http://www.playfuls.com/news_09_3987...reighters.html
Fearing Airbus will not be able to deliver before the new revised deadline
in 2012, United Parcel Service Inc., the world's largest package shipper,
has announced it will scrap their $2.8 billion order for 10 SAS A380
freighters. As such, Airbus lost the last customer on the freighter version
of its superjumbo jet.
FedEx Corp. dropped its 10-aircraft order in November, and International
Lease Finance Corp., the world's largest plane lessor, switched its order
for five freighters to passenger versions of the A380 a month later.
"UPS had intended to complete an internal study of whether it could wait
until 2012 for the aircraft, but now understands Airbus is diverting
employees from the A380 freighter program to work on the passenger version
of the plane," the shipping company said.
"Based on our previous discussions, we had felt that 2012 was a reasonable
estimate of when Airbus could supply this plane," David Abney, UPS chief
operating officer and president of UPS Airline, said in a statement. "We no
longer are confident that Airbus can adhere to that schedule."
UPS is concerned that Airbus has shifted employees from the A380 freighter
program to work on the passenger version of the plane, which makes much more
money. Airbus said on Thursday development of the A380F freighter had been
"temporarily cut off... so that all capacities can be directed at the A380
passenger version".
"Airbus is disappointed that UPS intends to cancel the A380 freighter
order," said Justin Dubon, a spokesman for Airbus in Toulouse, France. "We
respect the airline's decision, and this is consistent with the agreement we
reached last week."
UPS ordered its first 10 A380 aircraft in January 2005 for use on U.S.-Asia
routes. The triple-decker freighter has 2.4 times the lift capacity of a
Boeing 747, a big advantage for long routes with limited number of flights.
FedEx, after canceling its A380 order with Airbus in November, announced it
would purchase 15 U.S.-made Boeing 777 freighters with an option to buy 15
more.
Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic, which has six A380's on order, said it
expects to decide within a month whether it will acquire new Airbus or
Boeing planes to help it deal with the delay. Virgin Atlantic will receive,
hopefully, their planes in 2013 if additional delays are not announced.
Airbus sees the A380F, which has a range of 10,400 kilometers and is capable
of carrying 150 tons of freight, as a rival to Boeing's 777F.
I just wonder how much more the A380 cancellations are going to tear into
Airbus' bottom line. Maybe the 'worlds largest airliner' was not a good idea
or maybe the wrong climate. The employees and contractors and suppliers the
world over are going to be hit hard, again!
Jim Morris
I don't have an A380 photo on this computer to post. Here is one of PHL's
A330's