Posted on 10/14/2007 11:20:55 AM PDT by Republicain
PARIS - After repeated, embarrassing delays, Airbus will deliver its first A380 superjumbo jet Monday - a critical step for the European planemaker in its efforts to rebound from a string of troubles.
The double-decker jet, the world's largest passenger plane, is to take off from the southwestern city of Toulouse, Airbus' headquarters, for delivery to Singapore Airlines following a glitzy ceremony including a sound and light show.
President and CEO Thomas Enders called the handover "a major milestone for the A380 program" in a statement released by Airbus on Friday.
Airbus has gone though five CEOs as multiple delays in the A380 program resulted in massive writeoffs and a restructuring plan that foresees 10,000 job cuts over four years - not to mention billions of dollars in lost profit.
Such delays have hurt more than just profits: Airbus' reputation has suffered, and U.S. rival Boeing Co. grabbed the top sales spot in 2006.
The A380's inaugural commercial flight has been set for Oct. 25 from Singapore to Sydney. Singapore Airlines has auctioned all seats on the first flight on EBay, raising about $1.25 million for charity.
Singapore has fitted its jet with 471 seats configured in three classes: 12 luxury suites on the main deck, 60 business class seats on the upper deck and 399 economy class seats on both decks. The plane is to replace one of three Boeing 747-400 jets already serving the Sydney-Singapore route.
John Leahy, Airbus' chief salesman, suggested that the A380's problems will be over once the plane gets into commercial service.
"When this airplane is out flying, my marketing job will get a lot easier," he said last week.
The A380 includes glamorous features such as a cocktail bar complete with water fountain and a duty-free lounge. Some airlines will offer passengers the chance to freshen up with a shower.
Morale at Airbus has also been hurt by accusations that senior managers profited from knowledge about the A380's problems to cash in on share options. A preliminary report by the French Financial Markets Authority pointed to "massive insider trading" at European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co, Airbus' parent company.
The A380 represents Airbus' bet on future demand for long-haul travel between increasingly congested hub airports worldwide. Boeing argues passengers want point-to-point journeys between smaller airports and is targeting the more lucrative market for midsized jets.
Airbus is targeting every airline currently flying a Boeing 747, currently the biggest passenger plane in the skies.
Airbus scares me. I always try to fly on an American built plane.
Unless it’s a Reims Rocket, of course.
471 seats. Now THERE’S an airplane with a big ole terrorist bullseye on it...
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I'm sure you must have a reason for saying that the number of seats makes it more of a target..but, then again, I'm sure you didn't REALLY mean it that way.
If you are wondering how they arrived at that number, one version of the 747 (747-300) would hold up to 470 people. (The 747-8 will hold up to 467).
So, in short, the two planes will have roughly the same number of passengers. The main difference is that the AirBus will be able to sell luxury suites. Whether that will offset the higher operating costs remains to be seen.
There have already been not one but two terrorist plots to blow up dozens of planes - over the Pacific and the Atlantic.
Terrorists like the biggest bang for the buck. As far as airplanes go, the A380 is now the biggest...
BUMP!
“The A380 includes glamorous features such as a cocktail bar complete with water fountain and a duty-free lounge. Some airlines will offer passengers the chance to freshen up with a shower.”
A lot of things like this have been done before, but in the end most space consuming luxuries are eventually removed to add seats.
BTW, you are 100% correct about showers! I’ve always wondered why I’ve never seen “pay showers” in airports. It might be great way to make some money.
Who wants to fly over the North Atlantic on S/N 0001?? Not me!
Well, Duuuhhh, that's NOT what you were talking about.
So you agree now, it's not about the seats?
The bean-counters will kill this soon enough. Sea of seats.
Airbus can try to paint a rosy picture all day everyday, but the turnover rate of CEOs and senior executives is a huge flag. They come in, see the problems, and they can't leave fast enough. As soon as they can work up a good out, they're gone. (They want to have the front "My wife landed a job with such-and-such company" or "My wife/I need to relocate to take a study fellowship at XYZ University". As a CEO or senior executive type, it's career suicide to admit that you're running scared from your current job because you don't want to be left holding the bag when the house of cards crashes.)
Airbus' decision to build an aircraft of this size was a mistake. They did it because they thought that Boeing was moving in this direction and wanted to compete. Boeing didn't, it was all a grand deception, and now Airbus is stuck in a death spiral with their big pig.
There's existing studies showing that passenger jets larger than the 747 actually DECREASE the ramp capacity of airports because of the large turning radius and the fact that other jets must give them much wider leeway. Airbus ignores this at their peril.
There’s no fixed configuartion - the A380 will hold up to 800 people in the catle train version - so the needs of US airlines will be fullfilled also.
In Asia and Arabia where there’s a lot of money bags flying airlines ordered the versions with a bit more emphasis on luxury.
The market will tell - up to now the A380 already sold 50% of what would be needed for a return on invest - and this even before the first customer plane was airborne.
It was build because it grants airbus a segment of the market that Airbus will be working alone for the next 10 years.
Will it? At one point weight, not size, was tje limiting factor, and I never saw reliable reports that the weight issues had been resolved.
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