction of its 11th Airbus A380 after a Japanese contractor failed to deliver seats on time, joining a growing list of carriers suffering from design glitches at the supplier.
The airline's plan to overhaul first-class cabins in Boeing 777-300s is also affected, said spokesman Nicholas Ionides.
Singapore is among carriers including All Nippon Airways, Continental Airlines and Japan Airlines with delays on Airbus or Boeing models or forced seat changes after supplier Koito Industries failed to deliver on time or according to specification.
Equipment snags
Equipment flaws ripple through the airline industry as manufacturers rely on thousands of suppliers to meet safety standards and delivery schedules.
Koito spokesman Yoichiro Kuroiwa said an axle in a new seat design failed a safety test in Japan, pushing back by six months All Nippon's plan to take new planes.
He declined to discuss other airlines. The company is based in Yokohama.
"If airline seats don't meet any sort of requirement, they're illegal and have to be fixed," said Hans Weber, president of San Diego-based Tecop International, who has advised the US Federal Aviation Administration. "It's black and white — you either meet the requirement or you don't."
All Nippon is calling 5,000 passengers affected by the postponed introduction of Boeing 777 aircraft on its Narita-New York route because of late Koito-made seats for the economy class, said airline spokesman Justin Massey.
Boeing issues
He said the carrier took delivery without the premium-economy seats of one 777-300ER, a 365-seat long-haul jet, and two 737-800s, single-aisle planes that hold as many as 189 passengers. A second 777 is still with Boeing in Seattle.
The airline is negotiating with Koito for compensation for the delivery delays and costs for installing alternative seats and hasn't decided if it will keep Koito as a supplier, he said.
Two Boeing 737-800s that were to be delivered to Continental Airlines last month were delayed because of late seats from Koito, and "several additional aircraft slated for delivery this year could also be impacted", said Julie King, a spokeswoman for the airline.
Continental has nine 737-800s and two Boeing 777s scheduled for delivery this year with seats made by Koito. Japan's Transport Ministry gave an oral warning to Koito last year after Japan Airlines (JAL) got non-certified seat material.
In the JAL incident, the seatmaker was reprimanded for using a material different from that used on the seats certified by authorities.
Seats affected were in the first-class sections of nine Boeing 777-200 jets that serve domestic routes.
