WT Forums

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15606488/


A380 blow as FedEx switches to Boeing
Financial Times


• Latest Airbus A380 delay could help Boeing

Updated: 1 hour, 40 minutes ago
Airbus suffered a further blow to its troubled A380 superjumbo programme when for the first time an order for the aircraft was cancelled and Boeing aircraft ordered instead.

On Tuesday FedEx, the world's largest express delivery group, cancelled its order for 10 freighter variants of the aircraft, opting instead for Boeing 777s.

Fred Smith, chief executive of FedEx, said the A380 was a "terrific aeroplane", but the group could not afford to wait for it any longer. FedEx had been due to receive the first freighter by 2009, but the A380's recent production problems had pushed that back to beyond 2010.

"The problem simply became that with two delays and the continued growth in the marketplace we were in danger of not being able to continue to expand our network and meet customer demand," Mr Smith told the FT.

Airbus said on Tuesday that it regretted the decision but added but it understood FedEx's "urgent need to address capacity growth".

The Toulouse-based aircraft manufacturer insisted that there was still a strong market for its troubled superjumbo aircraft, which has recently seen two big customers increase their orders for the passenger variant.

"Demand for the A380 is high as evidenced by recent repeat commitments from airlines such as Qantas and Singapore," said an Airbus spokesperson. However, Virgin Atlantic last month said it was delaying delivery of the first of its six A380s by four years to 2013.

Singapore Airlines told Bloomberg on Wednesday morning that it would keep its orders for the superjumbo.

But the FedEx decision remains a severe blow for the struggling aircraft maker. Not only does it call into doubt the future of the freighter version but it makes it more difficult to meet the A380's break-even target of 420 aircraft. The cancellation cuts the number of confirmed orders for both variants of the superjumbo from 159 to 149.

Fedex was the launch customer for the freighter, which was designed in close collaboration with the express carrier. Analysts on Tuesday questioned whether FedEx's move could jeopardise further commitments from rival logistics group UPS, which has 10 on order.

"It will be very interesting to see if UPS, which tends to mirror everything that FedEx does, continues to take the aircraft," said one leading aerospace analyst. However, he suggested that FedEx would return to place orders for the A380 after its immediate needs for extra capacity had been addressed. "They were just making a very strong point very cheaply," he said.

Mr Smith, however, seemed to exclude a return to the A380, saying it was "not in our best interest to operate too many different types of aircraft."

Industrial problems with the A380 project have delayed delivery of the world's largest commercial aircraft by at least two years and forced Airbus's parent EADS to issue a €4.8bn profit warning in September.

Doubts over its efficiency had already led Emirates to convert its two orders into passenger aircraft. International Lease Finance Corporation, one of the world's largest aircraft leasing companies, still has five freighters on order, but these were thought to be on behalf of Emirates.

■ EADS, Airbus's Franco-German parent, is due on Wednesday to announce third quarter results. A board meeting on Tuesday discussed whether to go ahead with the launch of the A350XWB long range aircraft, but no decision is expected before the end of the month. The aircraft is expected to cost more than $10bn, while the group is also facing heavy penalties over the delays to its A380 superjumbo.

Copyright The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved.

Some days it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints

The delays for the 380 have already pushed back the profit date by ten years, not that that would matter to Airbus. The 350 isnt exactly a sure thing either as it has just gone through a total makeover.

"Fitz" is the tits!
Brownells calls me Aaron Burr cause the
way I'm droppin Hamilton$

_________________
The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

Sweet. I found it comical that in Orly and Paris, I saw more Boeings than ShortBus.(737,757,767's)

I love the triple 7. I'd prefer to haul Rubber poo-poo to having to stand Customer review after a 15Hr Cattle haul.

...Muwahahaha Nevermore the Dog-Robber!

"The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth, to see their near and dear bathed in tears, to ride their horses and sleep on the white bellies of their wives and daughters."
-Genghis Khan

_________________
\"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week. \"

George S. Patton

guess Airbus is going to have to go back to the european governments for some more subsidies.

Airbus is in deep doo doo. Am overseas right now and every few hours a new new report comes out about their having problems and how the penalities that they will end up paying due to being late with the 380 will really hurt them.

After the AA crash in NYC where the tail came off, it pretty much ended my wish to ever fly an Airbus. Course having worked for Boeing and McAir did not hurt either. I like my fuselage, wings and tail feathers to be made out of metal, not some sort of new plastic or carbon fiber.

Guess this as good a place to introduce joe as any other.

Joe is another one of my Porsche buddies, but also an "Ex" Wingwiper stick actuator, so he should fit right in with the rest of you pretty boys.

Glad to have ya aboard bro.

<img src="http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b343/m21sniper/RecoverAgentWIDEsmall.jpg" border=0>
<font color=yellow><i><b>"US Snipers...providing surgical strikes since 1776"</b></i></font id=yellow>

Ive come to like the Triple 7. Been flying it for most of the year.

It is a huge Change for me, going from Fighters, To Buisjets, 737's.

I am very impressed with its Performance for a 600,000 MTOW aircraft. IT lands and takesoff like a Heavy Stike Loaded Mud Hen, 160-190 Knots.... Ive Flown it from Narita (new Tokyo) to Orly (paris) (15 Hours) Non Stop, and Narita to Sydney Non Stop (10 Hours) Just takes a few chapters to Get to cruise altitude..Then the Monkey hits the Autopilot. For 15 hours of Flying I only truly fly it for 1.5 hours, depending on the Stack/Marshal sequencing For landing and takeoff.

The most uneasy feeling is touching down the Mains to Runway surface while the Cabin is almost 80 Feet above the Ground.... Their is no Ground Effect feel that you get from a Fighter.

"The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth, to see their near and dear bathed in tears, to ride their horses and sleep on the white bellies of their wives and daughters."
-Genghis Khan

_________________
\"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week. \"

George S. Patton