Airbus "flat out" to keep A380 on target
PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus is going "flat out" to ensure it meets its target of delivering 12 A380 superjumbos in 2008 and believes next year's target of 21 deliveries also remains realistic, a senior Airbus official said.
"We are still fully committed to that," Tom Williams, Executive Vice President of Programmes, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
A French newspaper reported on Sunday that the A380, which is running more than two years late after four separate shifts in the development timetable, faced another setback with only 8-10 aircraft ready to be delivered in 2008.
"We are going flat out for 12," Williams said.
Having overcome problems in installing the wiring on the world's largest airliner, A380 workers face various bottlenecks in the supply chain covering availability of items like cabin seats and galleys.
Asked whether the level of risk to the timetable had increased since it was last modified in May, Williams said, "No, it is about the same".
On the other major current development, Europe's A400M military airlifter, Williams said performing the maiden flight by the end of the year was "a tough challenge but still doable".
Louis Gallois, chief executive of parent EADS (EAD.PA), appeared to soften expectations of an autumn first flight last week by saying it was hoped the aircraft would fly before the end of the year depending on the progress in engine tests.
Airbus is waiting for key software used to control the huge turbo-prop engines and it will not be available before the end of October, while it encountered a couple of less critical glitches with engine testing in the past week, Williams said.
However, he said Airbus was encouraged by the first ground run at full power of a test engine on a converted Lockheed C130 for more than an hour, at a company in Britain last Wednesday.
Williams was speaking from Filton in the United Kingdom, where Airbus sold a wing components plant to GKN (GKN.L) on Monday, securing 1,500 jobs in the development of new composites materials for the A350XWB, the planemaker's future mid-sized jet. (Editing by Simon Jessop)
