Airbus A-3XX Faces Delay

Airbus Industrie, which has spent four years and $1 billion to develop a superjumbo jet, might have to postpone construction of the plane indefinitely as its key potential customers are saying thanks, but no thanks. British Airways, Deutsche Lufthansa, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways and Cathay Pacific have either lost interest in the behemoth, which would seat 555 passengers, or are putting off orders until they see whether the plane is needed.

The European plane maker has been counting on the A-3XX to challenge archrival Boeing Co.’s monopoly in jumbo aircraft. It first pushed backed plans because of a recession in Asia and now faces further delays because of questions about whether there’s sufficient demand. “We’re observing closely how development goes, but at the moment, we think it’s too big,” says Monika Goebel, a spokeswoman for Lufthansa, Airbus’ biggest airline client. Development of the plane has been based on the premise that air traffic will nearly triple in 20 years. But a recent push by airlines to run more point-to-point routes could mean those big routes won’t be as badly crowded.