Production problems look set to trigger a further six month delay in deliveries of the Airbus A380 aircraft, parent company EADS has warned.
Wiring problems have forced the firm to cut delivery targets to nine from an original target of 20 to 27 in 2007.
EADS also added that the setback was expected to trigger losses of 500m euros a year between 2007 and 2010.
Earlier this month, EADS said a variety of factors forced deliveries to be put back from October 2006 to April 2007.
Despite the delays, EADS added its first A380 would be delivered to Singapore Airlines on schedule later this year.
Bottlenecks in production also meant deliveries shortfalls of five to nine aircraft in 2008 and five in 2009.
Targets moved
Airbus had hoped to deliver 20 to 25 aircraft in 2008 and 45 a year later.
"We expect Airbus management to fully deliver according to the revised schedule and if possible, even to improve (on it)," EADS co-chief executives Tom Enders and Noel Forgeard said in a statement.
However, they also acknowledged that the increased delays could lead to customers cancelling their orders, as well as triggering penalties to carriers whose orders had been put back.
The A380 has cost Airbus 12bn euros ($14bn; Ј8bn) to develop, and will be the world's largest airliner, seating more than 800 passengers across twin decks.
So far, the jet maker has taken 159 firm orders for the plane from 16 carriers, including Emirates, Qantas and Virgin Atlantic.
Airbus is 80% owned by European aerospace and defence group EADS, the remaining 20% is currently held by the UK's BAE Systems which has just exercised an option to sell its stake.
(BBC)
<< Back