Airbus A380 Woes Deepen as Emirates Delay Accelerates Cost Cuts
- Six deliveries in 2017 and 2018 are each put off by one year
- Planemaker retains double-decker’s delivery plan for 2018
Airbus SE A380
Photographer: Simon Dawson/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Airbus Group SE’s struggles with its A380 superjumbo are deepening as the planemaker delays deliveries of a dozen aircraft over the next two years to Emirates, the double-decker’s biggest buyer, potentially pushing the program into the red.
Handovers of six A380s apiece originally planned for 2017 and 2018 will be shifted to a year later following an agreement between Emirates and engine supplier Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, Airbus said Tuesday in an e-mailed statement. The planemaker will accelerate cost cuts at the A380 operation to ensure that the “impact on break even in 2017 is minimal.” Airbus said it still plans to keep to a reduced delivery target of about 12 A380s a year as of 2018.