Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/20/a380_break_even/
Airbus revises A380 break-even point
Now 420 aircraft, up from 270
Posted in Science, 20th October 2006 11:15 GMT
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Airbus parent company EADS has announced a new break-even point for its troubled A380 programme - 420 aircraft as opposed to the previous 270, the BBC reports. Current orders for the A380 stand at 159.
The A380 roll-out has now been delayed three times due to "wiring problems" and the first example will not be delivered until October 2007.
New Airbus big cheese Louis Gallois recently admitted [1] "painful" job losses were likely as a result of the knock-backs, while Rolls-Royce earlier this month suspended [2] A380 engine production while "waiting for more details about requirements from Airbus".
Airbus has calculated that the whole sorry saga will cost it €2.8bn in profits over the next four years, added to the €2bn it announced [3] back in June 2006.
Airlines, meanwhile, have expressed growing frustration [4] at the situation. Qantas, which won't take delivery of the first of 12 A380s it's ordered until August 2008, recently asked: "How are we going to mount the capacity in the short-term?" Emirates, the biggest customer to date with 43 on order, admitted it was "reviewing its options".
On a brighter note, EADS chief financial officer Andreas Sperl told a gathering of analysts and investors that Airbus "still expected to sell more than 750 of its new planes over the life of the project". ®