A380-levering til MH blir forsinket

[The Ticketor]

Dette har vært en "official secret", m a o kjent en god stund, men nå har Airbus sagt det rett ut også. Men tydligvis har men tnekt å spendere tiden godt på MH, og man får nå mere tid å jobbe med kabinlayout og andre ting.

September 12 2005

THE delivery of the world’s biggest aircraft, the Airbus A380, to Malaysia Airlines scheduled for January 2007 has been delayed by six months.

The delay has prompted the national carrier and its parent, Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd (PMB), to start compensation talks with Airbus. Other major airlines like Singapore Airlines and Australia’s Qantas also face similar delays.

“We are naturally disappointed with this delay. We are considering our options on this matter, but will continue to engage with Airbus to ensure that any inconvenience to our customers and financial impact to the airline are minimised,” Malaysia Airlines (MAS) executive director Tengku Azmil Zahruddin said in a statement.

MAS did not say how much it intends to claim as compensation.

The national carrier will now receive its first A380-800 aircraft in July 2007 and the sixth or the last aircraft will be delivered in May 2009.

MAS also said it will take advantage of the revised delivery timings to enhance and fine-tune its overall readiness to operate this aircraft by mid-2007.

In fact, the carrier last week awarded a RM361 million contract to a group of companies to build a hangar which will house the jumbo airplane. The hangar is due for completion in June 30 2007.

Airbus confirmed that it will continue to review the revised schedule for opportunities to slightly advance the delivery of some ordered aircraft.

MAS said the company and PMB will discuss further with Airbus to firm up the new delivery dates and, in the meantime, continue to observe all Airbus requirements to ensure that the new deadlines are met.

On January 10, 2003, PMB signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus to buy six Airbus A380-800 passenger aircraft for delivery in 2007.

On December 11 2003, PMB signed a purchase agreement with Airbus for the deal and on December 10 of the following year, MAS and PMB agreed to use Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines for the six aircraft.

Business Times