Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Airbus SAS, the world's largest maker of commercial aircraft, said the first new 555-seat A380 airliner weighed in under target, meeting performance requirements and alleviating concern the model would be heavier than planned.

The first A380, unveiled today at a ceremony in Toulouse, France, weighs 0.4 percent to 0.5 percent less than a target of 245 tons when empty, Airbus Chief Operating Officer Gustav Humbert said in an interview.

``We can match all the performance guarantees we've made to airlines,'' Humbert said today. ``We had a problem with weight'' that was resolved with lighter materials, and ``we are certain that we won't have to pay any penalties.''

Airbus is introducing the A380 to guard a lead over Chicago- based Boeing Co. in the $50 billion-a-year market for airliners seating more than 100. The model's 12 billion-euro ($16 billion) development cost is about 15 percent more than budgeted as the Toulouse-based planemaker struggled meet weight guarantees to airline customers and test-flight deadlines.

``In the competition with Boeing, Airbus has the upper hand,'' said Davide Sciannimonaco, head of Italian sales at Societe Generale's Paris-based asset-management unit, which has about $10 billion in assets. ``We can surely expect a counteroffensive from Boeing, maybe adjusting the price of its planes.''

Animated Figures

The planemaker displayed the A380 at an event featuring computer-generated and laser-outlined animated figures, live dancers and acrobats representing Airbus's four partner countries and graphics of the A380's design in a blue-lit auditorium set up in a hangar.

The aircraft was lit up after speeches by French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Airbus is designing the A380 to cost 15 percent less to operate than Boeing's 747-model plane, Humbert said, reiterating an earlier goal. The A380 has a list price of $280 million compared with $198 million to $227 million for the 747-400, the Boeing model's latest version.

Each section of the A380 was physically weighed on special scales, Humbert said. The plane as a whole will be weighed before the first test flight, scheduled for late March or early April, he said.

Shares Decline

Shares of European Aeronautic, Defense & Space Co., Airbus's 80 percent owner, fell as much as 65 cents, or 2.7 percent, to 23.05 euros and were down 2.2 percent at 23.18 euros as of 3:40 p.m. in Paris. The stock is up 8.3 percent this year. Shares of BAE Systems Plc, Airbus's other owner, were down 0.5 percent at 242 pence in London after falling as much as 1.2 percent.

``It's a little disappointing that, with all of the airline executives there'' in Toulouse, ``there weren't announcements of more firm orders'' following a series of sales contracts at Airbus and Boeing since the beginning of 2005, said Xavier Debeugny, who manages $130 million, including EADS stock, for private clients at Oddo & Cie.

A380's Size

The double-decker A380 has a wingspan of 80 meters (262 feet), almost the length of an American football field. It's 73 meters long and will weigh as much as 569 tons when fully loaded for takeoff. It will have a range of 8,000 nautical miles (14,820 kilometers) compared with 7,600 nautical miles for the Boeing 747- 400. The first plane is scheduled to enter service in June 2006 with Singapore Airlines Ltd.

Chief Executive Noel Forgeard said in July that the A380 was about 2 percent heavier than the original weight target. Chief Commercial Officer John Leahy said on Jan. 12 that the plane was about 5 tons, or ``less than 1 percent,'' heavier than the full- load target.

The new model gives Airbus a product line ranging from the 107-seat A318 airliner to an A380 charter-flight version with 800 seats. Airbus expects the A380 to break even with 250 orders.

The planemaker last month forecast that it will win as many as 700 contracts for the A380 in the next 20 years out of a total market for 1,250 planes seating at least 400 passengers and 398 freighter versions. Boeing's industrywide estimate for larger airliners, by contrast, is only one-third of Airbus's.

Possible Additions

Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Europe's third-biggest airline, will probably buy more A380s than the 15 it already has on order, as the carrier ``has never made only a single order for any type of aircraft,'' Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Mayrhuber said.

Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd.'s owner, told journalists in Toulouse yesterday that the London-based airline is also likely to order more A380s to add to the six it's buying.

Airbus's ``plan to sell 750 of the A380 over the life cycle of the plane is realistic,'' said Tim Albrecht, a fund manager at DWS Investment in Frankfurt.

``One can assume that airlines with big orders of more than 10 planes or those who have committed themselves to buying an A380 very early will get a discount of about 20 percent,'' Albrecht said. ``This would mean that the A380 will sell for about $220 million.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrea Rothman in Toulouse, France at aerothman@bloomberg.net; Dan Stets in Frankfurt at dstets@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 18, 2005 09:55 EST