Post by corsair67 on Oct 5, 2006 11:30:54 GMT 12
From The Australian.
Third A380 delay may give rivals the jump on Qantas
Steve Creedy
October 05, 2006.
THE delayed delivery of the troubled Airbus A380 superjumbo poses challenges to Qantas as it is forced to find additional planes to fill the gap and faces falling behind competitors able to introduce stylish new cabins.
Qantas confirmed yesterday that it would now not receive its first A380 until August, 2008 - two years behind schedule.
The arrival of the A380 will now come around the same time as the airline will be getting new Boeing 787s, which means it also faces the daunting prospect of simultaneously integrating two entirely new aircraft into its fleet.
Airbus yesterday blamed the third delay on a faulty "wiring installation design package" that produced mismatched electrical harnesses in the fore and aft sections of the plane.
It said it would take time to fix the blunder and predicted that the delays would cause an earnings shortfall of E4.8 billion ($8.2 billion), with a loss of E2.8 billion over the four years to 2010.
Qantas now expects to have four aircraft by the end of 2008 and seven by mid-2009.
However, the airline is not looking at cancelling any of its orders at this stage, saying it remains a very good aircraft.
"We're very disappointed in the delay and we're looking at all the options available to us," chief financial officer Peter Gregg said. "But having gone down the route as far as we have, it's going to be a very difficult decision for us to step away from it. And there is nothing there available any sooner."
Mr Gregg said Qantas was still working out how it would manage its growth over the next two years but believed it would need additional planes to cover the shortfall caused by the A380 delays.
He said the airline responded to news last June of a second delay by acquiring two more Airbus A330-200 aircraft but it had yet to finalise its strategy for the latest delay.
It was also in discussion with Airbus about further compensation, although caps on the amount meant this would not be double the $104 million Qantas had already booked for the first year's delay.
A big issue for the airline, currently being deliberated, was the introduction of new premium and economy class product intended to be unveiled on the giant plane.
The new product was almost impossible to roll out in other aircraft because the only other three-class planes the airline flew were Boeing 747s.
"That means we would have to reconfigure those, and frankly that's a big exercise," he said.
Singapore Airlines, which has ordered 19 A380s and was due to be first to fly the plane this year on the Singapore-Sydney run, said it would now not get its first plane until the fourth quarter of next year.
Spokesman Stephen Forshaw said it was too early to say whether Sydney would still be the plane's first scheduled destination.
Singapore will still get the first four aircraft and has the added advantage that 19 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft fitted with its latest cabin interiors will begin arriving in November.
Emirates, which also planned to fly the plane to Australia, said it was reviewing its order of 45 A380s amid predictions the fast-growing airline would feel the impact of the delays most keenly.
"Emirates and Dubai's growth trajectory and competitive impact could be slowed - but not stalled - by the delays, which would be positive news for its competitors," said Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation executive chairman Peter Harbison.
Third A380 delay may give rivals the jump on Qantas
Steve Creedy
October 05, 2006.
THE delayed delivery of the troubled Airbus A380 superjumbo poses challenges to Qantas as it is forced to find additional planes to fill the gap and faces falling behind competitors able to introduce stylish new cabins.
Qantas confirmed yesterday that it would now not receive its first A380 until August, 2008 - two years behind schedule.
The arrival of the A380 will now come around the same time as the airline will be getting new Boeing 787s, which means it also faces the daunting prospect of simultaneously integrating two entirely new aircraft into its fleet.
Airbus yesterday blamed the third delay on a faulty "wiring installation design package" that produced mismatched electrical harnesses in the fore and aft sections of the plane.
It said it would take time to fix the blunder and predicted that the delays would cause an earnings shortfall of E4.8 billion ($8.2 billion), with a loss of E2.8 billion over the four years to 2010.
Qantas now expects to have four aircraft by the end of 2008 and seven by mid-2009.
However, the airline is not looking at cancelling any of its orders at this stage, saying it remains a very good aircraft.
"We're very disappointed in the delay and we're looking at all the options available to us," chief financial officer Peter Gregg said. "But having gone down the route as far as we have, it's going to be a very difficult decision for us to step away from it. And there is nothing there available any sooner."
Mr Gregg said Qantas was still working out how it would manage its growth over the next two years but believed it would need additional planes to cover the shortfall caused by the A380 delays.
He said the airline responded to news last June of a second delay by acquiring two more Airbus A330-200 aircraft but it had yet to finalise its strategy for the latest delay.
It was also in discussion with Airbus about further compensation, although caps on the amount meant this would not be double the $104 million Qantas had already booked for the first year's delay.
A big issue for the airline, currently being deliberated, was the introduction of new premium and economy class product intended to be unveiled on the giant plane.
The new product was almost impossible to roll out in other aircraft because the only other three-class planes the airline flew were Boeing 747s.
"That means we would have to reconfigure those, and frankly that's a big exercise," he said.
Singapore Airlines, which has ordered 19 A380s and was due to be first to fly the plane this year on the Singapore-Sydney run, said it would now not get its first plane until the fourth quarter of next year.
Spokesman Stephen Forshaw said it was too early to say whether Sydney would still be the plane's first scheduled destination.
Singapore will still get the first four aircraft and has the added advantage that 19 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft fitted with its latest cabin interiors will begin arriving in November.
Emirates, which also planned to fly the plane to Australia, said it was reviewing its order of 45 A380s amid predictions the fast-growing airline would feel the impact of the delays most keenly.
"Emirates and Dubai's growth trajectory and competitive impact could be slowed - but not stalled - by the delays, which would be positive news for its competitors," said Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation executive chairman Peter Harbison.
