A380 production (part 1)

Speaking at an investors’ event in London last Wednesday Harald Wilhelm, Chief Financial Officer of Airbus, seemed to indicate the shutdown of its A380 superjumbo production line as soon 2018.  Assembled at Toulouse, and subsidied during its development, the A380 has never made an operating profit for Airbus, although it says it should by 2015.  First flown in 2005, it made its airline debut in 2007 with Singapore Airlines.

The plane has been a great success with passengers, not so with airline financial departments.  With Four engines it is less economical per passenger, than the large ‘twins’, such as the Boeing 777, which is finding great favour with operators.  To date around 150 have been delivered out of a 318 order book which includes Virgin Atlantic (6), who literally deny any firm commitment, and a leasing company (20) without any customers.

“It’s an excellent plane but it only works for the right destinations,” said Alexandre de Juniac, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Air France-KLM, who aims to cancel the last two of a dozen A380s on order, swapping them for the A350s.

The four-engine wide-body passenger aircraft looks like taking the route of the dinosaur (which it is), and dying out.  The A340 has stopped production.  Boeing has only managed to sell 51 of the latest -8i version (see Boeing 747 progress in this issue). (See also part 2). www.airbus.com  www.boeing.com/commercial

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