Airbus Says It Likely Won’t Meet Goal for A380s This Year http://on.wsj.com/1T7IOEl
Client Transaero Airlines is having financial difficulties and likely won’t take delivery of superjumbo jetliner in 2015
MIAMI—Airbus Group SE is unlikely to deliver all the A380 superjumbos it planned to in 2015 because client Transaero Airlines is having financial difficulties, the boss of the jetliner maker said on Monday.
Airbus President Fabrice Brégier said the “probability is high” the first A380 to the Russian carrier will be delayed past the end of this year.
“We have to face reality; when we have a customer who is really facing commercial issues, hopefully temporarily, but based on the ruble devaluation and the Russia tourist market shrinking, we need to look at what can be done,” Mr. Brégier said in an interview. .
Even so, Mr. Brégier said the company would still reach break-even on A380 superjumbo deliveries this year
Airbus has long promised investors it would stop losing money on the plane that first flew a decade ago. Big delays in building the plane raised production costs and have delayed Airbus efforts to build the plane more cheaply. Airbus previously said it could reach the break-even milestone this year if it built 30 of the planes in 2015.
Mr. Brégier said A380 deliveries would be close to 30 planes this year. Transaero has ordered four A380 superjumbos.
The Russian carrier canceled an order for Boeing 787 jetliners last year amid the country’s worsening economic crisis as a result of Western sanctions over the country’s invasion of Crimea.
Airbus is struggling to win additional A380 superjumbo commitments and has seen several airlines step back from the plane they struggle to fill. Malaysia Airlines Chief Executive Christoph Mueller said on Sunday that two of the airline’s six A380 jets are “surplus to requirement.” Virgin Atlantic has said previously it wouldn't take the six A380s it has ordered,
“The challenge for me is to find additional A380 customers,” Mr. Brégier said.
Emirates Airline President Tim Clark, the world’s largest A380 buyer, has been urging Airbus to modernize the double-decker plane with new engines. Mr. Brégier said the A380neo, as the updated model has been dubbed, was “not a priority.”
Mr. Brégier also said the first delivery of the A320neo, an upgrade of its best-selling single-aisle plane, was still on track for November despite a component flaw with the Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engine that has left its test aircraft grounded. The first plane is due to go to Qatar Airways.
“The Pratt-[powered A320neo] is not flying again; it will resume its flight, hopefully soon,” said Mr. Brégier. The component problem that prompted the halt in testing “is now largely understood,” he said. Still, the aircraft wouldn't be ready to make an appearance at the Paris Air Show that begins June 15. The aircraft halted tests about a month ago.