Questions at Airbus
News of late from Airbus has been nothing short of startling, centered around the manufacturer’s announcement that it will be delaying deliveries of the much-anticipated A380 airliner. Singapore Airlines, the launch customer, reacted by ordering 20 787 ‘Dreamliners’ from Boeing. Recent articles in The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times highlight the OEM’s plight …
- “Canceling the A380 altogether should be an option on the table.” (TWSJ, June 20, Richard Aboulafia, Teal Group)
- “Last week’s shock warning that A380 deliveries would be delayed by six to seven months because of production problems has plunged Airbus and EADS, its parent company, into crisis.” (F.T., June 21)
Also following the announcement, leasing firm ILFC warned it could cancel up to $3 billion in A380 orders. And Airbus is rethinking its other new aircraft, the proposed A350, but reportedly has little engineering strength to divert to that effort because of the problems with the super-jumbo airliner.
All this gets back to the issue of planning for airports. FAA’s Kate Lang told airports at the recent annual AAAE meeting in San Diego that it’s all about planning these days for airports. Reason is, it has become very difficult to predict what will happen with the airline industry. The A380 is one more example. A number of airports have already spent millions to handle the A380; a number more are in the planning stage. At this juncture, “wait and see” would be an appropriate plan.
Thanks for reading.
jfi
AIRBUS WAS VERY HIP-HOP AND CHALLENGING WHEN THE A-380 WAS TESTED SUCCESSFULLY. MANY ADS IN LEADING NEWSPAPERS GAVE THE IMPRESSION THAT ONE DAY WE WOULD FLY IN A PLANE WHICH IS MORE LIKE A SMALL TOWNSHIP. THIS DELAY IN DELIVERING THE JETS TO AIRLINES IS A SERIOUS BLOW ON THE EXPECTATIONS OF MANY.
Questions: How many airports in the U.S. serve cities that have sufficient population to support the amount of passenger service provided by the jumbo-jumbo jet? And how many existing airports have the ground area to support FAA requirements for expansion of runways to legally handle the airplane? Assuming that expansion of runways is possible, what about taxiways and terminal ramp areas? How much space will be needed to accommodate ground vehicles servicing the aircraft? How much space will be required inside the terminal to accommodate passengers and passenger services? A number of airports have spent large sums to build handsome terminals intended to serve future demands. Are those terminals adequate or is the industry looking at another round of jumbo dollars for terminal expansions? Could this machine be generating more questions/problems than economic returns will justify?